One thing I have learned about age is that history repeats itself. The difference now is that for the first time in human history, we are watching it happen in real time. Not through stories passed down or chapters in textbooks, but through cameras, algorithms, and devices that never leave our hands. This is not just a war between nations. This is a war on humans themselves, and more specifically, on the data we carry.
From facial recognition to swiping patterns, from location tracking to behavioral prediction, we are living in a time where digital currency and attention are valued more than the dollar. Information has become the most valuable resource on the planet, and we are both the miners and the mines.
Our terms and agreements have turned into lifelong sacrifices. We exchange our privacy, our personal lives, and even our insecurities for small hits of digital dopamine. We have been conditioned to believe that convenience is worth any cost, and that free means harmless. One of my favorite quotes, and you know I have many, is simple and uncomfortable. “If it is free, you are the product.”
At this point some of you are probably thinking, okay Brandon, you are telling us things we already know. What does this have to do with fighting?
Oh third person Justin, I am glad you asked.
How can we fight it, if we do not even know why?
There are many fights happening right now, but the one I have been warning you about almost daily for over a decade is the fight against reality versus the digital space.
Right now nearly all social media platforms are being destroyed from the inside. This did not happen overnight. It has been building slowly, quietly, and intentionally. It feels as though the final major piece, TikTok, has now been compromised as well. The algorithm is no longer organic. It is fixed, constrained, and designed to shape behavior rather than reflect it.
Most people have no idea they are being controlled. Before I spiral into a full rant, let us talk about the why and the solution.
The solution begins with getting back into reality.
Your word of the year is “Discipline.”
The first step is limiting your phone usage. Not just social media, but your phone entirely. If you have the willpower to set limits without relying on apps or devices like BRICK, I highly recommend building intentional breaks into your daily routine. I am qualified to make this recommendation because I have been practicing it for four years. It has advantages and disadvantages, but overall it has been worth it. Especially in a time of digital warfare.
Why make this adjustment?
I am not a professional. These are simply my opinions based on observation and experience. Nearly all social media platforms require access to your personal data, your location, your photos, your videos, and permission to use and distribute that content indefinitely. This is the price of entry. It is framed as choice, but in reality it is not.
I have experienced this firsthand. I would stop posting, pull back, disconnect, and eventually feel shut out. Not because I wanted attention, but because the entire world now lives inside the digital space. Relationships, opportunities, communication, even validation exist there. So you fall back in line. You start posting again. That has been the cycle for years.
This time it feels different.
This time it feels more aggressive, more degrading, and more manipulative. That is why this is my flare shot into the sky. A reminder to come back to reality. To speak. To meet. To be present.
We need to return to building personal websites. Spaces we own. Places that are not governed by algorithms designed to extract attention. Use those as digital connectors, not digital identities. And then meet in person. Phones down. Disposable or digital cameras are fine. What matters is remembering what it feels like to truly look at another human. Not at what they own, not at what they wear, not at their follower count.
Just them.
Some days it feels like the end. Like we have gone too far to undo this. Then I remember that this is a human made problem, and if humans created it, humans can fix it.
I hope this made sense. I hope you felt the message, not just read it.
I hope this helps.
-B
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