Society has become disconnected, according to rapper/artist Prince Ea. In a video he released on Facebook and Youtube on Sept. 30, the American poet declares "Why I Refuse to Let Technology Control Me."
Some harsh truths he shares in his "Can We Auto-correct Humanity" viral video include uncomfortable facts. Did you know that a person spends an accumulated four years of his or her life looking down at their cellphone? That's a virtual life of pixels on a screen, rather than a real life with real circumstances.
Prince Ea continues to describe how Facebook has become the ANTI-social network because it separates and disconnects people rather than connects them. Even when people are in the same room, or same bed even, their iPhone or iPad is still the focus of their attention.
"So many 'I's, so many 'selfies,' not enough 'U's and 'We's," he says.
He goes on to wonder what society has come to when, instead of friendships and real life interactions with loved ones, self-worth has become measured by the number of online likes and followers one can attain.
And with updates limited to 140-character posts or 15-second videos, he says it's no wonder that ADD is on the rise.
One of the most troubling pieces of information he shares through his damning and poetic words is that the present-day average adult currently has an attention span one second less than that of a goldfish.
Swim in that for a second.
But there is a silver lining in his message. After all his critique of the downfalls of social media, Prince Ea says we all still have a choice to take control instead of being controlled by technology.
"If I want to post an old photo, who says I have to wait until Thursday?" he says, in reference to the #ThrowbackThursday hash tag and trend.
Millions of people seem to share Prince Ea's vision. At least three million users viewed his Youtube video, and it garnered more than 150,000 shares within hours of its posting.
The irony is that in order to reach so many people, the rapper had to use social media to spread his message. But, as Prince Ea himself says, there is no auto-correct for what is happening; everyone has to make the choice to power down their cellphones at the end of the day and take a break from humanity.
