Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter (or “X”), and Facebook have reduced public thought to captions—five to seven words masquerading as “ideas.” Every idea now exists to grab attention: if not to sell a product, then to sell an image of cleverness, superiority, or charm. A lyric repurposed as profundity, a pun about a significant other being the “apple of one’s eye”—never mind the metaphorical gun to the partner’s head, forcing them into apple-picking “because it’s October” for the purpose of traction, and the intention of gaining more followers through the masses’ need to be ensalved - if not physically, then mentally/unconsciously through the manipualtion of self-perception and perception of others - not realizing that their psychological malleability is simply a tool for monetary gain for another.

And how tempting it is to copy this very critique into ChatGPT, our obedient house pet we have come to even say “Please” and “Thank you” towards, for refinement—though doing so would only prove the point. Humanity, once on the cusp of widespread enlightenment and critical thought, seems to be regressing. Knowledge, once promised to all, drifts again into the hands of an elite few. Is history simply repeating itself? Are we swinging back and forth on a cultural pendulum, each of us pushing it further, unaware we are trapped inside its arc?

I’d like to say I resisted the urge to use ChatGPT, but here we are—proof that even my rebellion has a ‘Submit’ button.