Christian Valentin

The Shortcut Generation and the City of Anxiety Christian Valentin

Information is drowning us, and distraction has become the habitual state of mind in the modern world. Still, decluttering our minds through deep reading and solitude; are notions that seem not to be that significant in contemporary Western culture. However, research has shown that fast-paced societies have a higher incidence of psychological distress. Nearly 40,000 people in the United States alone experience an anxiety disorder. That is, an entire city could be populated only by anxious people; 'The City of Anxiety.' There are, therefore, many reasons to reconsider why we must slow down and reflect on modern stressful lifestyles. However, most young adults appear to agree that "the way" to live a meaningful life is by "hacking" life itself. As we can all attest, online-videos platforms are abundant with content such as: 'How to learn to play the guitar like a pro in one week.''How to be a millionaire and retire at age 32.' 'How to "read" a book in a single day.''How to lose weight without exercise using a "magical" diet.'Everything is speeding up, and the culprit seems to be: technology. Yet, in an age when it is 'unfashionable' to sit down to closely read a physical book; this provocative short book is a reminder of the usefulness of refreshing and sharping our awareness by reading short but meaningful ideas. When we expand our perception by brief 'doses' of deep reading it also allows us to appreciate simple but meaningful moments that we habitually take for granted in the fast-paced-society. The ideas presented in this short book are based on interdisciplinary authors-from stoics philosophers such as Seneca to the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. We are the creators of our moments which eventually determine our human conditions, but is not until we take a breath and look inward; face our mortality; observe nature; that we begin to create those moments. Don't let those moments begin too late in life