Idk tbh lol

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Buzzwords like doomscrolling and bedrotting and chronically online have become ubiquitous. We all (going to be making sweeping generalizations here) have screen times higher than we'd like to admit. Consuming content has become an essential part of our daily routines.

I think I lose perspective on how scary this really is/The reality is, if I spend two hours on my phone every day, that equals to one month a year. One month staring at a screen straight. I'd like to tell myself it makes me happy or more informed or more connected to others, but that would be described as a stage of denial. It's bad for my memory, my sleeping habits, and my productivity.

You've probably heard it all: how our monkey brains crave dopamine and will do anything to get more of it. And this may read like just another "get off your phone!" think piece. Well, maybe it is! We (again, read "I") need to get this through my brain, one way or another.

I am well aware of how preachy this sounds, but I really am sick and tired of feeling like life is going on somewhere else.

On the road to less screen time, I've tried to go out of my way to see live events. Concerts, plays, talks. Going to a physical space to see something, whatever it may be, is the most intentional thing you can do. You have to carve the time out in advance, actually follow through and maybe even pay for it; it's not slop being fed to you via tube, but more like free-range grass to chew on.

It is still consumption in a sense, but it is more active and social.

Way back when, theaters didn't have seats. There would be a stage and an open floor. The audience could eat, walk around, and even talk during performances. On some level, this sounds like a nightmare, but it is an interesting way of looking at "consuming" media. The line between performer and viewer is a lot more blurred. It is more like a gathering of people who take on different roles. When you see a movie today, you are sitting in a seat that practically forces you to look straight-ahead, and you are told to be quiet for its entire duration. There is a much more binary view of consumer and consumed, a passive role and an active one.

By subscribing yourself to the passive role two, three, or more hours a day, what happens to your life?

Your time and attention are the most valuable things you have.

Use them well.

Until next time,

Sputnik Sweetheart ♡