platform captivity

The Voluntary Panopticon: How Convenience Became Surveillance (And You Paid For It)

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Diagram showing voluntary panopticon with smartphone as central guard tower and users self-surveilling through convenience features

Orwell’s Big Brother required force. Ours requires WiFi. In 1984, the Ministry of Truth watched citizens through telescreens installed by the state. Mandatory. Unavoidable. Totalitarian. In 2025, you installed the telescreen yourself. You pay a monthly subscription for it. You carry it everywhere. You panic when the battery dies. And you call it ”convenience.” Big … The Voluntary Panopticon: How Convenience Became Surveillance (And You Paid For It)

The Neural Mortgage: How ”Free” Services Are Mortgaging Your Brain’s Future (And Why the Bill Comes Due at 35)

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Neural mortgage visualization showing brain with chains and age threshold timeline around 35

The Neural Mortgage: How ”Free” Services Are Mortgaging Your Brain’s Future (And Why the Bill Comes Due at 35) You think you’re getting free email, free social networking, free entertainment. You’re not. You’re taking out a mortgage on your brain’s future. And at age 35, the bank comes to collect. Not in money. In something … The Neural Mortgage: How ”Free” Services Are Mortgaging Your Brain’s Future (And Why the Bill Comes Due at 35)