This is triggered by @manuscrypt’s interesting piece on Efficient Existence.

‘Quantified self’ was one of the jargons (that went mainstream later) in marketing in the late 2000s, ever since Nike’s running shoes became apparently intelligent. (Apparently Intelligent can also be called AI.) Since then wearables became a common term and measuring every aspect of existence became a holy grail. Not to take away the many fantastic and magical products that came and continue even now in this space.

Every instance of our existence can now be measured and optimised and that seems normal. Like the piece points out, even creators are not seeing a piece of their creation as a mere self-expression, but something that needs to be optimised for the consumers’ response and reactions. But are we losing something? I don’t know that.

Most or all of our behaviour these days get explained in evolutionary terms and perhaps measuring and optimising our existence also can be? Ever since cognitive development happened in our species (70,000 years ago?), we have been trying to tweak the terms of our existence by making changes to the surroundings and environment. Many changes happened over a really long time and not seen or experienced in one life time of the early inhabitants. But since the industrial revolution, we have gathered some speed.

In a world where knowledge doubles every few hours (one source says 12 hours. Medical knowledge is said to be doubling every 72 hours, while civil engineering knowledge doubles in few months), we are constantly dealing with the fear of losing relevance. Whether one is a surgeon or a TikTok content creator.

We spend time following endless stream of quotes, tweets, tips, tricks, guides, DIYs in every single platform—books, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram. Then there are Substack newsletters, TED Talks, podcasts, Zoom sessions, and learning platforms. There are influencers, leaders, etiquette coaches, fitness coaches, nutrition coaches, mindfulness coaches, sleeping coaches, public speaking coaches, wealth coaches, leadership coaches, life coaches, gratitude coaches, conflict resolution coaches, negotiation coaches, writing coaches, resume coaches, and an endless list of other coaches. One half-decent movie or a cricket match win, and we have a slew of ‘10 Leadership Lessons from <<movie>>’ or ‘7 Lessons from Rishab Pant’ kinds. (‘9 Leadership Lessons from Radhe’ is not yet out.)

This is not to say that all these are irrelevant. But the sheer volume of stimulants one encounters every day is humongous. Being choosy and creating a method out of madness is a task in itself. Earlier we learned. Now there is meta learning, because we need to learn how we learn!

The creator is trying to stay relevant. The consumer is trying to stay relevant. It’s the struggle for Effective Existence. In the new lingo, trying every day to become a ‘better version of the self’.

Yet, one question keeps coming back to my mind. Despite all the advices like ‘Be yourself, rest everyone is taken’, aren’t we all marching to a ‘templatised existence’? Common markers and notions of the successful life (a standard trajectory), brands we ought to love and consume, mass personalised products that will make you ‘stand out’ (eh!?), and, a certain homogenisation of culture?

We chase an efficient and effective life and then land up in a templatised life.

And advertising’s contribution to this templatised existence is by no means less.

Postscript: How will all this continuous stream of information and stimulants impact in our evolution as species is difficult to predict now for sure. Like some birds evolved from shorter beaks to long and hard ones to crack certain nuts or some frogs developed longer and sticky tongues to catch flies, our finger tips might evolve for faster typing, eyes might evolve for longer screen time or necks will bend sufficiently to keep looking downward. Some brains will be evolving faster and differently, getting access and means to augment their capabilities and thereby having an undue advantage over others.