Great book. I've read it a couple of times now but a re-read would be good. I'm now permanently banned from fb and twitter (don't know why; maybe just Divine providence.) I'm thinking it's beyond social media, it's the device itself. I'm considering putting my device in a drawer, only to be used for travel. Replace all the useful functions with inconvenient analogs. Alarm clock, record player, camera etc. I think this may be the only way for me.
I've been having these thoughts about social media for about a dozen years. In my case, the first corrosive effects (and colonizing--I specifically remember that same word occurring to me) were not that I noticed myself framing moments for posts/tweets but in imagining the reactions, which would so often be combative to what I felt were even the most anodyne posts ("if I mention enjoying this film, someone will be along to lecture me on how the director is, in their opinion, a monster; if I mention travel, someone will want to know how I can dare to think of something so frivolous as we are now living through what are, in their estimation, the worst times in all of human history"). It started to sap my enjoyment even of things I kept entirely offline because I could still imagine people moaning at me. I also began to notice and still do that the people who seem to use it most incessantly also seem to be perpetually miserable, depressed, and angry . I deleted my Twitter account around 2019 and Facebook the following year; I have another Facebook account now but I rarely use it.
I do, however, have an Instagram account, and I have to say it has brought me nothing but joy for more than a decade. I wonder if it's some combination of the fact that I've curated my feed so perfectly, that I follow so few people that I actually know IRL, that I rarely post myself and mostly only look at others' posts (although this isn't helpful with other forms of social media), or some combination of all three. It's also the only social media I've ever joined because there was something I specifically wanted to follow on there, as opposed to being nagged by a friend to join. (Now when friends nag me to join a new social media site I just politely say things like "mmm hmm.")
I do think that largely, social media horrifically flattens us as people. We are all so much more than our worst opinions and worst behaviors, which seem so prevalent on social media. I liken it to road rage, where somehow other drivers become less than human when we're all locked in our little mechanical worlds (perhaps relatedly, I loathe driving and would happily never get behind the wheel of a car again if I could).
My periods of feeling mildly addicted to Twitter/Facebook/doomscrolling are so far in the past I had actually forgotten I even struggled with it at one point until I started writing this comment. And I'd be lying if I said I got no benefits from social media--even life-changing, as it's been the basis for building several very close real-life relationships. But despite that, I think the world and most of our lives would all be vastly improved if we woke up tomorrow and social media had vanished.
I’ve had the realization that attention is all we have. It is our life energy. Every moment we must decide where we gift our attention. It gives that energy to the things we “spend” it on. Some things give energy back to us, most famously, nature. Some things, like social media, just suck that energy away to give themselves life. Thinking about it this way has helped me see how precious our attention is and helped me consciously decide where to place it. Consequently I have lost the true desire to engage on any of these platforms. I still feel the addiction, the pull, but then……simply dismiss it. The few times I give in I immediately notice that there’s nothing there for me. It’s just…boring. I don’t use any platforms anymore except Substack. And even on Substack I rarely look at Notes. I open it and maybe look at the top ten posts in my feed, usually seeing you and a couple of others but within five minutes I’m done. What I AM addicted to is long form reading. I spend hours reading essays and books. Sure, it’s a much healthier addiction, but sometimes I wonder if I need to let it go to some degree too.
I will add that meditation helps to break such addictions. Sure, social media provides a dopamine hit. But that’s literally nothing compared to the bliss state of a meditative absorption such as entering jhana. Meditation also helps one to clearly see what is driving their programming and to start releasing those compulsions.
of course it can. we just have to do a bunch of things and diversify it and break up corporate control. there are already pockets of "social media" that are great, but you have to find them and what works for your neural type. for example, i created a separate instagram account which is only to follow illustrators. it works.
No.
Simple, clean, easy answer. I like it. 😊
I read the title and thought, “Finally! A question I know the answer to!”
Great book. I've read it a couple of times now but a re-read would be good. I'm now permanently banned from fb and twitter (don't know why; maybe just Divine providence.) I'm thinking it's beyond social media, it's the device itself. I'm considering putting my device in a drawer, only to be used for travel. Replace all the useful functions with inconvenient analogs. Alarm clock, record player, camera etc. I think this may be the only way for me.
I've been having these thoughts about social media for about a dozen years. In my case, the first corrosive effects (and colonizing--I specifically remember that same word occurring to me) were not that I noticed myself framing moments for posts/tweets but in imagining the reactions, which would so often be combative to what I felt were even the most anodyne posts ("if I mention enjoying this film, someone will be along to lecture me on how the director is, in their opinion, a monster; if I mention travel, someone will want to know how I can dare to think of something so frivolous as we are now living through what are, in their estimation, the worst times in all of human history"). It started to sap my enjoyment even of things I kept entirely offline because I could still imagine people moaning at me. I also began to notice and still do that the people who seem to use it most incessantly also seem to be perpetually miserable, depressed, and angry . I deleted my Twitter account around 2019 and Facebook the following year; I have another Facebook account now but I rarely use it.
I do, however, have an Instagram account, and I have to say it has brought me nothing but joy for more than a decade. I wonder if it's some combination of the fact that I've curated my feed so perfectly, that I follow so few people that I actually know IRL, that I rarely post myself and mostly only look at others' posts (although this isn't helpful with other forms of social media), or some combination of all three. It's also the only social media I've ever joined because there was something I specifically wanted to follow on there, as opposed to being nagged by a friend to join. (Now when friends nag me to join a new social media site I just politely say things like "mmm hmm.")
I do think that largely, social media horrifically flattens us as people. We are all so much more than our worst opinions and worst behaviors, which seem so prevalent on social media. I liken it to road rage, where somehow other drivers become less than human when we're all locked in our little mechanical worlds (perhaps relatedly, I loathe driving and would happily never get behind the wheel of a car again if I could).
My periods of feeling mildly addicted to Twitter/Facebook/doomscrolling are so far in the past I had actually forgotten I even struggled with it at one point until I started writing this comment. And I'd be lying if I said I got no benefits from social media--even life-changing, as it's been the basis for building several very close real-life relationships. But despite that, I think the world and most of our lives would all be vastly improved if we woke up tomorrow and social media had vanished.
I’ve had the realization that attention is all we have. It is our life energy. Every moment we must decide where we gift our attention. It gives that energy to the things we “spend” it on. Some things give energy back to us, most famously, nature. Some things, like social media, just suck that energy away to give themselves life. Thinking about it this way has helped me see how precious our attention is and helped me consciously decide where to place it. Consequently I have lost the true desire to engage on any of these platforms. I still feel the addiction, the pull, but then……simply dismiss it. The few times I give in I immediately notice that there’s nothing there for me. It’s just…boring. I don’t use any platforms anymore except Substack. And even on Substack I rarely look at Notes. I open it and maybe look at the top ten posts in my feed, usually seeing you and a couple of others but within five minutes I’m done. What I AM addicted to is long form reading. I spend hours reading essays and books. Sure, it’s a much healthier addiction, but sometimes I wonder if I need to let it go to some degree too.
I will add that meditation helps to break such addictions. Sure, social media provides a dopamine hit. But that’s literally nothing compared to the bliss state of a meditative absorption such as entering jhana. Meditation also helps one to clearly see what is driving their programming and to start releasing those compulsions.
of course it can. we just have to do a bunch of things and diversify it and break up corporate control. there are already pockets of "social media" that are great, but you have to find them and what works for your neural type. for example, i created a separate instagram account which is only to follow illustrators. it works.