Brave new world

This is the actual headline given to a story from AP (by Anick Jesdanun) printed in my local newspaper. It is the title of a dystopian novel by Aldus Huxley about "human progress".  What was my paper's headline trying for: clever, spot on, clueless?  The author's story heading was: "Home items are getting smarter - and creepier - like it or not". Apparently authors who hope to be picked up by AP know that the published title is not theirs to dictate and so don't bother.

I say Like it NOT. I cannot believe folks are eager to offer up more aspects of their lives to possible (probable predictable inevitable) data gathering, storage, commercial use, misuse and hacking (see my post Dec. 21). To me this trend is a piece of evidence, in an avalanche of such, that Americans are if not actually getting stupider, at the least choosing stupider.

Of course I love being connected to the Internet in nearly every way. Used prudently it can inform, inspire, entertain, beguile, comfort, challenge, fill wait times, etc etc. But as I learned in one of the several 12 step programs for which I qualify (and now only occasionally frequent): any thing can be used as a tool or a weapon. According to my reading, folks connected to social media during nearly all waking hours are exposed to dangerous levels of self esteem krypton. As my default level of self esteem is sub par, I try to avoid places that are perfect fodder for eroding my precious store of such.

My boyfriend and I were discussing a new APP!! for smart phones which one can use to tell if one is depressed. I don't know any details, because I:
  A. Do not have a smart phone and
  B. Already have a robust system for monitoring my depression level.

This system has four key components:
  1. An internal mantra: you, KissedTheEarth, are worthless
  2. Unintentionally leaking to my intimates feelings that arise from this mantra
  3. Being alerted to this slippage toward the abyss by such intimates
  4. Believing THEM and doing something different

It only took me several (OK, more) rounds of the first 3 steps of this depression dance to add the fourth step. That lead to resuming my medication if I had stopped (I did not want to be "broken"), and/or getting real about where I really am. Drugs stop the "you suck" ruminating. My goddess what a relief that is.

And today's thought for today from A.Word.A.Day is like water in the desert to my self esteem:

       One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love,       friendship, indignation and compassion. -Simone de Beauvoir