DO Look Up

Photo by Bryan Goff on Unsplash

Don't miss the real-life catastrophes

Listen up, people. The comet in the movie Don’t Look Up was fictional, but there are lots of absolutely real catastrophes heading for us, and looking down at your phone all the time isn’t helping prevent any of them.*

You say you’re keeping up with the news on your phone? I might buy that if you ever put the damned thing down. But that is not what you are doing most of the time.** No, you are scrolling your social media feed or perhaps you’re gone down a weird rabbit hole and can now tell anybody who wants to hear (this is nobody, by the way) all about some esoteric thing like the history of casting metal or the secret to really good sourdough bread. (Those are two things I’ll happily chat about all day. Send me a message.)

I don’t practice what I preach, of course. (Preaching is more fun than practicing.) When I die, they’ll have to bury me with my iPhone in my hand, because they’ll be unable to pry it out of my stiff, claw-like grasp without breaking my fingers.

Climate change, the pandemic and the very real risk of the Ukraine war expanding into World War III are the biggies that should be on your radar. But there are plenty of others — many of them somewhat related to one of the current big three. Here’s a non-comprehensive list of the world’s serious problems, in no particular order, that I think we should pay attention to: Income inequality. The wave of extinctions. The dysfunction of American institutions like schools, colleges and the criminal justice system. The housing crisis. The rapid depletion of topsoil. The poor quality of the American diet. The overpopulation of Earth. The crippling costs of daycare and student loans. The decline of reading. The unaffordability and poor quality of nursing homes. The uselessness of Congress. Donald Trump.

If you read this far, I’m interested in hearing two things from you: First, what would you add or remove from my list? And second, what’s the very coolest rabbit hole you’ve fallen into lately? (Include a link. Just, you know, so the rest of us will know where NOT to go, because we are going to put our phones down and save the world. Right after we read all my fascinating, insightful Medium stories).

*Unless, of course, you’re reading every single one of my Medium stories on your phone, clapping a bunch, and forwarding them to your friends. That’s kosher.

**Here’s a list of the 10 Most Unbiased News Sources. As a 30-year journalist, I think this site is pretty solid.