Hi Paul, I can totally relate to this. Just last week I decided to embark on a 'digital detox' which in my case was just turning off my phone and laptop/pc for 24 hours. The fact that I felt terrified before doing it told me just how addicted I was! But I too found that day to be absolutely magical, so productive, and my anxiety levels dropped dramatically. I'm planning on making it a regular part of my week now.
I'm very much looking forward to hearing more about your journey with this.
I'm glad it resonated with you, hearing about how others deal with digital is really helping me to work through my own emotions - it's probably quite telling that it goes back to my emotions rather than the practicalities of it all.
That's a great idea, I might incorporate no tech periods too, I think small steps and gradually making change is a good approach. I'm quite pleased that I've only spent about 5mins on IG today to check on something.
Totally hear you on this Paul. I haven’t been active on Instagram for years and use LinkedIn sparingly. But I’ve noticed that since joining Substack last year, general social media use has creeped up and it really affects my mood. I didn’t realise that Notes was a thing when I joined and feel like it’s been a bit of a trigger! Something for me to keep an eye on!
Sounds like we're in a similar place when it comes to social media, the impact on mental health isn't really talked about which is a shame. I know what you mean about Notes, it's really tempting to jump into them and get stuck. I try and see notes and posts as the same thing so that I don't get caught. Am pleased to say that I'm holding firm today which feels like a good little win
It's amazing how much life is freed up when not on IG. I was very goal-oriented on IG--before I went on, I planned what I was going to post, sometimes a week in advance. I would cut and paste it to save time and then I set a timer for 15 minutes to engage with the work of other artists and writers, sharing what I found. I realised that increasingly as I worked this way, IG limited my reach to maybe 1% of my followers, and in that 15 minutes I maybe saw 1-2 posts by artists or writers I followed. I had no time to go to the profiles of accounts I wanted to see but were suppressed by the algorithm. I don't miss it at all, but I'm not to the point of deleting it as almost every professional contact I have is on there.
You've highlighted one of the bigger issues on IG, the way that we're kept away from the people we follow is so frustrating and I think its complicating real interaction quite a lot because it's so full on. I remember in the early days when your feed was full of stuff that inspired and connected. It's a challenge to limit it but as you say, it's a necessary evil as it's where people default to for communications now. Hopefully being part of a mindful community on here will serve as a bit of a reminder
Hi Paul, I can totally relate to this. Just last week I decided to embark on a 'digital detox' which in my case was just turning off my phone and laptop/pc for 24 hours. The fact that I felt terrified before doing it told me just how addicted I was! But I too found that day to be absolutely magical, so productive, and my anxiety levels dropped dramatically. I'm planning on making it a regular part of my week now.
I'm very much looking forward to hearing more about your journey with this.
I'm glad it resonated with you, hearing about how others deal with digital is really helping me to work through my own emotions - it's probably quite telling that it goes back to my emotions rather than the practicalities of it all.
That's a great idea, I might incorporate no tech periods too, I think small steps and gradually making change is a good approach. I'm quite pleased that I've only spent about 5mins on IG today to check on something.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on too!
Totally hear you on this Paul. I haven’t been active on Instagram for years and use LinkedIn sparingly. But I’ve noticed that since joining Substack last year, general social media use has creeped up and it really affects my mood. I didn’t realise that Notes was a thing when I joined and feel like it’s been a bit of a trigger! Something for me to keep an eye on!
Sounds like we're in a similar place when it comes to social media, the impact on mental health isn't really talked about which is a shame. I know what you mean about Notes, it's really tempting to jump into them and get stuck. I try and see notes and posts as the same thing so that I don't get caught. Am pleased to say that I'm holding firm today which feels like a good little win
It's amazing how much life is freed up when not on IG. I was very goal-oriented on IG--before I went on, I planned what I was going to post, sometimes a week in advance. I would cut and paste it to save time and then I set a timer for 15 minutes to engage with the work of other artists and writers, sharing what I found. I realised that increasingly as I worked this way, IG limited my reach to maybe 1% of my followers, and in that 15 minutes I maybe saw 1-2 posts by artists or writers I followed. I had no time to go to the profiles of accounts I wanted to see but were suppressed by the algorithm. I don't miss it at all, but I'm not to the point of deleting it as almost every professional contact I have is on there.
You've highlighted one of the bigger issues on IG, the way that we're kept away from the people we follow is so frustrating and I think its complicating real interaction quite a lot because it's so full on. I remember in the early days when your feed was full of stuff that inspired and connected. It's a challenge to limit it but as you say, it's a necessary evil as it's where people default to for communications now. Hopefully being part of a mindful community on here will serve as a bit of a reminder