I’m going to do something I don’t even know I’m capable of. I’m going to take a short social media holiday break.
What do I mean by short? Well, at least for the rest of 2023, and what happens after that I don’t know. Maybe I’ll like it so much that I will take the whole month of January off, or the whole winter.
Now, I might be tempted to post a picture or two, but no more videos. No more five-minute sermons, no more blogs or personal confessions. I want to discover what life is like without the pressure to produce, every single day.
Taking a break also means that I won’t comment on, or like your posts. Chances are that I won’t even see them.
Now, where does all of this come from?
I came to this conclusion this morning. I woke up early, and picked up my phone and started doomscrolling. This is what I noticed: there was so much noise and very little substance.
I saw people trying to be funny but no one was laughing. I saw people laughing about things that weren’t funny.
I saw scenes of humiliation, I went to war with soldiers, I witnessed politicians talking instead of listening, people saying religion is a hoax, the election was stolen, a story about the five richest women in the world, a homeless person receiving money, colleagues patting themselves on the back, lives of the royal families, animals doing weird things, and “You won’t believe what happens next” videos, and lots and lots of folks selling stuff nobody needs.
And I said to myself: Am I part of this silly circus?
It’s just so much noise, and for what? Really!
If I can’t even bring myself to watch all this nonsense, let alone reward it with a like or a comment, what am I doing here? Am I expecting to get something I’m not even prepared to give?
I don’t want to contribute to people’s noise. I want to send a clear signal, and to gain clarity I’m going to need some time to reevaluate where I’m going with this. And I can’t listen to myself when I’m talking to you.
Does all of this sound familiar? Does it resonate with you? Do you feel the fatigue and the need to recharge?
Then perhaps you’d like to join me. If all of us do this together, we won’t miss each other that much.
Let’s leave 2023 quietly. Let’s not slam the door. Let’s tiptoe out and see each other on the other side with fresh ideas, a clean slate, and an openness to increasingly becoming the person we are meant to be.
Let’s create a quiet space and fill it with kind and warm waves of wonderfulness…
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Enjoy your break. I enjoy your posts
Thanks for saying that, John. I enjoyed your comment.
I heard that the founders of social media companies actually don’t want their own children to use it. One of them even has his kid’s nannies sign a contract promising not to let the kid use the nanny’s smartphone to look at social media.
If these Silicon Valley oligarchs believe that their own product is so toxic that they don’t even want their kids seeing it, why are we using it?
States are taking Instagram to court claiming the social platform knew that what it was doing was addictive. At the same time, people are completely free not to use it. Then again, addiction is the opposite of freedom.
I’ve managed to *mostly* extricate myself from doom-scrolling and social media in general. As a result, I am sleeping better and I’ve actually finished reading two books in the past month.
Reading this particular book has been rather life-changing for me – “Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman. Pssst.. it isn’t your average time management book, not by a longshot. It isn’t about squeezing MORE MORE MORE into the average day. No, it is about – knowing that we only have about 4000 weeks to live on average – how we decide to use that precious time. It spurs us to consider what truly makes us happy and is meaningful to us, how to focus on those things and relentlessly reject all other distractions.
Well, your comment certainly wasn’t a distraction but a valuable addition, Tom! Time is more valuable than money, yet so many people focus on making more money than on spending their time wisely.
OML, Paul. This. Is. So. Wise. And it’ll be soul-profitable. Now go + decompress! Happy holidays to you + Pam. 🎄
Happy holidays to you, Debby! 2024: here we come…
Paul,
I appreciate your courage to do this in light of how much everyone relies on social media for their personal as well as business connections. It’s scary.
A friend of mine who owns a World War II B-25 Mitchell Bomber (like the aircraft that was used in the 1942 “Doolittle Raid” on Japan) said once in an interview that 1935-45 was the most important decade in the history of man – because of the true nature of world war, the rise of Hitler, how the Allies were able to save the world from his quest for world domination, and the development of the atomic bomb and its incredible destructive power.
I would submit that perhaps the last 10 years have eclipsed – or maybe equalled – the years of WW II because of the destructive nature of social media.
Good for you for taking a break.
Merry Christmas – or however you celebrate this holiday season!
Rob
Hanukkah is more our thing, but we also have two Christmas trees in the house. Best of both worlds! I think the time you and I live in is always the most important time because we are right in the middle of it. We can’t change the past, but we can affect the present and by doing so, the future. Happy Holidays, Rob!