An Exhausted Society

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A quiet atmosphere during the implementation of social restrictions on Jalan Thamrin, Central Jakarta, Saturday (11/4/2020).

We are living our lives in a state of exhaustion during the pandemic. Our breaths come short when obstacles appear one after another. Exhaustion hangs in the frown of every person who thinks about a future that is still unclear. Without any pause to consider our abilities, we are being forced to change rapidly in order to adapt to this confusing situation.

I am reflecting on the gloom and exhaustion that linger in society. Exhaustion happens quietly, hidden in people's efforts to rise again. We want to be empowered again, to be in control of the situation as before. However, things will never be the same as they were previously. This virus has rearranged society to its cultural joints.

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We have indeed been thrown into a new culture. Digitalization, which was originally a disruption, has now become the foundation of society. It is no longer enough for us to give biological meaning to our lives. More than that, we are also marked by our digital presence on multiple platforms. The pandemic has undeniably accelerated our digital fluency by living in the cyber world.

People have become skillful at using applications on various gadgets. Virtual meetings were originally one option we had to navigate time and distance. During the pandemic, however, gathering online became a must as a way of maintaining social interactions and connectedness with one another. This high level of digital activity, regardless of the benefits of their application, certainly has had a psychological effect. Is there a link to the exhaustion that exists throughout society today?

People experienced it with a mist of multiple feelings all at once: sadness, anger, worry, anxiety, and sudden tears.

South Korean-born philosopher Byung-Chul Han said the pandemic was causing fundamental exhaustion. He contemplated how South Korean society had faced the pandemic and given rise to a condition called the "corona blues". People experienced it with a mist of multiple feelings all at once: sadness, anger, worry, anxiety, and sudden tears.

Han expressed his concern that, even with vaccination efforts to strengthen the body's immunity, the social psyche was still sinking in frustrations that he called "pandemic depression". He mentioned the sad fact of the high number of suicides in South Korea.

Throughout the pandemic, society has faced various problems: economic pressure, debt, the death of loved ones, and loneliness. They have all led to despair.

Han challenged the illusion of the deification of overwork to the point of self-exploitation. Of course, work can be meaningful and is fundamental to individual welfare.

Kompas/Yuniadhi Agung

Learning atmosphere from home through the zoom application from grade 3 students of Mentari Intercultural School Bintaro (MISB), South Tangerang, Thursday (11/6/2020).

Work can also be an activity that generates creativity and pride. However, working too hard, or a workaholic culture, greatly threatens a person's physical and mental health. The doctrine of “working to death”, or the “hustle culture” phenomenon, is perpetuated by a social system that glorifies living to work, which sacrifices health and rest.

In addition, examples like China’s “996” working hour system, referring to working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for six days a week, illustrates a system of exploitation and dehumanization that has been normalized by industry.

The screen culture that is being cultivated by today’s society can indeed cause exhaustion. A person can be present on two or three gadgets, participating in three different meetings at the same time. Digital technology in this context seems to be able to make individuals work optimally, attending meetings in parallel. However, how tired will the worker be if their focus is always divided?

Zoom meetings feel so empty, regardless of whether all participants turn off their cameras.

In my opinion, this is the paradox of screen culture, where a person appears onscreen for certain events, but is neither present nor committed. Zoom meetings feel so empty, regardless of whether all participants turn off their cameras.

Han called digital communication a “dry meeting”, one without eye contact, without physical presence. This caused exhaustion, communication without resonance, without vibe, without happiness. Our eyes were looking at the screen blankly like “Zoom zombies”, he wrote.

Kompas/Priyombodo

A dance instructor demonstrates hand movements in the Katumbiri dance at an online dance practice event by the Indonesian Belantara Budaya Foundation at the National Museum, Central Jakarta, Saturday (5/6/2021).

Kristi Poerwandari, a psychology professor at the University of Indonesia, said that the science of psychology was important in observing human behavior within the framework of using digital technology, alongside the various challenges of mental adjustment, mental health, and existential issues.

People can feel increasingly restless because of the pressure of paraded images that always make them feel inadequate.

Some people deal with their loneliness by turning to the internet, presenting their ideal self-image on social media to gain followers and acceptance. Instead of feeling fulfilled, consuming the waves of information that always seem to be new also heightens feelings of loneliness. People can feel increasingly restless because of the pressure of paraded images that always make them feel inadequate.

Han said the pandemic could be a turning point to improving our way of giving meaning to life. Our collective exhaustion expressed hope for improving interhuman dependence, because we are actually together in our exhaustion and loneliness.

Kompas

Saras Dewi

Our longing for social intimacy is our first realization that we need to devote our energies not to individualism and narcissistic competition, but to love for other human beings. Love that believes in collective recovery is passed on by the understanding that we are all equally fragile, stumbling and suffering in a broken world.

SARAS DEWI, Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Indonesia

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).