SPECIAL EDITION: Be Patient With Me... I’m From the 1900’s

In this solo episode of The Story of Us: From Cosmic Dawn to the Depths of Being, Jeff Ellison pulls on his 1990 J-Town All-Stars gear, climbs into the time machine, and takes us from pay phones and Blockbuster late fees to the always-on, always-scrolling world we live in today.Born in 1975—the same year as Microsoft, home Pong, and the Betamax—Jeff and his buddies have lived through more technological shifts in 50 years than any generation in human history. From paper maps and pagers to AOL dial-up, smartphones, and rage-bait algorithms, he unpacks what this “technology tsunami” is doing to our nervous systems and our sense of reality.Using the metaphor of an information deluge, Jeff traces a short history of the “human data diet” in three acts—Oral & Local, Print & Broadcast, and the Digital & Omnipresent Deluge—then zooms in on what it feels like to be a modern human trying to stay afloat in 74 gigabytes of daily input, constant notifications, misinformation, and AI-accelerated chaos.Most importantly, he doesn’t leave us drowning. Jeff offers practical, compassionate ways to reclaim your attention and “learn to breathe underwater”:Starting your day in a positive way (instead of doom-scrolling in bed)Creating a low-friction “information diet” with deliberate check-in windowsUsing the 60-second SIFT method to quickly filter sketchy contentGoing “old school” with analog tools: paper, books, wristwatches, and walksChoosing a few “slow media” anchors—longform reads, meaningful podcasts, and book clubs that build depth instead of outrageAlong the way, he reflects on how misinformation outpaces truth, why our empathy gets weaponized by the feed, and how discernment has become a survival skill in the digital age.If you’ve ever felt like your brain is oatmeal in a steel cage by bedtime, this one’s for you.Connect & Go Deeper:Explore the companion blog post and more reflections at The Story of Us Project: www.thestoryofusproject.comIn a world overflowing with noise, choosing what—and who—you listen to might just be the most human act left. Let’s find the signal together.