i took my time back from the attention economy and all i got was this lousy sense of joy

and no, i didn't quit social media, because that would be silly

although the attention economy did have a chokehold on me for a while, such as doomscrolling, reading comment sections full of bots and people who ragebait, and consuming so much content that i can’t recall what i consumed in a day, i’ve been able to change my habits and feel like i’ve taken my time back.

i wrote a long post about how i did this here if you’re interested; it’s a practical guide to digital minimalism. in a way, this post is the much shorter follow up to it.

the result is i now actually get bored sometimes! even better, once i realize i am bored, i don’t tend to reach for my phone unless it’s to talk to, or make plans with, somebody i want to see!

instead, i reach for my journal, paints, pastels, pencils, magazines, books, or my laptop so i can code, play with emerging tech, or work on projects. sometimes i dance, walk, run, do pilates at home, play with my dogs, listen to music, play dress up, organize/clean, or cook/bake.

you know, those ancient human activities that existed before we all became full time doomscrollers. lately i write for my blog nearly every day, though i don’t post often because there is a sassy voice in my head that tells me they’re not good enough (i am working on silencing her).

another byproduct is i have to really care about something to let it notify me now or really like someone’s content to follow them, though i mute most creators anyways since they post all the time to make their income.

the way i use social media couldn’t be more different. now i go to a social media site or app with a purpose, not just to scroll. often it is to post something, check on my friends, or see if my 3 to 5 favorite creators have posted anything interesting on instagram.

instagram is the only social media i have and use. truthfully, it’s the only one i like and can handle. snapchat is useless. x is useless. reddit is full of bots. facebook feels useless and evil (update: i wrote this at midnight and completely forgot… i do adore facebook marketplace for secondhand goods).

tiktok feels even more evil. linkedin is full of chatgpt slop and narcissistic nonsense. a goal i have is to become so talented, experienced and well connected in my field that i can delete my linkedin profile altogether.

i mostly avoid reddit and only view it incognito for a few minutes to see if there’s anything noteworthy happening in the news that day. though for news, i mostly refer to the associated press. i don’t rely on article titles to tell the whole story anymore; i also don’t read or generate summaries. if i was interested enough to click it, i am normally interested enough to read it to the end.

i rarely read comments because i think many or most are left by bots or the kind of person whose thoughts i don’t care to read. you know, the kind of people who are chronically online or who like to mercilessly judge other people while hiding behind a screen and anonymity.

as odd as it might sound in our podcast-audiobook-split-screen-background-noise-gotta-watch-a-movie-and-scroll-on-my-phone world, i have always enjoyed silence. now i have moments of truly loving and appreciating it. no podcast, no audiobook, no background show or movie, no youtube, no music, just silence. naturally, my thoughts and internal voice still yap away, but i can silence that too as i get better at meditation.

another positive thing is since all my notifications are turned off besides the essentials, i am rarely interrupted. when i am interrupted or pulled to a screen, it’s generally important, like an email i need to see from a client or somebody close to me wants to talk. when i don’t want to be interrupted at all, which is often, i set my laptop and phone to do not disturb. easily my favorite feature ever.

also, i don’t really have fomo aka fear of missing out.

if anything, i have iimooaibiwdsi (can you say that three times quickly): if i missed out on anything, it’s because i was doing something interesting.

i acknowledge that that is easy to do as someone who 1) loves being alone 2) is more introverted than extroverted and 3) almost always has something to do, either for my business or my pleasure.

perhaps there is a fourth reason too, which i am endlessly grateful for: i know who i am and what i appreciate doing. i try my best to stick to doing what i love, with people i love, and in environments i enjoy.

i know i hate the way doomscrolling makes me feel, i know i hate being sold things that are a gimmick or i just don’t need, i know i hate being interrupted by my phone or useless notifications, so i do my best to avoid those things now. a reason i am able to avoid them at all is because of this shift i’ve had with how i use technology.

notice i never say i quit social media because honestly, for me, it doesn’t feel right. i don’t think social media is so terrible and my self discipline is so profoundly broken that i can’t be online at all. it seems too extreme when i actually quite like some parts of social media and it’s a channel i can use for creation and learning.

i also wouldn’t recommend it because i don’t think most people would ever be on board. not realistic. not the solution! i think the real solution is being mindful about our relationships with technology and social media, which means we can then be intentional about the when/where/what/why/how of it all.

prior to following that digital minimalism guide i referenced earlier, it felt like the attention economy was definitely pulling me away from what i enjoy and into this endless cycle of consuming low quality content and destroying my attention span. oh and constantly being sold things and signing up for sites that will sell my data and never stop trying to get me to buy shit i don’t want or need.

the attention economy is designed to consume us, but i'm not for sale anymore.