The other day I tried to read an article online and got
interrupted by a pop-up asking me to accept cookies, subscribe to a newsletter,
disable my ad blocker, create an account, and verify that I’m not a robot.
I wasn't surprised. It feels about right for the era. Everything
now requires a password, an app, a subscription, or a small surrender of
dignity. We were promised technology would simplify life. Instead it turned ordinary
activities into airport security … and makes me long for simpler times.
I don’t think I’m nostalgic in the way people usually mean
it. I’m not sitting around polishing a jukebox or wishing we still used
telegrams. Half the old stuff was inconvenient, ugly, or smelled faintly of
lead paint. But I do miss a time when the world had less insulation between you
and ordinary life.
You bought a thing and you owned the thing. End of
relationship.
Somewhere along the line we stopped letting things simply
exist. Your television wants software
updates. Your smart watch is disappointed in you. And everything comes with an
app or login screen, like we’re all trying to enter a mediocre nightclub
managed by a password prompt. Simplicity has left the building and now every
purchase is an experience, a platform, a brand, a pipeline, or a personal
journey.
Maybe that’s why the world feels exhausting. Nothing is
allowed to be quiet anymore.
I miss when things were allowed to just be things.
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