Digital chains

The other day while chatting with Kevin I was commenting on the fact that our experimental Junes are going in opposite directions. In his most recent Sunday update, he wrote that

But I think the experiment won’t have as big an impact as I expected.

While I wrote

I’m overjoyed with how this experiment is going and I’m currently thinking about which lasting changes I should make to keep some of these positive effects around for the long run.

I thought that was quite interesting and while discussing this, after he commented that maybe the reason why this is not having much of an impact on him is because it has his digital life under control, I jokingly teased him by saying that maybe the reason is that he’s a digital addict and he can’t actually give up most of this stuff.

I even proposed to him to do a month of complete pause from all the digital projects we have going but he refused (because you’re an addict Kevin!). I’m mostly having fun with these wacky experiments but, on a more serious note, it got me thinking about all the various digital chains we voluntarily put around our necks that often end up dragging us down, making us miserable.

Probably the funniest thing people write me every now and again is “I know you’re not on social media. I wish I could do the same”.

I wish I could do the same. Never stops making me smile. There’s nothing that forces you to be on social media. Absolutely nothing. Unless your job is to be a social media manager, you don’t have to be there. And yet so many people are suffering because they can see how these stupid platforms manage to make them miserable and yet they don’t do anything to change this situation. It is such a bizarre phenomenon to observe.

And I can already see many of you out there trying to rationalize why you still are on these platforms: some of you will claim that every now and again they still find something useful on there while others will claim that they need to be there because it’s useful for their career.

Look it’s not up to me to say what you should do, that goes without saying. It’s your life after all, not mine so you do you. If you want to spend the next 5 hours doom scrolling on Instagram you’re absolutely free to do so and the only person you’re hurting is likely yourself. But at least you should realize that it is a choice you’re making. Because you don’t have to wish you could do the same: you can do the same. Nothing stops you and nobody is forcing you to live this way.

As Kevin wrote:

You don’t have to do anything, really. You just have to deal with the fallout. And I’d argue that in a lot of cases, the fallout’s just a story you’re telling yourself. One that isn’t half as bad as you think.

If you wish you could do the same, stop wishing and just do it. Delete those stupid apps. Rediscover that you can stay in touch with the people you care about in other ways. Rediscover the joy of reading a good book, of eating a meal without having to take a picture to post it on your stupid Instagram profile nobody cares about, of walking in a beautiful place and enjoying it fully, without having to document every second of your own experience for the other TikTokers. Nobody will care about your content in a few years but you’ll likely regret not being more present in those moments.