Ground Report from the Matrix

The Matrix came out in 1999 and introduced many groundbreaking concepts to pop consciousness. Not least of which was that of a humanity plugged into cables with reality being fed directly into the head.

True to form for effective cautionary dystopian media, the enjoyment of this dire possibility is in direct contrast to the hope that it never really comes true.

Let’s take a look at our lives today

• Locked down
• Limited to no access
• Limited to no mobility

And most alarmingly

• Our entire worldview comes from a screen in front of our head ie. our reality is poured directly into our head

We are already living in the matrix.

I’m not making a facetious exaggeration for impact. It takes a moment to truly understand this.

Lockdown has forced us to learn a new way of shaping our reality. We used to be 'witness' to events, now we are all just gossip mongers.

The gossip may be good or bad. It’s never neutral though. We shuttle from one screen to the other, our personal or shared reality spouts, to take a swig and refresh our internal picture of the world.

• Heroic doctors
• Shortage of medical supplies
• Migrant worker violence
• Wild life in the cities
• Jobs being lost

Everything is tattle and chit chat.

We are reduced to just our fickle brain — the notoriously fickle brain that is the domain of cognitive biases and mental health breakdowns.

Psychological data and fake news spread show that our brains are being pulled in all directions.

Increased OTT content consumption and porn traffic skyrocketing are silent confessions that our brains are racing to calm down.

Life in the matrix could use a user manual. Neo had Morpheus to guide him, but we don’t.

We have to be our own The Architect and The Keymaker.

Here are some best practices on how to mag the digital input shape our analog reality.
- Regular digital detox
- Double check news before you forward
- Avoid 'Shared Information Bias'
- Seek human connections beyond the default
- Workout with intent
- Be stern about work-life balance

With these pre-emptive debugging measures we may avoid a shock and system failure on re-entry after the lockdown.

We don’t have to be all-enduring and all-powerful like The One. We just have to maintain ourselves.

The Matrix does end.