I loved this so much. Yesterday I tried to stay off my phone, especially TikTok as much as possible. It was boring honestly and kind of hard. I found myself not wanting to do things that I used to enjoy. (I said that with the ban I wanted to read more, and i’m trying to keep that energy moving forward.) That being said, I think you are right. My brain and body need to get used to slowing down and enjoying as much as possible
yes! I think this part is what we gloss over in a lot of books or articles or notes on it. it will feel quite bad at first, and slowly our capacity expands. I think of it like how I think of first learning a sport or craft--it's going to feel funky, and that's the entrance fee. But online world has trained us out of familiarity with safe and good discomfort (in some ways)
I’m rereading The Giver by Lois Lowry right now (it’s been 15 years since I first read it in middle school) and I came across the quote today that “Life here is so orderly, so predictable—so painless. It’s what they’ve chosen.” at the expense of experiencing the best parts of humanity (and sparing the worst), and it instantly reminded me of this post that I read earlier in the day! Certainly a slippery slope to argue that we’re headed towards the type of community found in the book anytime soon, but it was a second reminder today that you can’t truly experience the pleasant if you have no experience of the unpleasant to compare to.
I'm a fully telehealth therapist who spends 6+ hours of screentime AFTER doing my sessions with clients on the computer. I want for myself to disconnect so badly, and the sense of FOMO is overwhelming. I am also someone who loves to create, and somehow creating feels more scary than staying glued to my phone to doomscroll. I am trying. I want to get outside and experience things for myself. I want to meet new people and ideas.
Enjoyed reading this! I agree, the big question I think a lot of us are asking now is, "What's the value of this?" As a comms person, I've always stuck to socials as a means of streamlined news, discourse, and organizing—but that's obviously been compromised nearly across the board. Coupled with how addictive they all are (I regularly call my phone my "fifth limb"), I think most people would welcome calling it quits. Or at least unlearning the impulses that keep our brains on this particular hamster wheel.
This is beautifully written and highly relatable. I’ve recently been coming to the same conclusion. We need to get back out there—out there being the real world and all its messy inconvenience.
I loved this so much. Yesterday I tried to stay off my phone, especially TikTok as much as possible. It was boring honestly and kind of hard. I found myself not wanting to do things that I used to enjoy. (I said that with the ban I wanted to read more, and i’m trying to keep that energy moving forward.) That being said, I think you are right. My brain and body need to get used to slowing down and enjoying as much as possible
yes! I think this part is what we gloss over in a lot of books or articles or notes on it. it will feel quite bad at first, and slowly our capacity expands. I think of it like how I think of first learning a sport or craft--it's going to feel funky, and that's the entrance fee. But online world has trained us out of familiarity with safe and good discomfort (in some ways)
Thank you so much for your content! I absolutely love your Substack and honestly how much thought you put into this! Consider me a huge fan!
I’m rereading The Giver by Lois Lowry right now (it’s been 15 years since I first read it in middle school) and I came across the quote today that “Life here is so orderly, so predictable—so painless. It’s what they’ve chosen.” at the expense of experiencing the best parts of humanity (and sparing the worst), and it instantly reminded me of this post that I read earlier in the day! Certainly a slippery slope to argue that we’re headed towards the type of community found in the book anytime soon, but it was a second reminder today that you can’t truly experience the pleasant if you have no experience of the unpleasant to compare to.
I'm a fully telehealth therapist who spends 6+ hours of screentime AFTER doing my sessions with clients on the computer. I want for myself to disconnect so badly, and the sense of FOMO is overwhelming. I am also someone who loves to create, and somehow creating feels more scary than staying glued to my phone to doomscroll. I am trying. I want to get outside and experience things for myself. I want to meet new people and ideas.
Enjoyed reading this! I agree, the big question I think a lot of us are asking now is, "What's the value of this?" As a comms person, I've always stuck to socials as a means of streamlined news, discourse, and organizing—but that's obviously been compromised nearly across the board. Coupled with how addictive they all are (I regularly call my phone my "fifth limb"), I think most people would welcome calling it quits. Or at least unlearning the impulses that keep our brains on this particular hamster wheel.
the impulses are particularly disturbing to me. I'm big on asking with a lot of curiosity what good we get from these that draws us back.
This is beautifully written and highly relatable. I’ve recently been coming to the same conclusion. We need to get back out there—out there being the real world and all its messy inconvenience.
KID: Moooom I'm booooored.
ME: (gasps) Oh you are so lucky!
KID: (rolls eyes, slinks off)
After a while, they stop complaining.