I find it striking that a particular cynicism toward big tech exists both on the far left and the far right. It is, perhaps, one of the few positions such opposing camps can agree upon. Their cynicism points to technocrats and the mechanistic, sterile advent of things such as Uber, Netflix, AirBnb, and Social Media at large. They suggest that the technologists have turned us into addicted puppets and rabid consumers of our smart phones; devoid of true connection and consumed by the most instant-gratifying, yet ultimately vapid, hit of convenience or dopamine.

This critique suggests that opportunistic, monopolistic companies have reshaped life into a purely transactional experience optimized for consumption. In this view, Silicon Valley has given us a future engineered according to its own ideals — efficient, scalable, and frictionless — yet profoundly disconnected from the deeper needs and desires of ordinary people. Or in other words, what the mind of a calculating software engineer thinks is good and not what a “normal person” actually wants.

Both factions argue that this has come at the expense of more fundamental goods: affordable homeownership, longer and healthier lives, and stronger communities. Instead, we’ve ended up with TikTok and Grand Theft Auto V. They long for a time when small businesses thrived, and when the personal touch of mom-and-pop establishments offered something more wholesome.

Peter Thiel’s brand of cynicism is a little unique, but nonetheless still embodies much of the sentiment shared by many. He points to technological stagnation; that several decades ago we were on a path to true advancement in hard sciences e.g. energy abundance, cancer cures and flying cars, but have fallen woefully short of expectations.

But, the trouble will all of the above critique is that it lacks acknowledgment of a central issue. And that is the role we as individuals have played in the flow of events.

Thiel points more towards structural issues as the culprit, e.g. poor prioritization from venture capitalists and overregulation. And while I generally agree with this assessment, I believe the most salient point has more to do with us, as individual consumers.

There is a moment in Alan Moore’s graphic novel, Watchmen, that I think sums this up nicely. I prefer the quote in the 2009 film, The Watchmen, as the character of The Comedian stands amidst a post-apocalyptic scene of riots and violence in the background:

“What happened to the American dream? It came true. You’re looking at it.”

This is, in my view, the most logical cynicism: and that is that we have ended up where we are simply because it is what we wanted. Tech companies, in fact, have worked flawlessly well at giving us exactly what we’ve desired, with pinpoint accuracy. And so the most troubling and worthwhile critique is not of them, but of us.

We got the ability to binge watch Stranger Things for $9.99 a month while we get Ben & Jerry’s delivered via Uber Eats because it’s what we most wanted. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but in my view, that is the truth.

Consider this: you time travel back to 1984 and you survey people to choose from two versions of 2025. The first is what someone like a Peter Thiel may have hoped for; with more advancements in hard sciences. The second is what we got.

Option A

You get the ability to own a home on a minimum wage job. You live in a world where life expectancy is 20% more than it is in 1990. Electricity is a fraction of the price thanks to nuclear fusion. Your television is going to be more or less the same as it is today: there’ll be cable options for those who want to fork out and your public transport will all be airborne so you can get to work quicker. And you’ll still have your paperback street atlas for navigating. You’ll have a Discman to replace your Walkman for portable music and CD’s will cost the same as tapes, inflation-adjusted. Radio of course is alive and well. Cancer is gone and you can choose certain traits for your child thanks to genetic engineering.

Option B

You won’t be able to afford a home unless you’re upper middle class. Life expectancy will be about the same, and cancer is still with us. But get this: there’s this new thing called “the internet.” It connects everyone and everything, all the time. You’ll carry a pocket-sized “smartphone” that’s your bank, your map, your camera, your television, your record store, your photo-library, and your notepad. Any song, film, or book you want is instantly available. You can video call anyone across the globe for free. Shopping is clicking a few buttons, and nearly anything arrives at your door within days. You can order lunch, learn new skills, even build a career through this device; so switching careers is way easier. Media isn’t controlled by just a few companies, and instead millions of people create shows that you can watch and listen to on-demand. And the video games look like real life.

Oh and one more thing, there’s endless porn, and yes, it’s free.

***

I’m thinking most people are going to chose Option B. We might like to believe the majority choose Option A, but I think that’s a farce.

We all know that if we give a child the option between junk food and healthy food, what it is they’re going to chose. We like to kid ourselves that as adults, we somehow have profoundly better instincts for healthier desires. But by and large, we are not much better, at least not at this point in time.

Yet of course, there is a symbiotic relationship between us and markets. Meaning: markets gives us what we want, but they also shape we want. It is a back-and-forth. For example, through the clever use of color, iconography, and product design, social media companies manipulate us in a direction, and we in turn demand something slight different, and so the cycle continues of evolving desire. We may have an impulsive tendency to click on outrage content, and by virtue of this are fed more extreme outrage content, etc.

My key point though is that in this symbiotic dance, the most useful place for our energy is on the side of the equation that we can control. Like any relationship, most progress comes when individuals focus on what they can do, rather than being relentlessly preoccupied with what their partner should do.

So, not to be blunt, but let’s take responsibility for what we’ve asked for and start thinking about how we all ask for something different. Or in other words, how do we grow or elevate ourselves to demand something else. And I don’t mean superficially telling ourselves that we want organic avocados more than we want Netflix, I mean actually wanting it more. That is easier said that done because that’s a huge change in our human psyche. And it’s our actions that will be the proof in the pudding.

I used to be addicted to watching films. I couldn’t get through a single day without feeling like I needed to scratch that itch. In hindsight, this was symptomatic of a degree of depression: a desire for a certain flavor of stimulation, dopamine, or escapism. And it flew under the radar because this type of behavior is sadly not at all abnormal.

It’s taken years to reprogram how I glean happiness from the world and find it through means that feel healthier. I think virtually everyone is addicted to something, usually several things. And it’s incredibly rare to find someone that isn’t. Defining addiction is somewhat subjective, but it’s pretty obvious when you don’t feel like you can get through a day or week without it. Many are addicted to video games, TV shows, social media, food, sex, porn, or even vague concepts as accolade and attention.

To free oneself of addiction is to become so powerful that one can truly elevate themselves. Or as the popular meme puts it: “to become ungovernable”. It is only then that we are not slaves to corporations that seek to profit from our weaknesses. And it is only then that the abundance of options that we are gifted can be used in favor of our prosperity, rather than in challenge of it.

In other words, we can complain all we like about the algorithms that exist in the modern world. But it is ultimately fruitless without first addressing the algorithms in our head.

Supply and demand is always a dance between consenting parties. Take radical ownership of the signals you send and the moves you make.

A Symbiotic Relationship With Markets

August 24, 2025 · 6 min read — Last Edited August 30, 2025