The Illusion of Choice

Gen Z is opting out of the prescribed American dream of owning a home, eating healthy food, and having 2-3 children, a car, and a stable job. In most states, that lifestyle is an unattainable standard for college graduates.

The contemporary digital landscape created The New Wild West. The rules changed.

[What’s the cost?]

Humans yearn for happiness, freedom, and companionship. We use tools to fulfill these needs. Corporations wield more advanced versions of these tools to transform attention into $$$. The Internet is a tool with the power to lead humans to utopia…

…and to destruction.

Internet Ethics evolve. To judge Internet crimes, one needs a deep knowledge of the tool, and its history, to predict future abuses—lawyers and elderly politicians are rarely as tech-savvy as engineers, and many engineers lack the social and liberal art expertise encapsulated by ethics. Tim Berners-Lee, co-inventor of the World Wide Web, says that Web, the foundation of today’s Internet, was created for the evolutionary growth of new social engines. One branch of “social engines” is social media, but this essay will double-click the dangers of “dating apps”.

The market for human connection is as old as prostitution, but many web applications are supported by the pursuit of massive capital. I never trusted dating apps, because all interactions begin with the unrealistic fantasy of a person I never physically met. Dating apps allow people to justify, and get away with ghosting, a morally abject way to sever a relationship, by cutting communication for no clearly explained reason.

The bizarre reality of dating apps, like Hinge, Tinder, and Linkedin, create a dishonest dystopia of painted smiles. You wanna know how we got these scars? Image curation expires when virtues don’t align with observed actions.

In the real world, one’s first time taking another human being for granted may be the last; real relationships don’t have reset buttons, but they do require humane interactions.

In a closed system of physical interactions, self-awareness is incentivized because of the high cost of moving on. In boundless, digital interactions, the low cost of moving on does not discourage self-absorption enough, which allows the system to be manipulated by the most powerful agents in that system.

Linkedin is littered with the demeaning tug and pull of bucket-bound crabs; after sending 200 digital applications, one is lucky to get a fair or honest interview, but one is not safe from ghosting.

Costs to Be Boss

The speed of social media innovation makes me question the utility of email newsletters. Meta and Youtube snatch attention so effectively that digital art and entertainment are judged in a blink—with the expectation of simple, yet novel, bite-sized concepts.

Most of all, I am concerned with capital’s influence over attention. As a single, non-rich creator, I lack the resources to compete with major corporations on the basis of speed. I can compete on the basis of depth, which requires time. With only a glance to capture attention, one must be fortunate or rich, because $$$ buys limelight.

On the Brand

Hoodie production will be complete by mid-October. Without supply chain issues, we’ll be ready to screenprint by Nov. 1. The target completion date is Nov. 15.

I’m working harder than I ever have, and I am happier than I’ve ever been. I never found a cause I was willing to live for, but I did find values I am willing to die for.

Fragments from weekly conversations are scattered throughout The Apollonian. I don’t know any other brand seeking to foster a community of humane, sincere, and genuine interactions. If you do, please help me find them so I can learn.

Until Next Time, Wolves.

Kindness always wins.

Apollo