Goodbye Digital Age. No More Sharing Economy. No More Hustle Economy. No More …

Don’t worry, I was a believer too.

Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
4 min readFeb 10, 2023

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Photo courtesy of author

When I was cleaning my electric shaver earlier this week, I noticed a gray tint on all the tiny bits of hair that fell out of the blades.

They used to be black. At least, that’s what I tell myself. My wife takes a more skeptical view. Don’t kid yourself was her response to my grumbles about aging. It’s been happening for years.

I didn’t give it any further thought, and began my day, as usual. I checked my smartphone for any overnight messages, news, or other information. It is a bad habit of the digital age. Continually checking and re-checking our phones.

The world has changed so fast over the last two decades. Digitization. Digitalization. Digital transformation. Whatever we call it, these terms now dominate our personal and professional lives.

I realize that I must continually un-learn and re-learn the constant shifts in our world. Only then can I navigate the new complexities of life today and better prepare myself and my students for the challenges and opportunities of the “sharing economy,” the “creator economy,” the “hustle economy,” and whatever other economy that will, undoubtedly, emerge in the near future.

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