# Torment Nexus Torment Nexus is a catchphrase for the pattern of tech companies building the exact dystopian inventions science fiction warned them against, popularized by a November 2021 joke tweet from writer Alex Blechman. His post imagined an unnamed company reading a cautionary sci-fi novel titled Don't Create the Torment Nexus and using it as a product roadmap. By mid-2022, Twitter users were replying with the original tweet to news like MoviePass eye-tracking ad cameras and Netflix's real-life Squid Game competition show. ## Origin On November 8, 2021, two weeks after Meta unveiled its metaverse pitch at Meta Connect 2021, writer Alex Blechman posted a four-line tweet imagining an unnamed tech company inventing the Torment Nexus from a classic sci-fi novel called Don't Create the Torment Nexus[1]. The post ran without an image and worked purely on the joke that executives had misread a warning as a spec document. Within seven months the tweet collected more than 35,000 retweets and 120,800 likes[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter (origin) / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Alex Blechman (@AlexBlechman) - **Date:** 2021 ## Overview The gag works as a quick template: name a real tech announcement, then quote the Blechman tweet or rewrite the news as if it were a chapter from the fictional novel[1]. Posts commonly include a screenshot of the original tweet alongside a headline about surveillance, invasive advertising, or exploitative gig work, lining up the two as cause and effect[3]. Delivery stays dry, with the comedy coming from the gap between a corporate press release and the tone of the sci-fi it echoes. Writers often replace the words Torment Nexus with the specific invention being critiqued, as in 'they made the Torment Nexus from the one about ad-supported sleep.' This bit sits beside Man-Made Horrors Beyond My Comprehension in both mood and audience[3]. ## How to Use To use Torment Nexus, reply to news about an invasive or dystopian product by quoting Blechman's original tweet or rewriting the announcement as if it were a chapter title from the fictional Don't Create the Torment Nexus novel. Variations typically keep the 'blindly creating' framing of the original and substitute a company name and a specific invention. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Torment Nexus? Torment Nexus is a catchphrase from a 2021 Alex Blechman tweet mocking tech companies that build the exact dystopian products cautionary sci-fi warned about[1]. ### Where did Torment Nexus come from? Writer Alex Blechman posted the original tweet on November 8, 2021, imagining a tech firm inventing the Torment Nexus from a fictional novel called Don't Create the Torment Nexus[1]. The post went viral through Reddit reposts in /r/ABoringDystopia and /r/Cyberpunk over the following weeks[2]. ### What does Torment Nexus mean? The phrase names the ironic habit of inventing something a science fiction story explicitly warned against, using a cautionary tale as if it were a product manual[3]. ### How do you use Torment Nexus? People reply to news about an invasive or dystopian product by posting Blechman's tweet or rewriting the headline as a chapter from the fictional Don't Create the Torment Nexus novel, as @ThomasPortz did with MoviePass eye tracking[5]. ### Is Torment Nexus still popular? The catchphrase stayed in heavy use through 2022 as a quick reply to stories like MoviePass eye tracking[5] and Netflix's Squid Game reality competition[6], and it is still cited in tech criticism[3]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/AlexBlechman/status/1457842724128833538]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ABoringDystopia/comments/r04ogr/they_thought_it_was_an_instruction_manual/]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/torment-nexus]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/comments/sa0eh3/dont_create_the_torment_nexus/]() 5. [https://twitter.com/thomasportz/status/1492877730232295425]() 6. [https://twitter.com/NerdyChineseBoy/status/1536768228948598784]() 7. [https://twitter.com/blockwonkel/status/1536777383327502341]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/torment-nexus Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library