The Great Disconnect”: The Great Blackout as Cultural Change, a book about AI, and an old cable story “The Great Disconnect” is an ambiguous phrase. In Russian, it does not have a single established translation, and this accurately reflects the essence: it is understood as a mass digital weaning, and a radical strategy for the rescue of artificial intelligence, and a complete daily refusal of cable TV. These meanings have one thing in common: the desire to regain control over attention, technology and infrastructure. Today, "The Great Disconnect" is the name given to the trend of consciously refusing to constantly connect to devices and social networks, especially prominent among Generation Z. In 2017 the term was used to describe cable television refuseniks, and in 2024 it became the title of a book about turning off artificial intelligence to save the world. There are several more subtle layers within this trend. 1 JOMO: The joy of missing something.
JOMO (joy of missing out) is the direct opposite of FOMO, the fear of missing out on something important. In fact, a conscious refusal to participate in the endless race of messages, trends and comparisons. 2 Bloomscrolling: consciously setting the feed to bloom Another layer: bloomscrolling is the opposite of doom scrolling, a conscious search for inspiring, calming and positive content. 3 Digital minimalism and an "analog" lifestyle. The next layer is digital minimalism. This is not a rejection of technology, but a conscious limitation of its role, when "the telephone is a tool that has a time and a place". 4 Offline Clubs and "Phone Hotels" If digital minimalism is a personal practice, then offline clubs make it a collective practice. In Europe and other regions, gatherings are gaining popularity where people voluntarily hand over their phones in locked boxes and spend time together: reading, writing, board games, just being silent or talking. 5 "Positive boredom" Another trend is the restoration of boredom.