#Digital Detox

Yeah, it's time.

I consider myself a creator.  A multimodal creator.  I like cartooning, collaging, making music, and more.  But phone distractions have gotten the better of me.  I am usually available digially to anyone on a number of apps... Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook, to name but a few.  I am a Youtube junkie.  And lately, the YT algorythm actually fed me a few things I needed to hear.

For example, when we consume too much short form media, we actually lose our ability to focus on tasks requiring a longer attention span, such as reading a book.  A whole book; something longer than a TLDR post.  DW News just did a spot on this recently.  If you want to look it up, go to their YT and search for "post-literate".

A woman on her own VLOG described it in terms I could understand.  The internet used to be a place where we would go.  The computer sat in a room with a door, and the phone lines (and mom) might have only granted you 30 minutes to get your mail, answer chats, and check your personal website's guest book.  When you were done, you logged off, powered down the machine, and exited the room.  Today, the internet is loaded with sites and apps that endlessly scroll.  There's no floor.  There's no door.  It's in your pocket, and it goes everywhere with you.  It's like being somewhere without being anywhere, and we don't know how to leave.  There's no door!

So I decided to go for a walk last night without my phone.  I told my man, so that he'd know not to try to reach me.  In the span of 45 minutes, I reached for my phone no less than 5 times. What's the answer to this random question.... what time is it... and so on.  While this is not the worst problem to have, it proved to me that my brain has been hacked.  I want it back.

Ironically, here I am at my laptop, writing this to whoever wants to read it.  

I put my phone into Do Not Disturb mode.  I will likely leave it that way for the forseeable future.  It's mid morning.  I actually have some online tasks to do that I've been avoiding, like flight bookings and hotel reservations.  Once that's done, I will close the lid, fold laundry, shower up, and head into town - perhaps without the phone.  I just want a pint and a pipe, and to be unreachable for a little bit.

Are you feeling the same way?  Are you doing anything about it?  Hit me up.  My email is on my main capsule page.

Cheers.