It is a fallacy to believe that because technology is advancing, humans are advancing, too. It is perhaps an illusion to believe we are “moving forward,” as if advancement can be indicated, literally or figuratively, by technological advances.

I was at a concert last weekend. Dan Deacon was playing. At many points in the show, cameras came out. And these cameras were recording the concert. And the concert footage was going to be shared online. And the footage shared online would be duplicated on some server, and people watching the footage would judge it and evaluate it, perhaps adding it to a playlist.

All up and down the strip of bars, restaurants, and venues where Dan Deacon performed, my wife and I people-watched and noticed the number of people recording stuff. I had a little epiphany.

It used to be the case that to record things clearly, you had to be good at using the tools of documentation. Pens. Still cameras. Movie cameras. Quills. Wax tablets. Many recordings of quality occurred because the tools were for skilled people. You don’t have to be skilled to take a decent-looking photograph anymore, but some people still botch photos by adding an LED flash. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You don’t have to be a computer techy to make dance music, a filmmaker to edit a movie together, or a person with good handwriting or writing skills to communicate via text. But, because creative activities have become more accessible, we spend time recording things that don’t matter much, and our ability to skillfully record and capture is diminishing.

How can we think that we are moving forward when we are capturing anything wildly? People are recording people recording people. People are recording themselves recording themselves. And people are recording people recording themselves, and people are recording themselves recording other people.

That’s not moving forward. That’s a mosh pit. We’re going in circles, bumping into each other, and capturing increasing numbers of moments of it. If our data is useful to anyone in the future, it will not necessarily be the things we recorded; it will be the aggregate, evident chaos of our self-absorption when powerful technology falls into our hands.