February 7, 2024 (Wednesday)
Day seven:
This morning Kurt said to me, “You know the paradigm shift when we changed how we ate? I feel getting off social media is similar. It feels so good to have our lives back.”
“. . .have our lives back.”
Yes.
That’s an excellent choice of words to describe what’s happening to us: we are getting our lives back.
We’ve been attending a class on Tuesday nights at the local Purdue campus. It’s been wonderful not to scroll during the breaks, on the drive home, or when we arrive home.
Nighttime scrolling was the worst time for us. We’d mindlessly scroll in order to get the final dopamine hit of the day.
I’m not sure if this experiment will continue past one year; but I do know for sure that we will have tight boundaries and time limits if/when we do decide to enter that world again.
Last night, before falling asleep, I did mindlessly scroll the news.
Scrolling news sites will be my next territory to overcome.
I’ve removed all of the news apps from my iPhone. I’ll limit my scroll to 3-minutes. . .and only at my standing desk. (I have a 3-minute sand timer on my desk. I can get an overview of what’s happening in the world in three minutes—without all of the sensationalism.)
I feel like I’m cleaning all of the “drugs” out of my brain—and my brain feels so much freer.
I’m not saying social media or news sites are drugs.
What I am saying is the ease and convenience of scrolling devices is like a drug to the brain. . . and just like a drug, it creates the same surge in excess dopamine.
February 21
Three weeks into this experiment.
The more days I’m into this journey, the more I’m keenly aware of how scrolling my device facilitated being an idle busybody.
Seriously, when did it become normalized to idly sit and snoop into people’s personal lives; or eavesdrop into communications and opinions not directly addressed to oneself ?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and the six other popular apps are relatively new to all of us.
I joined Facebook in 2009 “just to connect with a few friends/family members.” And that’s when the slow spiral into the rabbit hole of social media started.
Gradually, I accepted more friend requests. Slowly, I invited others to be my friend. And it snowballed from there.
Now, experts advise emerging authors to have at least 20,000 “followers” before even considering publishing a book.
What??!
I listened to a podcast recently where someone was venting that Instagram had been removing likes and followers on influencers’ pages.
When did we evolve into a society of striving to have as many friends, followers, and likes as possible?
Twenty years ago, that wasn’t even on our radar.
Life was much simpler.
Our minds were free.
I recently shared with Kurt that my mind feels like it’s back in the 1980’s again. It’s hard to explain in words, but with the “unnecessary cognitive clutter” removed, I’m back to feeling normal again.
Rich Roll recently shared on his podcast that Generation X will be the last generation to know how to have a quiet mind without devices; to know boredom; to have the mental capacity to daydream and fuel creativity. Sadly, devices have taken over the brains of younger generations.
Dr. Kardaras, author of Digital Madness (I highly recommend!), says our brains were never designed to contain thousands of messages and images in a 15-minute scroll. It’s information overload on our precious brains.
Yesterday, I met with a dear friend at a coffee shop. She and I worked closely together for two years—before I had children. It was so refreshing to meet face to face and catch up.
I’ve had more intentional face to face interactions these past three weeks than I’ve had in months.
I’m not so sure I want to jump back onto the conveyor belt next February.
I’ll miss friends’ updates; I’ll miss the scrolling. . . but there’s a cost to that readily available information.
And I’m not so sure I’ll be willing to to pay the price anymore.
I’ll know in eleven more months.
Emily Boller, artist, mother, and author of Starved to Obesity, lost 100 pounds more than fifteen years ago by eating an abundance of high-nutrient, plant-rich foods. Today, she’s certified in whole plant nutrition from the Nutritarian Education Institute. She’s on a mission to combine practical, no-nonsense and cost-effective tips—with easy to understand science—in order to help anyone escape the addictive grip of the Standard American Diet. And now, she’s on a mission to bring awareness to the suffocating and potentially deadly trap of eating disorders as well.