thinking through social media

This week, New England got their first snowstorm for the season; crypto didn’t do too well; Plec’s favorite Pedro made a bookstagram; and I got three new books. (Art Monsters, Blackouts, and The MANIAC.)*

In anticipation of my return to London, I’ve been feeling a combination of nerves and melancholy. There are many possible reasons for this:

1. Excessive amounts of caffeine**

2. A big to-do list

3. Social media ennui

4. Redacted problem...

Let’s break this down and think of solutions: I cut down on the coffee, I recognize that the to-do list will mostly be done before my flight, and I try to chill with redacted problem. Though I often wake up thinking about it — it will be sorted by the end of the year.

Now, that leaves us with social media. To be clear: I am not suffering from brain rot. Instead, I look out at a stilted social media landscape and find myself dismayed and dissatisfied. Mini mics, street interviews, podcasters, normies, macro-influencers, micro-influencers, nano-influencers, sprinkle sprinkle, blind items, hot takes, etc., etc.

The social landscape is dire. It’s neither inspiring nor entertaining and I’m not getting a whole lot of value out of it. As such, I’m committed to curtailing my social usage in the new year and Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World aided me in this move.

The book’s main argument emphasizes the necessity for individuals to have a philosophy of technological use rooted in their values. Once you have done so, you are on the path of optimizing your tech to work for you and clearing the clutter. Thereby, gaining more autonomy for yourself.

Newport guides his readers through his findings and the digital declutter he recommends to establish a new relationship with technology. He discusses how tech companies offer their customers vague values to deflect their nefarious ways, why social media is identified as a behavioral addiction, how we should reclaim leisure and even provides case studies describing how different communities, such as the Amish and Mennonites, experiment with technology.

It’s all very compelling. But, the most interesting sections for me were the conversations around solitude and walking since our excessive use of social often curtails, and even, on occasion, denies us opportunities for both solitude and movement.

Newport defines solitude as “a subjective state where your mind is free from input by other minds.” With this definition in mind, he points that out listening to music while alone does not count as solitude. Instead, we need silence because it is through solitude we are awarded with unhurried self-reflection. Pockets of silence and stillness, allow us to be present and focus on our own thoughts. Those moments - and here, I am speak from my own life experiences - are where breakthroughs occur, solutions are found, and move are made.

Before we conclude, I want to share a quote Newport included in his discussion around solitude from the novelist Mary Sarton:

In light of my social media ennui and Newport’s book, I have altered my social usage and adopted new rules of engagement. Some of them include: walking more, spending time away from my tech, deactivating Gmail on my phone, and more. I’m not going to lie — sometimes these shifts are really boring lol. But boredom is good for me. I find that once I have hit my boredom threshold, I actually focus my attention on the things I need to do. And, in 2024, we got a lot to do.

No recents reads this week. Instead, here are some tweets that I enjoyed over the holidays: Bode lol, Virginia Woolf quote, and a tweet pertinent to today’s newsletter topic.

*Not monetized
**I abstained from February to April of 2023 and then was mostly off it in the summer. The last three months tho!
***I read this twice in December. The second time I took diligent notes by hand lol.