Don't Tell Me

Have you ever noticed how people nowadays seem so keen on justifying their choices, tastes, actions, personality traits, and anything else that subjectivates them? Not rarely, they present the rationale behind their value judgments in poor axiological fashion, searching for some kind of ethical, aesthetic or spiritual superiority. And they do so under the pretentious guise of an objective critique, healthy commentary, or something of the sort. Yet they have neither critical nor scientific basis to back their claims, which are no more than that: opinions of little to no value, born of prejudice or poorly formed judgments. Just like this text unapologetically is.

No, you are not necessarily healthier because you prefer tea to coffee. You are not more psychologically mature because you are an introvert. Your soul is not more sensitive because your favourite season is autumn, whatever that means. Eating more vegetables than average does not make you more of an adult than others your age. The mere act of reading 60 books a year won’t make you smarter. Reading should not even be considered a more enlightened way to interact with stories or the news. Although there are differences between reading something and learning things from a video or experiencing a narrative through a game, those differences are qualitative rather than quantitative.

It feels as though we are always after some excuse to feel special, different, unique. Of course, such egotistical beliefs run well within the parameters of contemporary ideology. As it turns out, the market of identity and subjectivation yields immense profits while also keeping people divided and unorganised against the actual structural forces that oppress them and impoverish their lives. Everyone wants to believe they are special. The thing is, when everybody is exceptional, no one truly is. So you might as well find solace in company and camaraderie.

Besides, to believe yourself unique at the apex of instant, mass-media society is boldly naïve. After all, even with algorithms that dictate our lives and are tailored to our particular expectations, variety can only go so far. The options we have to entertain ourselves are countless, albeit not infinite. Moreover, most people, it seems, don’t stray far from the latest craze in what they watch, read, or listen to. Quite unremarkable. Do you know what would be marvelous, however? Refusing to justify your existence, now the ideology manifests itself as a neoliberal rush for individuality through the lens of social media and self-promotion.

Life is an end in itself. It needs no meaning nor excuses. Live. Enjoy what you like. Do what you do. Be accepting of who you are. Go a little David Lynch: refuse to elaborate. Refuse to engage with daily doom and gloom, with hateful speech, or with opinions irrelevant to you. Refuse to be exposed so frequently to that kind of discourse. Refuse to overshare, to scream into the digital abyss in search of comfort from some parasocial relationship that trades your anxiety for likes. Refuse to be the entrepreneur of your own self: give your relationships and tastes no purpose, no excuses, no reasoning.

Broadly, reclaim agency over what you share and think. Over what you spend your time with. Over the thoughts and opinions you are exposed to. Reclaim what truly matters in your life, beyond what the algorithm and its billionaire owners deem important. Stop caring about what others believe is meaningful in their little echo chambers. Seek actual community. Find your own interests. Pursue them. Act, even if it’s something as small as realising you’re being distracted. Then, perhaps, you can start thinking about who you really are, other than what you consume or what an Internet feed tells you. Then, perhaps, you will find things you can fight for. Or, more importantly — live for.