Ali Abdaal pulls his biggest smile and tells me straight to my face: „I’ve become a millionaire! In just two years and with as little as a few hours of work per week!” He swears blind that he knows how crazy that sounds, but promises over and over again: „if you keep watching my videos and if you buy my online courses you can do the same!”

Ali is probably not even lying about his wealth and stellar success. I hear people „making it” left and right. With social distancing and increased screen time I am hard exposed every day to the cheerful faces of marketeers with off the charts diet-success, creme de la creme cooking and craftsman skills, and soul-crushing Bitcoin/Gamestop/Stock market earnings.

The forever-young avatars on my screens, with their perfect hair and perfect teeth and perfect smiles and perfect bodies keep promising all sorts of things: health, wealth, strength, fame, art-skills, houses with great architecture, or even: plain happiness. If only I keep watching their videos, and keep buying their books and courses, I would be able to make it too. With just a few hours of work per week I too could have it all, they bark from my screens.

And the longer I let them bark at me, the fainter my spirit becomes. They drain my trust and hope right out of my eyes. I’m more exposed than ever. I need to chose well whom I allow to touch my soul.