Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure | Michèle Mendelssohn and Charlie Tyson
TL;DR
Decadence in our era comes in technologically mediated forms, emptied of desire and obsessed with self-optimisation Do you want to have a good time? You know, really enjoy yourself? Click here, and tell us your desires. Maybe it’s a new outfit, or some exotic cuisine delivered anonymously and steaming hot to your door.
Nauti's Take
The essay lands a real hit: infinite scroll and chatbots that keep telling you how special you are swap pleasure for mere stimulus. Nauti sees a genuine opening for products built on depth instead of frequency — the market for less-but-better is only starting.
The limit: cultural criticism like this tends to stop at diagnosis and offers readers little they can actually change on Monday morning.
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