Thank you for this newsletter—it has been a helpful reminder to get myself offline and enjoy life more often. I have a question: if I don't specifically find myself addicted to social media (though I can certainly be drawn in to Instagram from my browser), do the same ideas apply to an urge to scroll anything on the internet? Safari/YouTube/general web browsing is my biggest culprit. For those of us with an urge to "know things" from mindless Googling or reading headlines, does this involve a similar journey of building self awareness and inquiry?
If the urge is stronger than your willpower, and you find yourself compulsively scrolling for another article, video, source, and the urge to "know things" from the internet takes over the possibility of knowing things from other non-internet sources (people, books, activities, etc.) then yes, 110%!! When I first deleted social media, I spent the next three years scrolling through forums, and it's different in that I wasn't filtering my experiences through getting validation on social media lets say, but I was wasting so much of my time, attention online and my real life greatly suffered as a result; lonely, isolated, unhealthy, underperforming. Are you happy with how you spend your time online looking for things to know? If not, definitely go on the journey of why do it then.
Thank you! Yes, I think my urge to "know things" from the internet is a compulsive behavior from an underlying lack of self-efficacy and a confidence that I'm beginning to build as part of a larger healing journey. It is encouraging to start to see the light ahead on the other side of unpacking trauma and letting go of patterns that no longer serve us. As I've been learning with my own (intentional) research and growing intuition, these insights take time, patience, and grace (rather than the "quick fixes" and answers we've been conditioned to expect from the internet) and are all worth it to move past "stuck-ness" and digital distraction.
"my urge to 'know things' from the internet is a compulsive behavior from an underlying lack of self-efficacy and a confidence" Omggg, you have perfectly, beautifully summed it up! I'm still working on this, although this past weekend, while in the midst of scrolling, I realized I ran out of things to scroll through, lost interest and wanted to be else where; outside, call a friend, read, cook, cry, do something of my own doing and it felt amazing because I used to once think it was impossible, that I was stuck here, trapped inside the urge to know their reality, their knowing, while ignoring my own. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, so, so, so worth it!!!! I love this for us <3
Yes yes yes!!! This is a paragraph i wrote recently which really relates, i did not know what leaving social media would bring but it has brought SO MUCH!
“Surprisingly (unsurprisingly) these all have a domino effect on each other. Using my phone less means I have more time for art, for hobbies, for crafting, for reading. More time for art, hobbies, crafting, reading, means I am more relaxed, have more mental space to discover new skills, learn to sew, bake bread, get outside more. More time for new skills, learning to sew, baking bread, getting outside more means I can buy less because I repair my clothes, I have new hobbies and find joy in creation not consumption, am fitter, am mentally healthy, and on, and on, and on. (Did I know that bringing my smartphone’s screen time from 9 hours a day to 1 hour a day would do all of this? No! and it probably would’ve helped!)”
I love it, I love it, I love it!!! I'm starting to wonder if anyone has left social media and regretted it, because look how much MORE you and your life become once you let go of spending all your time/life on your phone, the apps, the noise... It's a wonderful way of living.
Thank you for this newsletter—it has been a helpful reminder to get myself offline and enjoy life more often. I have a question: if I don't specifically find myself addicted to social media (though I can certainly be drawn in to Instagram from my browser), do the same ideas apply to an urge to scroll anything on the internet? Safari/YouTube/general web browsing is my biggest culprit. For those of us with an urge to "know things" from mindless Googling or reading headlines, does this involve a similar journey of building self awareness and inquiry?
If the urge is stronger than your willpower, and you find yourself compulsively scrolling for another article, video, source, and the urge to "know things" from the internet takes over the possibility of knowing things from other non-internet sources (people, books, activities, etc.) then yes, 110%!! When I first deleted social media, I spent the next three years scrolling through forums, and it's different in that I wasn't filtering my experiences through getting validation on social media lets say, but I was wasting so much of my time, attention online and my real life greatly suffered as a result; lonely, isolated, unhealthy, underperforming. Are you happy with how you spend your time online looking for things to know? If not, definitely go on the journey of why do it then.
Thank you! Yes, I think my urge to "know things" from the internet is a compulsive behavior from an underlying lack of self-efficacy and a confidence that I'm beginning to build as part of a larger healing journey. It is encouraging to start to see the light ahead on the other side of unpacking trauma and letting go of patterns that no longer serve us. As I've been learning with my own (intentional) research and growing intuition, these insights take time, patience, and grace (rather than the "quick fixes" and answers we've been conditioned to expect from the internet) and are all worth it to move past "stuck-ness" and digital distraction.
"my urge to 'know things' from the internet is a compulsive behavior from an underlying lack of self-efficacy and a confidence" Omggg, you have perfectly, beautifully summed it up! I'm still working on this, although this past weekend, while in the midst of scrolling, I realized I ran out of things to scroll through, lost interest and wanted to be else where; outside, call a friend, read, cook, cry, do something of my own doing and it felt amazing because I used to once think it was impossible, that I was stuck here, trapped inside the urge to know their reality, their knowing, while ignoring my own. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, so, so, so worth it!!!! I love this for us <3
Yes yes yes!!! This is a paragraph i wrote recently which really relates, i did not know what leaving social media would bring but it has brought SO MUCH!
“Surprisingly (unsurprisingly) these all have a domino effect on each other. Using my phone less means I have more time for art, for hobbies, for crafting, for reading. More time for art, hobbies, crafting, reading, means I am more relaxed, have more mental space to discover new skills, learn to sew, bake bread, get outside more. More time for new skills, learning to sew, baking bread, getting outside more means I can buy less because I repair my clothes, I have new hobbies and find joy in creation not consumption, am fitter, am mentally healthy, and on, and on, and on. (Did I know that bringing my smartphone’s screen time from 9 hours a day to 1 hour a day would do all of this? No! and it probably would’ve helped!)”
I love it, I love it, I love it!!! I'm starting to wonder if anyone has left social media and regretted it, because look how much MORE you and your life become once you let go of spending all your time/life on your phone, the apps, the noise... It's a wonderful way of living.
Haha i doubt it!!! And if u hate it… Uhh log back on it’s always there (unfortunately for us!!)