We are all overwhelmed. Anyone who claims otherwise isn’t paying attention. Every day brings a new wave of invitations: subscribe to this newsletter, follow that person, join this group, watch this video, listen to this podcast, stay informed. The volume alone is exhausting. But volume isn’t the real problem.
The deeper frustration is not knowing what to trust, or even what is shaping what we’re seeing. Algorithms decide. Incentives distort. Promotion often masquerades as insight. The filters are opaque, and the result is a constant tug of war for our attention.
There’s a quiet anxiety underneath all of this. The fear of missing something important. The worry that the one thing you didn’t read, didn’t watch, didn’t catch might matter. So we keep consuming. We skim. We save articles we’ll never revisit. We stay “busy”, even when we’re not sure we’re getting smarter or more grounded.
If this feels familiar, it’s worth saying plainly: This
