Thank you Julia, for another brilliant, insightful, much needed article! Yes, I also believe psychedelics are magical and can have a transformative impact on humanity. I appreciate your efforts to bring sanity to the world.
And I also believe that we are over-stimulated by so-called social media. Our minds, hearts, and souls did not evolve for hurry, worry, and greed for more, that’s driven by late-stage capitalism.
THANK YOU. This speaks to my soul. Everything you say here resonates so deeply, and I am only really active on LinkedIn. I deleted all the apps, including LinkedIn, from my phone,more than a year ago but still have FB and IG accounts and only use social media on my desktop. I considered getting into TikTok, but something stopped me (I suspect my wisest self). Since I've gone desktop only I've written a whole book. It's not finished, but it almost is. It is no coincidence.
This week I've been feeling discombobulated, and realised yesterday its because social media usage has crept back in. I tell myself 'it's my shit that makes it feel this way. I should be able to be in healthy relationship with it.' But to draw on your brilliant fast food metaphor, Big Macs aren't good for me. Period.
Your post has dropped into my inbox at the perfect time as I consider the year ahead - what serves my journey and what doesn't. The FOMO is real, and you voicing all of this, makes me feel less alone.
P.s. I believe I discovered you because you wrote a blog somewhere about how TikTok can help us grow on Substack. I love the magic in that it was that topic, that has led me to you and one of the best articles I have ever come across about the dark side of social media. I shall be sharing (via WhatsApp!) with friends :)
Thanks for your reflections and kind words, Claire. I love the desktop-only approach! It's a great reminder that it doesn't have to be so black-and-white.
And I hear you on the shame around not being able to regulate it better, I feel it frequently, too. But then I remind myself that extremely smart people are being paid tons of money to make these platforms as addictive as possible. It's truly not on us.
PS How ironic that you found me through the TikTok article - full circle moment :)
Super interesting. In France, there's been a big semantic difference, in the sense that "social media" was mostly focusing on the "social" side of things, and less on the media one. I think that from the very beginning, the relationships / prisms we have is through interactions etc. There's also a lot of criticisms but we more and more turn to messenger apps / private networks. Basically, reclaiming the social flag of social media platforms.
That's so interesting. There seems to be an appetite to re-tighten the social circles online as well, returning to the friends-only model (and away from random influencers) similar to early Facebook and Instagram (eg. Snapchat's comeback, BeReal)
You share your mind and it feels like a calming and continuous place. I’m healing from trauma and piecing my mind/ self together. I resonate with your experience of losing your attention span. Throughout my process I’ve experienced a shifting of it. Healing often feels retraumatizing as I encounter the events head on. I don’t know, something in your post felt familiar, so I just wanted to share.
Thanks for the vulnerable share, Amy. It resonates a lot. My memory as an adult has never been great to begin with, which I personally relate to (complex) trauma. So in some ways if that's part of your journey, you'll have to work even harder - and some of these technologies perhaps are even more disabling? Definitely an interesting hypothesis...
You’re right. Have you written about the connection between trauma and psychedelics? I’ve kept my distance from them because I worry about stuff coming up I might not be ready for. I’ve always wondered if the people who experience psychotic breaks during a trip are encountering trauma their psyches buried for their own safety. The trip being the thing that brings up too much too soon.
You're right on it, I've written extensively about how psychedelics help heal trauma. There are several articles linked in the "Psychedelics" tab - are there any themes within that that you're curious about? Perhaps I can point you to specific articles :)
Thank you. I remember a piece you wrote about remembering a trauma you didn’t know you had and how it was the event linked to your disordered eating. It’s been a while,but it was the first piece of yours I’d read. Am I remembering that right? I’m wondering about that specifically--recovering repressed memories like that. I can look around the tab to see.
This was so well said!! I think that scrolling social media is the direct opposite of meditation. Every time we scroll to a new post, it is the inverse of each time we take a moment to focus on our breath. Not only does it take us out of the present moment, but each scroll actively un-trains our mind
This rings so true for me. I’ve also learned a lot of amazing things on social media, but wish it was possible to engage with this content without the advertising, algorithms and noise. This is good inspiration for me to detox social media again… Looking forward to hearing more from you here on substack :)
The first time this kind of short videos appeared on youtube I realized that some part of me was attracted to them. I lost myself in them a couple of times, and emerged 15 minutes later wondering what happened. They felt like entertaining time swallowers. Now, I just block them whenever they appear. I don’t have a tik tok for this reason - I fear I will be swallowed by it.
I have an instagram to promote my substack publication, where I publish some short form content, photos and words.
I like reddit. Besides the specialized content, I have found community and meaningful interactions.
As for substack, I am still learning to navigate it, but I like the slow content aspect of it. I like finding thoughtful pieces, like yours, that make me want to take the time to read and reflect back. It also feels like a community, a place to exchange ideas and experiences, and those are precious.
That said, I can easily log off and spend days without looking at it, and I don’t miss it. Maybe because I grew up without it (I am 46). It is a complement and not a substitute to real life interaction.
"Entertaining time swallowers" - that's so well said. I've been swallowed by TikTok many, many times. I share your sentiment around Substack, everything feels more reflected and deliberate.
I'm so grateful we didn't grow up with social media as kids do now, I think about it all the time. The toll it takes on your mental health is undeniable. We can use it to complement life but I think for many kids now they cannot even fathom living without it. It makes me sad.
Thank you Julia, for another brilliant, insightful, much needed article! Yes, I also believe psychedelics are magical and can have a transformative impact on humanity. I appreciate your efforts to bring sanity to the world.
And I also believe that we are over-stimulated by so-called social media. Our minds, hearts, and souls did not evolve for hurry, worry, and greed for more, that’s driven by late-stage capitalism.
smoking my crack-pipe
also known as a smartphone--
where did my soul go?
Thanks so much, George. I love how you weave poetry into all of your reflections. Always a joy to read them.
THANK YOU. This speaks to my soul. Everything you say here resonates so deeply, and I am only really active on LinkedIn. I deleted all the apps, including LinkedIn, from my phone,more than a year ago but still have FB and IG accounts and only use social media on my desktop. I considered getting into TikTok, but something stopped me (I suspect my wisest self). Since I've gone desktop only I've written a whole book. It's not finished, but it almost is. It is no coincidence.
This week I've been feeling discombobulated, and realised yesterday its because social media usage has crept back in. I tell myself 'it's my shit that makes it feel this way. I should be able to be in healthy relationship with it.' But to draw on your brilliant fast food metaphor, Big Macs aren't good for me. Period.
Your post has dropped into my inbox at the perfect time as I consider the year ahead - what serves my journey and what doesn't. The FOMO is real, and you voicing all of this, makes me feel less alone.
P.s. I believe I discovered you because you wrote a blog somewhere about how TikTok can help us grow on Substack. I love the magic in that it was that topic, that has led me to you and one of the best articles I have ever come across about the dark side of social media. I shall be sharing (via WhatsApp!) with friends :)
Thanks for your reflections and kind words, Claire. I love the desktop-only approach! It's a great reminder that it doesn't have to be so black-and-white.
And I hear you on the shame around not being able to regulate it better, I feel it frequently, too. But then I remind myself that extremely smart people are being paid tons of money to make these platforms as addictive as possible. It's truly not on us.
PS How ironic that you found me through the TikTok article - full circle moment :)
It's my pleasure. I love full-circle moments like this!
Super interesting. In France, there's been a big semantic difference, in the sense that "social media" was mostly focusing on the "social" side of things, and less on the media one. I think that from the very beginning, the relationships / prisms we have is through interactions etc. There's also a lot of criticisms but we more and more turn to messenger apps / private networks. Basically, reclaiming the social flag of social media platforms.
That's so interesting. There seems to be an appetite to re-tighten the social circles online as well, returning to the friends-only model (and away from random influencers) similar to early Facebook and Instagram (eg. Snapchat's comeback, BeReal)
You share your mind and it feels like a calming and continuous place. I’m healing from trauma and piecing my mind/ self together. I resonate with your experience of losing your attention span. Throughout my process I’ve experienced a shifting of it. Healing often feels retraumatizing as I encounter the events head on. I don’t know, something in your post felt familiar, so I just wanted to share.
Thanks for the vulnerable share, Amy. It resonates a lot. My memory as an adult has never been great to begin with, which I personally relate to (complex) trauma. So in some ways if that's part of your journey, you'll have to work even harder - and some of these technologies perhaps are even more disabling? Definitely an interesting hypothesis...
You’re right. Have you written about the connection between trauma and psychedelics? I’ve kept my distance from them because I worry about stuff coming up I might not be ready for. I’ve always wondered if the people who experience psychotic breaks during a trip are encountering trauma their psyches buried for their own safety. The trip being the thing that brings up too much too soon.
You're right on it, I've written extensively about how psychedelics help heal trauma. There are several articles linked in the "Psychedelics" tab - are there any themes within that that you're curious about? Perhaps I can point you to specific articles :)
Thank you. I remember a piece you wrote about remembering a trauma you didn’t know you had and how it was the event linked to your disordered eating. It’s been a while,but it was the first piece of yours I’d read. Am I remembering that right? I’m wondering about that specifically--recovering repressed memories like that. I can look around the tab to see.
Thank you 🙏
Thank YOU for being here, reading and engaging :)
This was so well said!! I think that scrolling social media is the direct opposite of meditation. Every time we scroll to a new post, it is the inverse of each time we take a moment to focus on our breath. Not only does it take us out of the present moment, but each scroll actively un-trains our mind
Thanks for that, so true. „Each scroll actively un-trains our mind“ 😭
This rings so true for me. I’ve also learned a lot of amazing things on social media, but wish it was possible to engage with this content without the advertising, algorithms and noise. This is good inspiration for me to detox social media again… Looking forward to hearing more from you here on substack :)
Yes, I wish that too. It's kind of what every platform is like in its early stages. Perhaps we'll have a new one to enjoy for a few years soon... :)
Thanks a ton, very enlightening article. Need to read more, you resonate with me.
The first time this kind of short videos appeared on youtube I realized that some part of me was attracted to them. I lost myself in them a couple of times, and emerged 15 minutes later wondering what happened. They felt like entertaining time swallowers. Now, I just block them whenever they appear. I don’t have a tik tok for this reason - I fear I will be swallowed by it.
I have an instagram to promote my substack publication, where I publish some short form content, photos and words.
I like reddit. Besides the specialized content, I have found community and meaningful interactions.
As for substack, I am still learning to navigate it, but I like the slow content aspect of it. I like finding thoughtful pieces, like yours, that make me want to take the time to read and reflect back. It also feels like a community, a place to exchange ideas and experiences, and those are precious.
That said, I can easily log off and spend days without looking at it, and I don’t miss it. Maybe because I grew up without it (I am 46). It is a complement and not a substitute to real life interaction.
"Entertaining time swallowers" - that's so well said. I've been swallowed by TikTok many, many times. I share your sentiment around Substack, everything feels more reflected and deliberate.
I'm so grateful we didn't grow up with social media as kids do now, I think about it all the time. The toll it takes on your mental health is undeniable. We can use it to complement life but I think for many kids now they cannot even fathom living without it. It makes me sad.