I do think anxiety is an overused word. I also recognize that our vocabulary for discussing the maladies and pathologies of the present is extremely limited. There is much work to be done in this field—in naming, defining, excavating around the new structures of feeling that are emerging day by day.
It seems to me that we are living through a new kind of late antiquity. A new kind of transition from paganism to Christianity—except in this case the transition is from Christianity to digital surveillance, or what has been called networked spirituality… or what I might call, what better be called, networked purgatory. Recognizing that we are in a networked purgatory, however, gives us a very clear motivation: find salvation: chop up networks, tune out digital life, re-engage with biological reality… reject manufactured consent, amalgamated and algorithmic reasoning.
Eventually there will be a more accurate diagnosis of the second order of effects caused by living under constant surveillance. All of us are essentially Yelp pages who are subject to 24/7 critique. It's paralyzing in certain ways. It's not hard to imagine that in the future there will be an uprising against digital record keeping. Revolution in Britain in the 17th century and France in the 18th century included the burning of deeds and the opening of prisons.