The excerpt below comes from an article published in cnet earlier this week. The article dives into the ways in which zoomers (a colloquial term for Gen Z for you olds out there) are attempting to evade the digital panopticon. It seems that the youths are fighting back against the tech industry! Working together to design creative schemes to confuse the hell out of the algorithms that have been created to track their every movement, like, and purchase.

I won't go into too much detail about the mechanics of the evasion techniques that are being deployed by the youths because the screenshot above and the rest of the article do a great job of laying that out. Instead, let's take a minute or two to reflect on the natural drive to evade surveillance that seems to be permeating from the younger generations (or at least a subsect of them). I haven't taken a gander at any high school curriculums recently, but I think it is safe to say there haven't been too many new classes added that aim to teach about privacy in the digital age and how one can preserve it.

If this story is representative of a larger trend or a norm that exists among the youths, it highlights just how unnatural and repulsive the tech industry's tracking technology is. It seems that young people are having visceral reactions to being tracked. Self organizing in extremely creative ways to evade the Eye of Sauron. Doing all of this without a guide or much relevant history to depend on.

With this in mind, we must ask ourselves, "What the hell are we doing?" If the zoomers feel naturally compelled to mess with tracking algorithms to preserve their privacy, what kind of world are we building for them? These actions seem to be compelled from a feeling of fear and being creeped out. Do we want to be known as the generations who created an atmosphere in which everyone is innately creeped out? Do we want to be known as the Joe Biden generations? Creeping out the youths as we attempt to advance our drive for profit and power.

This isn't something I want to be remembered for as participating in and aiding. (Obligatory: This is why we Bitcoin, freaks.) Maybe it's high time we take a step back, have a serious conversation about what we're doing here, and contemplate the abolishment of the ability of these tech companies to run amok with our personal data. It is becoming more and more clear by the day; most of the tech industry has no respect for people's privacy. There are laws in place that make data collection mandatory, which in turn makes everyone less safe as their personal information tends to be stored en mass on centralized third party servers that are highly susceptible to hacks. This should not and cannot continue into perpetuity.

The youths are creeped out, and you should feel at least partly responsible.

With this story in mind, your Uncle Marty is questioning the constant push for wooing "institutional money" into Bitcoin. The focus should be on acquiring these creative, privacy conscious, and, most importantly, active youths who actually seem to care about Liberty in the Digital Age.

To all you zoomers out there, keep up the good fight. Don't ever give up.

- Uncle Marty

Final thought...

Night sweats are the worse sweats.