This is good to read. I am weeks along in my Sunday night only scrolling rules and mostly keeping to it. When Sunday rolls around I don't tend to spend long discovering it's still gross there and close the tab. Way to name the crunchy-to-alt-right pipeline for what it is. As well as this platform and how it is not exempt (that one I have to work on.) Looking forward to the results of you writing more, which can only mean good things for your readers.💜
Thanks for reading, Mary Beth! I relate to that—sometimes my partner will show me something on those platforms, and it's fascinating how jarring it can feel to look at it even in small doses after unplugging for a little while.
Completely agree—I think you touched on every reason I also deleted all of my social media while being conscious about keeping my LinkedIn and joining this platform which I lap consider a social platform. For now I’m using both to try to further my career and creativity. They haven’t devolved into doom scrolling apps (yet) but at least now I know the signs to look out for if they do!
As an always aspiring digital minimalist (I’m also in Paris!), this was a lovely post to read. I’m not quite at the point you are, but reading about your experience has inspired me to consider deleting, blocking, and locking more apps and features in the near future. Merci for sharing. 💙
Thanks for reading, Victorine! Always glad to see other Paris-based folks on here. About a year before I realized I just wanted to be done with meta completely, I was using app blockers and found they were quite helpful. Highly recommend!
We did a phone free weekend last week which was refreshing but obviously not enough of a break. More boundaries are required to truly disconnect from mindless scrolling. It’s easy to convince ourselves we “need” social media to stay connected with friends, network for work, or learning new skills but I’m challenging that line of thinking for myself because the reality is that’s not the only way. It’s certainly not the most effective way and the downside of cheap dopamine hits makes it anything but. Loved reading this, thank you for shedding light on something we can all benefit from thinking differently about. 🙏
A phone-free weekend sounds dreamy. Did you go somewhere or do it at home? I've been eyeing this phone-free retreat for a little while. You hit the nail on the head. I really wish I could figure out a way to engage with those platforms without falling into the cheap dopamine traps, but after years of trying so many different methods, I've just realized I'm better off removing myself from them. Thanks for reading, Lexi!
This is good to read. I am weeks along in my Sunday night only scrolling rules and mostly keeping to it. When Sunday rolls around I don't tend to spend long discovering it's still gross there and close the tab. Way to name the crunchy-to-alt-right pipeline for what it is. As well as this platform and how it is not exempt (that one I have to work on.) Looking forward to the results of you writing more, which can only mean good things for your readers.💜
Thanks for reading, Mary Beth! I relate to that—sometimes my partner will show me something on those platforms, and it's fascinating how jarring it can feel to look at it even in small doses after unplugging for a little while.
Completely agree—I think you touched on every reason I also deleted all of my social media while being conscious about keeping my LinkedIn and joining this platform which I lap consider a social platform. For now I’m using both to try to further my career and creativity. They haven’t devolved into doom scrolling apps (yet) but at least now I know the signs to look out for if they do!
As an always aspiring digital minimalist (I’m also in Paris!), this was a lovely post to read. I’m not quite at the point you are, but reading about your experience has inspired me to consider deleting, blocking, and locking more apps and features in the near future. Merci for sharing. 💙
Thanks for reading, Victorine! Always glad to see other Paris-based folks on here. About a year before I realized I just wanted to be done with meta completely, I was using app blockers and found they were quite helpful. Highly recommend!
We did a phone free weekend last week which was refreshing but obviously not enough of a break. More boundaries are required to truly disconnect from mindless scrolling. It’s easy to convince ourselves we “need” social media to stay connected with friends, network for work, or learning new skills but I’m challenging that line of thinking for myself because the reality is that’s not the only way. It’s certainly not the most effective way and the downside of cheap dopamine hits makes it anything but. Loved reading this, thank you for shedding light on something we can all benefit from thinking differently about. 🙏
A phone-free weekend sounds dreamy. Did you go somewhere or do it at home? I've been eyeing this phone-free retreat for a little while. You hit the nail on the head. I really wish I could figure out a way to engage with those platforms without falling into the cheap dopamine traps, but after years of trying so many different methods, I've just realized I'm better off removing myself from them. Thanks for reading, Lexi!
Thanks for reading, Steve! That's encouraging to hear. I'm looking forward to the day I won't feel compelled to use app blockers.