I’ve read OVERconnected, Derek Thompson’s “The Anti-Social Century”, and I’ve now just finished a horrifying New York Times article on people genuinely believing they’re part of The Matrix because ChatGPT told them so. Look, aren’t we adults? Aren’t you supposed to stop believing in Santa Claus? Get a fucking life. And one of these cooks was actually a married psychologist? Look, if you feel your marriage is hitting a rocky patch, maybe get a licensed marriage and family therapist to help you do couples’ counselling? Who the fuck are these people? What about their social situations makes them psychotic? You know, at least with a physical cult, you’ve got a group, all dressed in neat garb, all doing fancy rituals, there’s typically a charismatic leader—how do you get sucked up into cult shit by a chatbot? I’m not sorry when I say, you know what, we’re better off with those people cutting themselves off from society, at least a child’s imaginary friends don’t tell them to be dickwads and take ketamine.

I’m trying to keep my mind clear and unbogged by too much information. (My girl is doing the same, too.) So I’m reading this non-fiction material at a slow, steady pace… I admit that I am far more distracted these days, than I was pre-COVID, pre-smartphone. I’m trying to dig myself out of that. And I believe I’ve been making steady progress…

I can’t believe one of the problems I’m having with my smartphone is now I have too much to read. You’d think having unbridled access to a digital library might be good and convenient, but… …I find myself ignoring my apartment and spending more time and focus on reading than I should. It’s not the ebooks that are giving me problems. It’s all the online articles I have access to, too. I have to limit that. No more big Atlantic or NYT features on my phone. Strange having to block a news site on my mobile device, but…

I can’t wait for my fiancee to finally emigrate here. I don’t want to be stuck on a screen just to communicate with her.