I think; therefore I am

Descartes said, “I think; therefore I am.” Simple logic right? A human thinks, uses rationale, understands cause and effect; therefore a human exists as a human and not a plant or an animal. Simple, rational, accurate.

I think it’s fair to assume that if I think and because of that I am, then if we think then we are. Bear with me. If society is derived from a series of individuals (“I’s”), then the same logic that applies to individuals applies to a group of individuals, thus applies to society.

So…

We think; therefore we are. Does this mean if we stop thinking we will cease to exist as a society? If we stop thinking, then will society as we know it devolve into something beyond our frame of imagination?

Obviously, this won’t happen. There will always be some type of thinking occurring in society because it is human nature. After all: I think; therefor I am. To be human, “I” must think, and since society is made up of “I’s” it will always have a thinking body. But this is a really disconcerting concept to ponder, considering that we seem to continually be given less and less opportunities to think.

If you let it, social media will seep through every seam of your day, invading your awareness of real life. It will convince you that if it can’t be said in 140 characters or less, it isn’t convenient enough to share. It tricks you into thinking that the real you is the you created on your profile and that no one cares about anyone but the you portrayed on the internet.

What do I think about that?

Today I ran into a door because I was so engrossed in what Patagonia posted on Instagram. Yesterday, I ignored half of a conversation because I was wondering if I should change my relationship status on Facebook to better identify myself to those who stalk my profile page. Sunday, I watered down a lengthy Bible verse so that I could post it on Twitter. Daily, I scroll through my various newsfeeds, reading headlines and…not reading the rest of the story.

Is that where we are headed? Focusing more on the headlines rather than the actual stories? Have our lives come to one-line descriptions about the one most compelling fact?

I woke up this morning with a damp T-shirt sticking to my stomach. The blinding sun reflected off of a raindrop perched atop a branch two inches from my window and streamed through the blinds as if nothing could hold it back. As I swung my bare legs over my bedside and searched for the floor with my feet, I slapped my screeching alarm clock one more time to ensure its silence.

A familiar bitter-warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee swept through my sinuses as I stumbled, puffy-eyed and groggy, into the living room. Charissa sat at the table, delicate and elegant as always, nibbling on her oatmeal and browsing the Internet on her MacBook. Morgan stood in front of the bathroom mirror, her curls still bouncing as if she hadn’t laid her head down since the day before, brushing mascara across her eyelashes.

This all happened within five minutes of my waking this morning, and yet is far more complicated than 140 characters can even begin to suggest.

Don’t misinterpret what I am implying; social media serves a great purpose. It allows friends who live across the world to continue conversations; it provides a venue for artists to publicize their works; it informs, to a certain extent, about world affairs and politics.                           It also begs to let it think for us.

Why is the New York Times trudging through debt while Facebook rolls in sheets of wealth? Why are Ansel Adams calendars on sale while Google Calendar accumulates more users by the minute? Why are Barnes and Nobles stores stripped stark while Pintrest pins gain velocity?

Because technology thinks for us. It threatens taking the world, our world, the world that fosters our stories everyday, viral.

What happens when we let technology do all of our thinking? Will we cease to exist? Will our stories be diluted into headlines?

We think; therefore we are.

We are a team far smarter, deeper, and more compelling than any social media site, TV show, or any other piece of technology will ever be.

We are designed to think.

So let’s think.