We will never be modern

Blurring the lines between life and work

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  • Published 20230801
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-86-3
  • Extent: 200pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

MY INSTAGRAM FEED, an information-stream cosplaying as a hyper-relevant town square, has undergone a radical transformation in the past few years. Whereas once that endless deluge teemed with benign yet revealing snapshots of friends moving through the motions and milestones of life – brunches, holidays, weddings and pregnancies – today’s experience is far removed. Swimming between algorithmically selected carousels of memes and adverts for beauty products is a new ideological current. Gone is the hustle-hustle-girl-boss era of the 2010s – unceremoniously swept out alongside disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, controversial former CEO Audrey Gelman and any societal consensus on vaccines. The artifice of the ‘rise and grind’ mentality has been exposed. Cloaked in the guise of individual empowerment, expressed in language co-opted from radical Black feminists, rings out a new clarion call: Folks, gather round. Forget everything else. The time has come for you to Live Your Best Life! 

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