pseudo philosophical linkdin brainrot about tiktok but on substack

incoherent dramatic post graduate musings where i offer no solutions and complain about everything

are you the flame of passion or the ashes of memory? the sheep or it’s herder? the creator or the creation? the seeker or the sought? the observer or the observed? the dosa or the mimosa? the path or the traveler? the silence or the sound? the mirror or the reflection? the rizzler or the rizzed? the family or the guy? what if the stock market crashed, the west fell, and rent control returned, and brandy melville became the subversive commune it was destined to be as predicted by a radically misunderstood one-size-fits-all all philosophy of unity?

1. your own ego and confusion    

in a time when much of the future is unclear, you may grow delirious with the ways in which you assign your imbued senses of self-importance. when you’re alone in your suburban neighborhood, a beautiful, yet empty land of making the unglamorous “practical decisions”, you may begin to feel disoriented and disillusioned with the idea of pursuing your “true desire”, if such a thing is to be.

heidegger characterizes the term “throwness” as a means for describing the underlying nature of our existence. to be thrown into the world is to inhabit an existence defined by its undefined ambiguousness; as opposed to a traditional notion of being imbued with clear and pure purpose. when much of your time is spent consuming niche romanticization of ideas that you believed to be your own, which are now pushed onto your screens via the all-consuming algorithm, you grow defensive and insecure about the saturation of your creative interests. your creative interests which previously partially fueled your sense of esoteric importance and pride. therefore, as the consumer, there is little to do but watch and watch and watch as all that you love becomes enveloped by the hungry indie sleaze wolf. a ridiculous problem to have, yet not an unfounded one when it feels like the hungry indie sleaze wolf has found you and now feasts upon your body, mind, and soul, one isabel marant unboxing at a time.

when the algorithm constantly feeds you targeted rage bait that is guaranteed to upset you, there comes a feeling of being drained by the very internet which promised to connect and clarify. you lie there with the awareness that your angst is a product of your succumbing to the algorithm, a wildly unproductive practice, both mentally, financially, all of the “llys”. what used to be the creative distraction made to find cummunity and solace in exchange for pursuing a practical form of living, is reduced to a pervasive ugly all-consuming curse. to be thrown in this world is remarkably distinct from heidegger’s initial interpretation mostly in context to the societal conditions that he experiences, with the most notable modern distinction within our times coming from the present impact of our contemporary internet. and to be even more precise, specifically in the dissolution of creative ego through the form in which tiktok encourages the commodification of art for the sake of profit. this understanding is nothing new, however, it is important to connect these ideas of heidigger’s thrownness, the commodification of niche creative endeavors, and the role that we the consumers, the sheep, the viewers, and the workers, play within this.

is radical narcissism the solution as social media success stories reflect, or is our hole being dug regardless?

2. removing your ego and romanticized aspirations

there exists the necessity to make money. this necessity is twofold, the first being to provide yourself with the material means necessary for the formation of our early independent adult lives. the second, while less apparent yet can be equally pervasive, is to attain the purchasing power to buy what we desire to feel good about ourselves.

1. material means: to put it simply, there is the unglamorous practical option or the glamorous impractical option of pursuing art. at this age for some, the practical option may include career paths such as retail, restaurants, internships with limited scopes, customer service, research assistance, data analysts, etc… within the fog of the unglamorous practical option remain quite a few important graspable truths: 

   1. one of the worst economies in recent times (inflation driving the cost of living, poor job market, the failure of linkdin/indeed).¹

   2. as a consequence, a heightened necessity to “sell out”, or more specifically not pursue art or radical social change which promises little financial stability or upward mobility.

   3. the soullessness of “selling out” but also the contemporary hypocrisy and decline of guilt in doing so despite the grand radical progressive aura radiating from our liberal arts schools². to feel disheartened enough to sell out at a time in which the politics of our politicians do not match our beliefs, the economy feels pitted against us, and much of higher education teaching us that the great global issues of the world are far bigger than you or me. corporate interests reign supreme, the electoral college won’t change, 6/9 of the supreme court justices are republicans serving life positions, democrats will continue to pander to moderates while alienating their base, the rich don’t pay taxes, etc… obviously, the mass adoption of paper straws is not the cure to climate change but rather one of the infinite deflections of responsibilities from greedy corporations’ failure to choose us. utilize forms of collective action, protest, volunteer, and donate when you can, utilize your voice, stand up for your local communities and for those without the means, but is substantial widespread change not traditionally founded by the prerequisite of accumulating one’s own wealth first? 

2. consume what we desire: with what little energy we have left from being an unglamorous sell-out or whatever semblance of a job we have, we collapse on our couches craving to be subdued, quelled, and numbed. amidst the whiplash hawk tua brainrot and ragebait, the constant idealizations of celebrities and influencers, yet congruently the ultimately unsurprising cycles of moral failures of the scores of celebrities, it may feel like societal collapse is imminent. but amidst the diddy blind items and brain rot, at least there are pockets of hope. we can relax and seek out curated glimpses of art and individualism through the young uncompromising authentic artists of our generation; the spiritually wise beautiful self expressive bi-costal nepo-baby creative directors of new york and LA. rife with philosophical nuggets of radical emotional intelligence, unmoored from the unrealistic and oppressive societal standards of corporate indoctrination, these cookie-mueller-esque free spirits freely preach knowledge long coveted and surrounded in enigma. they are the intellectuals who ask the creative questions that may just free us from the shackles of our unglamorous reality such as:

is this the best moment in boiler room history? this how to get into the best nyc fashion week parties. fit to avoid fine shyt at the function. how to potassium max to debloat your face. are these are the best size 28 selvedge japanese denim pants? whiplash hawk tua part 3.  10 red flags your face indicates high cholesterol. doomscrolling taken to a new level at balenciaga aw24. putting on your toughest fit to go to silverlake to get mogged by some 14 year old highschooler in jaded jorts, cropped jersey, and van cleef bracelet. five fall woody scents under $300. when the hang out starts to feel like a skins episode. hunter eyes tutorial. dimes square hotspot everything to order. in NYC, we may have a rat problem, our rent is outrageous, and trash is everywhere all the time, but then i forget that we get to experience this every single week. home decor turn ons: bedding edition. when i put on archival anna demeulemeester and take a walk around brooklyn i finally fulfill the 2008 prophecy. that moment when david guetta ended homophobia. whiplash hawk tua part 9. reviewing acne studio 2023 jeans. my etsy dupes came i love them. worst aura moments of all time (-1000 aura), ungatekeeping the 8 items that every aesthetic guy keeps in his room. cow print sambas?? woman experiences shell shock at ken carson concert. getting cooler and glowing up loafer recs. bonemass tips: NO bonesmashing, cut out calcium, low testosterone, no animal hunting (?)³

going back to my initial question where i asked whether you are the flame of passion or the ashes of memory, the numbification⁴ ritual of consuming such content that preaches creativity, but rather breeds comparison, feelings of inadequacy, of never being or having enough, ultimately confines the individual to the role of the consumer. now you have sold out out of a perceived or real necessity, and have been stripped and desensitized to your own creative merit. do you now:

1. succumb to the supermassive black hole⁵ that is your hapless existence within this time and place, perpetually numbed, stimulated, upset, gratified, and complacent. after all, it’s not your fault, is it? what can one mere person do when staring into such a large abyss? 

2. chalk it all up to you being a raging narcissist. who are you to be imbued with such lofty romanticized ideas of what life should be and your own self-proclaimed divine creative vision? consumed by your own narcissism, your eyes water with rage as you recall that you listened to the microphones in 2016 after hard work digging through unwanted gore and porn on 4chan. just because 12-year-olds on tiktok have spiritually gentrified your interest, are you not eased by the consolation that you are responsible for delivering three data-driven business intelligence solution proposals to key stakeholders this friday?

randomly i recommend @avocado_ibuprohen on instagram i like how addresses these things and he is an example of one of countless truly really amazing artists on social media that the internet has brought to my attention.

1. comment if you or a loved one has gotten a job from indeed

2. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/business/gen-z-college-students-jobs.html

3.  direct quotes from the text on screen of tiktoks with the AI voice reading it

4. not a real word somehow

5. muse and twilight soundtrack reference