Huxley's soma already exists: social media, weed and anti-anxiety pills

Huxley's soma already exists: it's the mix of social media, weed and anti-anxiety pills

Nearly a century after Aldous Huxley imagined a pill that erased any emotional distress in "Brave New World", the question hangs in the air: why has no one created soma? The answer is uncomfortable: we already have it, fragmented into a cocktail of anti-anxiety medication, alcohol, social media, junk food and porn. There is no single miracle drug, but an entire ecosystem devoted to numbing consciousness.

The hard consumption data from Spain paints a picture Huxley would recognize: anti-anxiety medication is the most prescribed drug, alcohol remains the go-to legal drug, and the phone absorbs an average of five hours a day. But the interesting part is how they combine: a joint for anxiety, a couple of scrolls on Instagram to forget, an Uber Eats order to fill the void. It's not a single pill, but the effect is the same: cheap dopamine and instant oblivion.

And the business? External dopamine as a business model

Huxley's original soma was an instant, universal dopamine generator: a single compound that erased any negative emotion. Analysts today point to an economic reason: a single cheap pill wouldn't be profitable. Instead, today's business model relies on external dopamine generators —the phone, television, alcohol— that require continuous consumption and, above all, platforms that charge for every click, every view, every purchase. Amazon, social media and football are dopamine machines generating recurring revenue. A pill-based soma would kill the business.

But there's a darker reading. Are we already living in Huxley's Brave New World?

Some readers of the novel point out that the true pavor isn't the drug, but a world where human beings are genetically engineered to be happy in idiotic jobs. And they ask: who would be born today to be an Alpha, if not the son of a rich man? The system doesn't need you to take a pill; it's enough that you're distracted, consuming, not questioning anything. The internet and social media fulfill that role perfectly: they keep you entertained while the country falls apart and you can't even start a proper family.

In the end, Huxley wasn't wrong: it's just that soma isn't a pill, but an ecosystem. And it's far more profitable that way.

And intrusive thoughts? For those, half a gram of virtual reality, an anti-anxiety pill and a pack of chips. Works just the same.