I wanted to write this article for some time now but I didn’t before I felt it was truly necessary. Today that I’m writing it, it really is.

It’s the year 2015. I still have no job. And I’m still living with my parents. I study. In fact, I’ve added a second school to the existing (and yet unfinished) first. I chose to follow film studies after the random choice of Chemical Engineering. And yes, this kind of thing -random choices for your future through the educational system- happens a lot in Greece. Until this transition was made, a seed of doubt was planted in me. And even though this can be painfull sometimes, there is always the other side of the coin. Because, to some extent, doubting can help you evolve. But all this is another story.

So, it’s the year 2015. You, that you’re reading this right now; have you got the patience to go on? Or maybe you want to scroll down until you find the point where this article really begins telling what it’s about? I would the same if I were you. Or I would simply close it once I found out that it’s too long to read. 5-10 minutes is a huge amount of time! You can’t waste it. Do yourself a favor. Go play the video game you just bought. Maybe watch a couple of random youtube videos or check the practically unchanged facebook feed about 200 times in a row.

Are you still there?

I like cinema. I could become really cliché and say that the only thing I wanted to do in my life was to make movies. But I won’t. Because it’s not true. I like stories too. And I’ve got plenty of ideas in my mind that I would like to share with others and myself through images. I’m not particullarly good with words. In fact, I don’t like words a lot and I don’t talk that much.

You also like stories. You enjoy doing stuff. Being productive and creative. It makes you feel alive. And you love images.

Images and screens have flooded our field of vision. They are present in every place, every hour, every moment. Yes it’s technology alright, but please take a moment and think about how funny is the sight of a man (logical being) staring a luminous piece of plastic for hours. Suddenly, monkeys can seem like the smarter creatures on earth.

Before you decide to close this text thinkin that it’s some guy that speaks nonsense trying to revolutionize against the mainstream bandwagon just to look cool, allow me to tell you that you’re most likely wrong. Of course I understand the conveniences that come as a result of the evolution of technology in our everyday lives. And I’m more than grateful that I can realize and enjoy things that a few years ago might look impossible or extremely time consuming. What I do not accept, however, is the point where technological applications become an indespensible part of someone’s life not in a helpful manner, but rather a restraining one. And yes, it’s true, this is prime example of a succesful product in the commercialized and globalized society.

Isn’t it sad that the modern society considers consuming as being more important than creating? Isn’t it pathetic how not viral it is for someone to write, read or paint? Isn’t it strange how, until about a century ago, artists and philosophers were the most prestigious members of society, but not today? And what about entertainment? Well, there’s not much to be said. It’s just that. Entertainment. Shows. Fireworks. Fabulously meaningless. I wish there was a single word in English for “good entertainment”, but there isn’t one. At least not that I know of. So I’m gonna use the Greek word for just that. Ψυχαγωγία. It literally means the education of the soul. Where is that today? Probably in the trash, hanging out with entertainment.

There are, obviously, exceptions to the rule (this is what you thought, right?) but what does that mean or prove? That we have to endure and live in pool of mud just to acquire a few diamonds? This is not right.

I don’t claim to be mr. perfect who’s gonna educate the rest of the people on how to live their lives. I’m not perfect, will never be and wouldn’t want to be. I’m just upset and frustrated about the constantly declining course of spirituality in the world. And you should be too.

It’s the year 2015. And I’m playing Football Manager 2015. Actually, I’m having a blast. First season finished in two days. That’s some true dedication right there! I’ve got also some ideas I would like to write down, but now I’m playing fm15. Man, this game rocks! As soon as I finish this match, I’ll write some. Ok, after the next one. Oh snap! It’s the transfer window. New blood in the team. I guess I’ll write some other time.

I feel wretched. I like games (in general) as much as anyone else. But leaving other things behind just to get a sense of hollow satisfaction is illogical. Am I a video gaming addict? I don’t think so. For several years I didn’t even own a pc, let alone a gaming console, and I haven’t played that many video games. But let’s face it really. Video games, tv shows and a great deal of the internet itself -just to highlight some examples- are built around a sense of creating addictiveness and false engaging for the user. And don’t fool yourself either. This abundance of information we are all confronted with daily doesn’t make you globally aware of things, but rather apathetic. Of course there is always money behind things in the modern society and so its products must be engaging.

There exists another saying in Greece and this one goes back many centuries, but remains always valid. Μέτρον άριστον. Everything in moderation. I feel we’ve lost the essence of equilibrium. And by that I mean that the relationships between men, nature and our surroundings have weakened dramatically, by posing the deification of technology as an equal counterweight. Expanding the communicational frontiers was always a trait of the human nature. This is undoubtful. But the prevailing condition in the -so called- developped societies shows warning signs. Some years from now, it might not even considered strange if the absence of your digital id would be synonymous to the absence of your real id.

I would like to end this article without succumbing to didactism. As of yesterday, I managed to delete the game that stole from me many hours of potential creativity. Will I be able to do more productive things with my spare time? I believe and certainly hope that I will. Procrastination is one of the most wanted enemies since the evolution of the internet and, as a result, a constant threat. And, apart from that, doing creative things is always tougher than consuming pointless things. But hey, it’s the stuff that makes us actually use our minds that can improve our position in the conquest of a better understanding of ourselves and what surrounds us.

If you’ve managed to reach the end of this post, I would like to thank you. If I made you think in slightest during its course, even better.