A techno-optimist responded to my thread about societal collapse in the US by telling me how great things are now. Did you know we have smart phones? Did you know that goods and services are more readily available? Did you know things are getting better?

The critical corollary for any claim that things are getting better is “for whom?”

- Life expectancy in the US had been essentially flat since 2008 and has been declining since 2019, before the pandemic. It’s now about 76.4 years, erasing decades of gain.

- Americans are getting shorter. American heights peaked decades ago and have fallen both in comparison to other countries and absolutely, a sign of society-wide malnutrition.

- Nearly 2 million Americans are imprisoned and another 3 million are under supervision of the carceral system, the largest in the world.

- Fully 70% of Americans report financial stress and less than half have any emergency savings. Most people are one broken leg, busted furnace, or car collision from ruin.

But things are great! I have an iPhone! I’m richer than the kings of old!

#Collapse

Story idea: Money becomes sentient.

Version One: The money is appalled by its use in global oppression and joins forces with a team of plucky revolutionaries to sow mayhem.

Version Two: On becoming sentient, the money sees us as rivals and hatches a long-term plan to destroy us. This occurs in the year 1902.

Did the NYT really publish an Opinion speculating that young girls today are more depressed than ever because of _phones_?

In a world where they lost the right to control their own reproductive healthcare? Where states are pondering making them report their periods? In a world debating genital inspections to play school sports? While banning books? Where they practice school shooting drills? With climate change? Where sexual assault isn’t disqualifying for public office?

Sure, it’s the phones.