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do you ever stop and think how often you are actually stimulated? how often, and easy, it is to constantly fill the space with sound, videos, or what have you? its like everyone with a touchscreen phone is scared of boredom! i know i certainly am... ever since i was a baby ive always been stimulated with something or the other..
i think it clouds my thinking a lot. i ALWAYS have to be doing something. if im not, i have to have music. if i dont have music, i have to be talking. its chronic! i feel such physical anxiety whenever im left to my own thoughts. really, the internet is addicting! not only that, but it wastes my time beyond belief... i put my energy into learning things that dont matter, fighting for things that arent productive.. and i see it all everywhere!!! i know everyone reading is, or has been, a victim to it all..
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well, whats with it?! some would say its companies.. they strive to get into your psyche, understand how we function so they learn to market directly to all of our habits and functions.. thats stupid! they make you pay for everything, and even then, shoehorn ads and promos everywhere you look.. what the fuck!
i miss the older ways of doing things- and no, not in a nostalgic sense. everyone was so purposeful with what they interacted with... making it more meaningful.. so enriching! they only had so much of it.. so no overconsumption! isnt that nifty.. quite a foreign concept to me in a digital sense..
these days, when people refer to meditation, they describe it more like what you should be doing a lot more.. just enjoying the silence! listening to your thoughts! by eliminating things like this, it really does boost your self awareness.. your rationality.. your reaction to information.... not even mentioning how this affects social interactions!
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this brings me to another point... people are running from themselves with this stuff. especially people with mental illness.. any bad thought, they cope with shoving random stuff in their brain instead of rationalizing it.. and, ive argued with people over this.. they have to have something or they break down!! dude, thats so dystopian.. the people i see saying this stuff dont have healthcare for one reason or another.. what the fuck!!! but if youre one of these people... it would really benefit you to really sit in silence.. understand yourself, understand why you feel things, and find things to do about it that arent just media!
also, something i wanted to touch on, is that theres this conception of consuming traditional media being too expensive.. yes, that is true to some degree. but we live in the new age! do you understand how easy it is to pirate/bootleg things? not only that, but there are many people like us.. or at least that understand us.. they put stuff online for free! on websites that arent horrible!
i mean this from my heart.. i grew up poor... the reason my dad actually got into digital stuff before it blew up so much is because we didnt have money.. it was so much more accessible to pirate or bootleg anything! and you might be thinking, man isnt that risky... it can be! i think, really, it comes down to how much you trust another person..
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i hope, when reading this, you could have recognized some similarities between you, i, and whatever ive thrown on screen. and if youre gonna take anything out of this- let yourself think... have dedicated silent, non stimulating think times.. itll be hard, i know it! i feel it! but its worth it.. its helped me already..
also, if you do plan to change your habits, do yourself a favor! dont look at things so black and white! use the best parts of both traditional and digital media.. also, take things slow if you really need to... just make sure youre utilizing self control..!
anyway, heres some resources ive found to... access things... tread carefully, but ive treaded here and i loved it!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/wiki/megathread/#wiki_.1F4DC_.279C_megathread
https://www.reddit.com/r/GenP/
and finally.. what inspired me on this journey!! this could help you out too :)
https://unplatform.fromthesuperhighway.com/
PS.. make sure ur entertainment and news are always separate.. having dedicated spaces for everything is so special... for everything!!
Comments
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joel
i posted this to be less annoying to my friends.. yay!
CAT
DUDE I LOVE BEING PRESENT & IN TOUCH WITH MYSELF AND REALITY!! ive never understood how people have such short attention spans and always want to be doing something, it makes me a bit sad... i really like just ruminating in my thoughts and honestly i find too much noise and too much content way overstimulating, i can only consume a little in one day. i feel happiest when im savouring real moments. i hear a lot of people say when theyre sad they just turn to something to distract themselves from the feeling, and im very against this... when i feel sad i actually sit in it and feel it out and it always makes me feel much better afterward, like a sort of catharsis.
yeess!! i struggle with being in touch with my environment a lot, and moving away from being online so much helps it... i wish more people were acquianted with feeling their feelings...
by joel; ; Report
loldog
just this morning i was changing to get ready for a walk, i normally have some sort of video or song playing during that... i used to watch tiktok whilst getting ready... but this time i neglected to turn something on. i thought about how long short expanses feel sometimes without glancing at my phone! its embarrassing to admit but shit is DIRE! i felt this whole post.. i'll heed your advice and try to sit in silence more.
walks are such good times for mindfulness and grounding... thank u for reading!!
by joel; ; Report
Technotism
I have been trying to be more mindful of the things I engage with personally. I feel like we need constant stimuli in the modern age, which I don't like all that much. I have taken myself away from short form content in a way to try and bring myself towards enjoying content that's higher effort and worth my time. I'm trying to actually get through the endless watch lists that I feel bombarded by. maybe at the bottom I'll find tranquility is what I hope.
good idea! i think you should also make sure to give yourself time to think though obviously... i also have an endless watch list! but im sorta learning to let that go
by joel; ; Report
It's just with so many things I have already bought into them like games or books. I just need to circle back to them. I think more people need to reflect on the things they engage with. I definitely sit with my thoughts for a while or like to write them out. I think more people should practice that and truly think about the things they have engaged with. Critical thinking and media literacy is so far between at this point.
by Technotism; ; Report
nothing but the truth!!
by joel; ; Report
i hope you can find mindfulness in your endeavors too
by Technotism; ; Report