... has made us all a despicable group of hedonistic thrill seekers. This is universally construed as a bad thing. Is that really what you take away from this

... has made us all a despicable group of hedonistic thrill seekers. This is universally construed as a bad thing. Is that really what you take away from this discussion? To my eyes, the notion is that we have become passive and in the process abdicated control over our own lives. You can make an argument that that is a good thing, but that is a very different argument from yours. Were you frustrated by the lack of public outcry at the NSA's secret activities? The idea here is that people brushed off the NSA's actions because they turned back to Candy Crush et al, which was oh-so-ready to distract them, and it is this that the original author is talking about- not moral criticism of shallow hedonism.