If I wasn’t on my phone watching this cartoon video about the masses who are obsessed with smartphones, I would definitely maybe never pick up a phone again.
It’s no secret that we as a society spend far too much time staring blankly into the glowing light of the devices we carry everywhere. That addiction is illustrated beautifully — and sadly — in a new video from Moby & The Pacific Void Choir for the song “Are You Lost in the World Like Me.”
Being confronted with a portrayal of the world in which you live that so accurately illustrates a big part of what is wrong with that world is never easy. We want to assume that we’re never part of the problem, until we’re shown otherwise. And, to borrow a term for our ages, it’s extra meta when we consume a piece of information (art in this case) and feel compelled to share it widely through the very means that are being criticized.
The video animation by artist Steve Cutts shows a small child navigating a world full of people who can’t bother to look away from their phones to engage with him. All manner of calamity takes place in this world and is captured by the smartphone obsessed.
They take pictures of themselves and their food. They hunt for what could pass as a Pokemon in a landfill full of discarded devices. They photograph suicides and fall into open manholes or off a cliff because they’re driven by distraction.
It’s bleak, for sure. I’m left questioning every tweet, status update, Instagram post and tug at my shirt by my own children, longing for attention.
There’s still time to look up.
