The Bubble

There’s a lot of talk about The Bubble, but there are many kinds of bubbles. Steve McMoyler has his mind fixed on one of them – his phone.

Hi! Welcome to my bubble! Isn’t it cool? This is where I live. The bubble used to be my mind, but now, it’s mostly my cell phone.

Everything is perfectly tailored — to me 🙂 My Netflix gives me recommendations for what to watch, my music streaming follows an algorithm and my social media friends all think like – guess who? Me!  Me! Me! Me!

That’s important because those who don’t think like me make me uncomfortable. Or hurt my feelings. And as we all know, our feelings are the most important thing.

My father is weird that way. Like in public, if we’re sitting around, he’ll just strike up a conversation with a stranger. Awkward!

Only he says it doesn’t feel awkward. He says that the more different two people are, the more there is to understand. He says that when we talk, we naturally find a middle ground, and get an understanding of each other. Our circumstances, and life itself. He says that talks between opposing people, like, “strengthen the glue of society.” Whatever!

You can’t just let any person into your bubble. See that man out there? He’s saying that the climate is changing; he’s saying all kinds of things that are complicated and difficult. OMG, it makes me feel bad, and I think I’m offended by the fact that he makes me feel bad.

But the news in my bubble is saying that this weather is just a cycle; that people aren’t the cause, we don’t need to get all worked up about it. That makes me feel so much better!

And everyone must agree because these news stories I see, they get a lot of likes. And by “news” I mean the memes that we read to, you know, stay informed. Memes are so clear and efficient. There’s the headline on top, an interesting or funny photo, and the headline below. Boom! You’re up on the news!

Sorry, but I have to get back to my bubble. Posting, tweeting, liking, filtering. My life is so full!

With a Perspective, I’m Steve McMoyler.

Steve McMoyler works in Silicon Valley