How can I protect my mind from technology built to keep me hooked?
By Rabbi Shalom Landau.
Rabbi Landau teaches that “your mind isn't just your greatest asset, it's your last line of defense.” Most people assume the biggest threat to their freedom is someone taking it away. “But what if the real danger is handing it over without noticing?”
He explains that billions of dollars are being spent in Silicon Valley on one goal: getting a small group of people to think so that everyone else gradually stops, “getting you to act without consciously deciding.” They don't even hide it; in their own words, they want their products to be more “sticky.” And sticky, he says, “is like a trap that feels like comfort, and the people who built the cage are not the ones sitting in it.”
The protection is the one Shlomo HaMelech named: “Mezimah tishmor alecha, tevunah tintzerekah,” discretion will protect you, understanding will guard you. No one can take your freedom, but you can hand it over. Rabbi Landau's call is to protect your ability to think.
Related concepts: Freedom you can hand over · Noise is not intelligence
Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level
Surface claim
Your mind is your last line of defense, and technology is being built to make your decisions automatic.
Fear, vulnerability, or tension
The danger is not that freedom is taken away, but that a person hands it over without noticing, acting without consciously deciding.
What may be behind it
Why does a trap feel like comfort?
Rabbi Landau says “sticky” products are a trap that feels like comfort, built by people who are not sitting in the cage themselves.
Deepest human truth
Discretion and understanding guard a person. Protecting your ability to think is protecting your freedom.
More questions from this teaching
More answers: Technology, Noise, and Human Identity · All questions · Questions about Rabbi Landau and Rivnitz