Technology Against Human Nature
Losing a sense of what it means to be alive
It's getting very hot here (again) and the grass everywhere is "yellowing" (some of it won't survive; it'll go past the point of recoverability).
This morning all the birds gathered at the same time. It happened at around 6:30AM (which is rare). Maybe they could feel the 2026 FIFA World Cup frustration. I was happy to hand them lots and lots of seeds (having used sanitiser yesterday because "Sleepy" had entered the room by mistake and left a bit of a mess).
It seems more people now recognise birds as a convenient gateway to nature (see "All the Cool Kids Are Birding") and want to "detoxify" as politicians recognise the harms of skinnerboxes and social control media [1-4]. People can "forget" or never learn how to interact with other "living things". Quoting NPR's new article ("The promise and peril of childhood"), slop "begins replacing the kinds of human interactions that young brains evolved to learn from. [...] they carry hidden risks for child development."
If you want a companion that you can feed, go out there and find wild animals. They're not pets, they're not zoo animals ("exhibits"), they're 'free-range' (freedom-exercising) social creatures like us and now that we have heatwaves and a severe lack of freshwater even just leaving them a bowl of water can be extremely helpful to them. It costs nothing but time.
I have growing concerns that people lose a sense of what it means to be alive. Too often my wife and I see people staring at tiny screens (skinnerboxes) while totally missing the big picture that unfolds around them. This surely is the product of chronic addiction, it's not natural behaviour.
We are gratified to see some politicians catching up; this is corporate, profit-first addiction which enriches people's lives in no material way; it just sedates them between doses of dopamine. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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EU Commission announces age-based restrictions for minors across social media platforms
“It is very clear that we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms,” von der Leyen said during a press conference announcing the decision Monday. “This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children.”
While von der Leyen declined to specify a minimum age, she expressed the EU’s intention to have a draft law prepared by early fall. However, referring to the panel’s report and their recommendations regarding internet use among minors, the commission president did express an interest in the suggested “staged approach” to internet use to reflect the children’s age group and expected maturity level, calling this “very convincing.”
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President von der Leyen receives the report of the Special Panel on Child Safety Online
Children's wellbeing – on and offline – is a cause close to the President's heart. When launching the panel, the President committed to an inclusive process, bringing together experts, parents, and young people themselves. She detailed: “We will approach this carefully and listen to everyone. And in all of this work we will be guided by the need to empower parents and build a safer Europe for our children. Because when it comes to our kids' safety online, Europe believes in parents, not profits.”
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Child Safety Online: EU Weighs Social Media Age Rules
The European Commission is moving closer to introducing new measures on Child Safety Online after President Ursula von der Leyen received recommendations from a Special Panel examining the impact of social media on children. The report, released Monday, calls for stronger safeguards, greater platform accountability, and age-appropriate restrictions as the EU prepares to review the findings and present legislative proposals after the summer.
Speaking alongside the panel’s co-chairs, von der Leyen said protecting children online has become one of the most pressing challenges facing governments. She stressed that parents, not algorithms, should shape children’s development and warned that the current digital environment is exposing young users to growing risks.
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Social media curfew for teens: is it pointless? - The Latest
Under the plan, aimed at reducing online harms, certain apps would be blocked by default from midnight to 6am.
Image source: Sydney Australia