Onion society

Is humanity becoming more perfect by choice? Or are we becoming slaves to algorithm driven recommendation engines which our own employers are creating. Are relationships an outcome of our true minds or a social by-product to fill the revenue graphs of few chosen corporate companies. 

Are we being driven to different revenue streams- like goats to an abattoir? – some of us to a perfect picture of youth, some to a new mid-life re-invention, some to understanding life and its purpose, and yet others to the path of being: super humans.

Super humans- without flaws, with perfect relationships, perfect manicured nails, knowledge about each and every “bit and byte” of the universe and Fit bit and i watches to flash diet and fitness regimens. Whatever is your concern/or shortcoming – social media will hypnotize you towards it.

Big daddy’s like google are actually reverse engineering our minds, suggesting, cross-validating, providing solutions to questions that never existed, selling us products and services – suggesting convenience, and making our already smooth life more seamless. 

I feel artificial, like an plastic creeper being grown in a glass case on Mars, being fed a curated mineral diet of questions, and aspersions such as: How to get perfect hair, how to match your accessories perfectly, how to enhance self-confidence and how to follow dating rules. There are recommendations, suggestions, and cross questions which will provide so much fodder your own “thinking system” will sleep off and encircle into a “influence and suggestive buying hypnotism” – wherein you will purchase “n” number of useless items, indulge yourself into creative arts which are so complicated that it will set you back 5 times the product cost in the market. Or even sadder – you will indulge into the most favorite hobby – either comment or read comments on social media, and waste at least 4 hours in one go, seamlessly, always without registering the loss of your time. Precious moments "off the earth". 

Our definitions of marriage, parenting, professional life and personal satisfaction are so dangerously getting altered by the virtual flotsam and jetsam: Lets discuss a "personal business case" - a perfectly content father of two, develops a sense of adventure as he touches 40, he wishes to re-invent himself, getting cooler, not wanting to look like a typical dad: he reads an article on this BTW. in a popular Sunday supplement - online.

A classic example of approaching a midlife crisis, he spends money at the gym, at the salon, looks at “Queer eye” on Netflix and invests in new threads, sees “Easy” and questions his satisfactory marriage, develops a growing sense of “acquisition” and begins to impress a new, single woman colleague. Pursued by applications like Gleeden (the "India Ashley Madison"- that theorizes that a man is not meant to be monogamous) jump in to cement his cause. Netflix plays a villain with its compelling content- “3 Wives, one husband” – a polygamous community in Utah valley further his cause, and ultimately the adventurous “the affair” leads to it.

He feels more masculine, and re-invents his life, but alas his wife finds out as “Alexa” records conversations accidentally. They divorce, no regrets, he becomes a single dad and enters the data base of “second marriage.com” and enters Floh (a curated single-Indian community for friendship and dating - meant for the elite) with enough single mothers and dads around, with a greater amount of singles readily available we are only adding more candidates to dating pools. Indian divorce rates are rising manifolds and we are to blame for it, fed by “mind-shaping” content, creating an unapologetic divorce fueled marriage- runway crash.

Jilted wife, being a single mom, enters bumble, and tinder, tries her luck at a re-marriage – via a casual route (an approach that never works), she meets similar heart broken, “patched experience men” who have "swiped around so much" – they are ready to give up – the classic recipe for “commitment phobia”. 

Totally frustrated - she re-routes, discovering new hobbies, buying 2 dogs, reading classics and flying off for expensive, curated holidays – all of which she googles with the key words – reinvent, single, depressed, cherish, holiday. Abroad, the end of marriage is celebrated with a “break up” cake and party- cemented with an agreement to co-parent: I feel we are not very far. ' The reason every time being – “irreconcilable differences”.

How do the kids fare? –Blue whale, you tube, Tik-Tok- the new “internet parents” without scruples start parenting the orphaned kids and succeed in creating a funnel of “disillusioned youth”, if guns were sold in aisles Indian shooting incidents would be more and far worse that the US. Add sugar to this destructive beverage “nuclear – disjoint families”, no Dadi Dada to protect you, no Masi to council you, no bhai to indulge you and the milk shake gets further worm infested. 

Social media is providing all the justification for our aggrandized acts of self-indulgence, breakdown of relationships and now even infidelity, we are stuck in the wheels and being churned from one “mixer grinder” of “shaped behavior” to another.

The Great Indian dating scene is even more complicated, families are unable to find us spouses and as the average age of marriage moves up, minds are getting fixated and rejecting many potential spouses- who has a milk shake at 4 PM? who’s hobby is watching TV? Instead of looking for a stable individual for marriage all of us are trying our luck around in the “fake lottery” of dating. 

Believe me if India had such an open culture some of the dating prospects would actually turn up in “superman capes”  and indulge in “toddler role plays” later in the evening. Japanese men are giving up dating & relationships in favor of “life like dolls”, ready to please, ready to say “yes”, ready to satisfy you . The ultimate “rock bottom” of society has been scraped.

India is churning, making us so vulnerable, we feel an invisible hand nudging us gently to” Buy, to do, to make a profile, to get an application downloaded” why don’t we think? Ask? Question? Discuss? 

Why do we keep feeding the ever growing hungry mouths of Google, Apple, Yahoo, Gleeden, Tinder, without as much as a wink? 

We are each at the cusp of a true Onion society; we need to peel the layers, maybe the tears which flow will clear our vision.