A clever and hilarious video presents a mock smartphone ad, dubbing it the “existential crisis rectangle.” It calls out its standout features: sleep deprivation, mind-numbing algorithms, unprecedented narcissism—and witnessing things previously reserved for the eyes of war veterans.

And we laughed. Because it’s funny.

And we paused. Because it’s true.

A Window into Everything—Good or Horrific

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A post shared by Michael Crain (@michaeljasoncrain)

Smartphones have given us a 24/7, front-row seat to global joy, tragedy, chaos, and cruelty. It’s no longer rare to see violence, death, outrage, and conspiracy scroll past between cooking videos and memes. This isn’t about having access to information—it’s about the psychological weight of seeing everything all the time, without context, without processing, without consent.

We’ve normalized exposure to the worst parts of humanity.

And we’ve embedded it in a device we carry into bed.

What happens when your brain can't tell the difference between witnessing trauma and just “scrolling past” it?

Numb, Angry, Paranoid, Disconnected

Younger generations have grown up watching school fights, police brutality, shootings, war footage, and hate crimes on their phones—before they’ve ever held a real job or fallen in love. Adults use the same devices to doomscroll news that makes them feel helpless, or to compare their lives against endless highlight reels that fuel self-doubt.

You don’t need to be in a war zone to feel mentally under siege.

You just need a Wi-Fi signal and a few minutes of idle time.

And it’s not a glitch.

The “existential crisis rectangle” isn’t broken—it’s working as designed.

The Joke Has a Point

The post is biting and brilliant because it’s not really a joke—it’s a mirror. He’s naming what we all feel but rarely say: that living through your phone can slowly erode your sense of safety, trust, focus, and peace. And it’s not just about content. It’s about design. The infinite scroll. The algorithm. The way it keeps you watching, clicking, reacting—even when it’s hurting you.

We can’t fix the world.

But we can take back the rectangle.

We built PauseOS because we believe the rectangle doesn’t have to be a crisis machine.

It can be a tool again.

It can be quiet.

It can help you reconnect—with yourself, with your people, with your attention.

But only if we design it to do that.

PauseOS: For People Who’ve Had Enough

PauseOS doesn’t pretend to be an escape. The world is still complicated. People still hurt each other. But your phone doesn’t have to drag you into that chaos every day.

There’s no feed. No app store. No algorithm trying to guess what will outrage you into engagement. Just what you choose to keep: your tools, your notes, your thoughts, your quiet.

We can’t fix the world.

But we can take back the rectangle.