Essays, guides, and recommendations on the Loner Mindset, Books, Analog Living, Solo Travel & Mindful Consumption.
What To Do Instead of Social Media
|
Live what's beyond the screen. It feels a little sad thinking about writing this, but such is life in the age of an in-your-face, 24/7 newscycle, look-at-me-aren’t-I-interesting influencers, and cat videos. Understandably, I think it’s safe to say we’re all a little addicted to social media—even those of us trying to live a more analog life with paper books and journals replacing excessive screen time. But it’s not easy. When you’re eating dinner, unwinding after work, or just waiting in line at the grocery store, for so many of us, it’s become a natural impulse to reach for the phone. Even if we’re not looking at anything interesting. Even if we’re not really paying attention to what we’re reading or watching. Despite the lack of intrigue or real joy, it seems like we just can’t help ourselves. We. Must. Look. But really, we don’t have to. We do have a choice to use social media less or not at all. It may not be easy at first to abstain. That’s okay. It’s not your fault. Big tech companies literally spend millions of dollars lobbying governments and paying huge teams large salaries to make their apps addictive and to craft crafty algorithms that bewitch, beguile, and tantalize. Don’t give up, though. The power of good habits is real. While it may be hard at first to use social media less, the more you pay attention to your impulses and make small, daily efforts to replace them with healthier (and more enjoyable!) activities, the less you’ll even want to look at social media. Because you’ll be too busy living life in the real world. Start today. There’s no excuse. I’m giving you dozens of ideas of what to do instead of social media—and there are infinite other possibilities. THE SHORTLIST: 34 things to do instead of social media
MORE ARTICLES ON ANALOG LIVING
To living life off screen, Merry NOW GO ON YOUR MERRY WAY...👋 Questions? Comments? Salutations? I love to hear from you. Just hit REPLY and send me a note. 💌 Like these emails? Perhaps a friend would, too. Please FORWARD them this email. 🔔 Did someone forward you this email? Welcome to A Merry Loner, the blog that helps you learn to enjoy your own company. Sign up here to join the mailing list. |
A Merry Loner
Essays, guides, and recommendations on the Loner Mindset, Books, Analog Living, Solo Travel & Mindful Consumption.
Gifts that look good, feel good, and DO good. It’s that time of year again. When every brand you’ve ever interacted with (if only via a few, long-ago clicks) begins force-feeding you a list of “must-haves” for the holiday season. Things you need. Things your mom needs. Your partner needs. Your best friend needs. But you know what they’re not telling you? You don’t need it. Really. You don’t need more plastic. You don’t need more expensive, poor-quality clothes you’ll forget about come...
Wisdom, distilled. The Internet loves to write think pieces about how we’ve lost our attention spans. Where did they go? Social media is one obvious culprit. I personally like to pick on TikTok for reasons such as : 5 TikTok Challenges That Left Thousands Injured and Over 100 Dead. In general, I’m pretty anti short-form video and the fact that information is becoming more and more condensed into visually-stimulating, “aesthetically-pleasing” 30-second sound bytes. Give me words. Give me...
Because life after social media is lighter, richer, and just more enjoyable It’s not easy to put down the phone. For many of us, it has almost become an extension of ourselves. Some people even carry it on a chain around their neck or attach a micro version to their wrists. Most of us can’t leave the house without it—and our heart stops when we think we’ve misplaced it. It’s not our fault. The phone is shiny, expensive, alluring. And companies are literally spending millions of dollars to...