Digital limbs

My phantom limb, my extension, my second brain. My phone. In lieu of some sobering pondering, I had discovered the unhealthiness of habits associated with the quick release of dopamine based on endless scrolling, exciting posts and almost real interaction with other human beings. Instant gratification, instant feedback, likes, more likes, more comments, more, more, more.

Why even bother, when the warmth, smiles, and emotions can be replaced with gifs and emojis (and cat pictures)? Well, the simple answer is that because it can’t *really* replace these feelings, the bond, the connection as all that happens on an interpersonal level, our senses pick up far more inputs than technology currently allows. Oh and also because excessive social media use kind of ruins your brain. Did I mention that? It was a pretty big deal-breaker for me.

The great purge

I have decided to “get off the grid” at least for a while, one reason being that I’m convinced my social media use is an unhealthy habit and my god, I don’t even want to see the statistics of hours spent on stuff like Instagram. Instagram in particular was a huge thing for me. Not that I had very many followers or anything, I just had my circle of friends (and some other individuals) and we would all share stupid sh*t back and forth and briefly text each other from time to time. I actually figured this was a huge problem for me over time. This social site in particular devolved into something even more abstract. It wasn’t even walls of text instead of you know, using your vocal cords anymore, it was just a weird pictogram-like communication of gifs and memes. Even more of an alienating experience than usual social media texting. I have genuinely found myself to be struggling to have a normal conversation at times. The “real” Friday talks over coffee or beer devolved into some abstract mess of code languages like communication with far less big ideas and more small talk. And I really started to hate it. When I asked my friends truthfully what they think about this, they all agreed - yes we do kind of spend a lot of time on social media. And yes, that’s actually pretty bad.

I’m old school in this regard and unless some Ready Player One invention, that can perfectly simulate a conversation comes along, I’m utterly unconvinced this is a genuine replacement for human interaction. It simply got out of our hands. And when the big companies noticed it went out of our hands they monopolized off of our collective addiction - interacting with other human beings. But our collective addiction aren’t their shi*y apps, it’s interacting with one another. We don’t need them! We never did. Take a curious peek on how much time you’re spending on social media. A lot of great things, that can genuinely help you with your everyday life just aren’t meant to overstay their welcome.

Use social media for what they truly were meant to be used (at first). To set up a meeting for a pint or two with your friends. Sent a text for a date with your partner! But do not be fooled into thinking you need social media for a meaningful human experience. You simply do not need a middle man for your relationships! And remember that if you think you are spending too much time on social media - you are spending too much time on social media by definition. Regulation is key.