Fast-Food Network
We live in an age of rapid consumption, and this phenomenon is very accurately reflected in modern music. The effect of rapid consumption is associated with obtaining instant gratification. If earlier some people needed to get together in gangs, go out on the streets at night, and commit crimes in order to somehow satisfy the animal craving for dominance, now you can easily limit yourself to a computer game, which presents a full range, albeit virtual, but still, violence. A person plays a “shooter” online and, defeating an opponent, instantly gets the illusion of life luck and dominance, and in the physical world, this action complements the instant release of dopamine, the hormone responsible for pleasure and satisfaction.
Actually, all media is now tied to speed and accessibility. The younger generation, who grew up on an iPad, will see the world around them entirely differently. Dopamine is a kind of built-in drug, a dose produced by the brain whenever a person receives the slightest satisfaction, so all the “electric pleasures” quickly become an addiction (Wise & Robble, 2020). What’s going on now? Is human civilization moving towards a bright future or vice versa? Is it gradually approaching its decline? There is no exact answer to this question yet, so guess for yourself.
Digital Genius
Now there is a feeling in the air that we should not expect real geniuses like Mozart, Goethe, and Nietzsche because Drake and K-pop seem to have come to replace them. But still, science and art do not stand still, and in the world, there are people worthy of attention who work with something long-lasting and important. Somewhere on planet Earth, work is underway to create quantum computers, spaceships are being built, and the same drug series contains not only “pleasure” but also, sometimes, serious philosophical judgments. My point is that geniuses are also present in the modern world, and perhaps we vastly underestimate their number.
Geniuses of the past centuries wrote letters and diaries; now, many years later, these artifacts can somehow get closer to the proper understanding of their personality. Nevertheless, there is one catch — in those old days, letters were almost always written too formally. No one can be sure that our chats on social networks will not be disclosed after our death. That is why it is interesting to wait for the moment when modern geniuses will face this.
References
Wise, R. A., & Robble, M. A. (2020). Dopamine and addiction. Annual Review of Psychology, 71(1), 79–106.