Phones

My phone creates problems for me. It sucks my attention, energy, and peace of mind. Rarely does something interesting happens on social media. It seems more and more to me that the time needed to consistently see these interesting bits is not worth it.

Maybe 1 out of every 200 times I log on does something interesting happen on social media. My Twitter is curated to be much more interesting - tech, medicine, and the markets. Scrolling on social media is escapism. The activation energy to do it is so low that it is the easiest possible thing to do at any moment to alleviate any non-positive feeling I may have, especially boredom. I feel drained after I scroll for a while. It is addicting and easy.

Watching super short form content fries your brain and paying attention to other people’s hyper-curated moments creates a state of anxiety and depression. It creates a craving to play status games. On the other hand, retreating completing from social media makes it harder to communicate with your friends in a passive manner and get information on things you consider important. Having some online presence establishes proof-of-life to others who meet you in person or hear about you from someone else. It’s a balance: negative mental health vs. passive communication and information.

How do we use our phones to better our lives? I find greater clarity, less anxiety, and more energy when I am away from my phone. I live more in the moment and am able to do more of the things I want to do when I am not scrolling on my phone. Alan Lightman’s observations on this keyed me into my own relationship with my devices. People are a lot happier once they are off social media even though it is hard.

My text messages, email, and curated Twitter are important in small doses. Other than that, nothing important happens on there. Practically, we can take steps to make our lives more Lightman-like while still being somewhat connected. Turn off notifications except for text messages. Check email on your computer or at a few designated times throughout the day. Tell yourself what you want to do on your phone before you do it. Enforce strict screen time limits on social media on the order of 5 mins per day. Have readily accesible books or articles on your phone (e.g., WSJ or scientific articles open on Safari). Hide social media apps on the home screen. Read before bed.