From Survival to Spectacle: A Critical Analysis of Civilizational Illusions in the Digital Age

This article traces how instruments devised for survival evolve into symbolic systems that govern perception and extract value. From the first sharpened stick to contemporary algorithms, functional artifacts accumulate meaning until the symbol eclipses the tool. Digital platforms accelerate this dynamic, manufacturing personalized illusions at planetary scale. Combining historical genealogy with three case studies: gamification, cryptocurrency, and the metaverse, I map a tri-phasic transformation: (1) pre-modern myths and rituals coordinated collective action; (2) modern promises of progress and control legitimated industrial rationalization; (3) digital engagement engines harvest behavioral data while posing as free, authentic connection. Drawing on Baudrillard, Debord, and Zuboff, I reveal the political economy that converts attention into profit yet sustains the appearance of choice. Contradictions remain: outages, opt-out movements, and open-source platforms expose cracks in the spectacle. I argue that symbolic beings cannot escape illusion; they can only inhabit it wisely. Four practices: illusion literacy, strategic inhabitation, temporal sovereignty, and creative misuse, outline how phronesis might redistribute agency within the fictions that make cooperation possible.