Tagged: Shadow Work

Nokia 6030

Phoney Problems: Failing at Normalcy

I got my first phone at age 16. I got my first smartphone at age 21. These numbers make little sense unless I situate myself within cultural developments. So let me clarify: I got my first phone – a Nokia 6030 hand-me-down – almost 2 years after the release of the 1st generation of...

Karl Marx Theories

The Estranged Labour of Online Surveys

Money is burdensome. As Karl Marx lectured, “wage is but a necessary consequence of labor’s estrangement”. Money is what we deserve for hours x hours of unsatisfying work. But extra money is different. Extra money is a bonus we are not entitled to receive. Extra money is a guilty pleasure we derive for getting more...

SG Streetspeaks: Religious Touting

An encounter with someone who misleads me to make me see what’s “right”.