I'm Taking a Week Off of All Media Except for Books and Music

Inspired by an experiment undertaken by Tim Ferriss, I've decided to take 7 days off of all media that isn't books or music

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To say my mind is active would be an epic understatement. Often my mind is spinning me in all different directions, I frequently feel as though I'm experiencing some form of cognitive vertigo. I've always struggled with focus and concentration, and this aspect of myself has only been heightened with the advances in media and technology.

It's no secret that Facebook is designed to keep you endlessly scrolling, looking for the next silly video or status update to stay current with the lives of your friends. Yet, it also can make a person become a passive observer and lacking presence in their day to day life.

I can't tell you how many times I've ended up back on some form of social media without even consciously choosing to visit the site. This lack of intentional action reminds me of when I was a smoker and would end up with a lit cigarette in my mouth without even remembering the act of lighting it.

I'm cutting the chord for 7 days to see how it impacts my mental state

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A constant thirst for knowledge and information can be overwhelming, especially in 2018 when life seems to move at a faster speed than can truly be comprehended. The internet allows us to consume endless amounts of information, often bits and pieces that are disconnected from our day-to-day lives.

We may learn about a tragedy overseas or in another city or state, yet it doesn't have a great deal of relevance to our personal lives and only adds another layer of unnecessary stress. Endless information without a relatable or actionable context contributes to a sense of helplessness and can leave us feeling overwhelmed.

While I certainly have a decent amount of self-awareness, I'm by no means immune to the allure of social media and the mindless passivity that can come with a Netflix/youtube marathon.

I've decided to take a (mostly) digital detox for the next week, starting tomorrow, as a way to reduce my endless mental chatter and to hopefully increase my level of focus and presence.

I'm sick of being gamified

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Social media, Netflix, Youtube, and other forms of media have a way of keeping us in a perpetual state of consuming more media. It's no accident that the next episode will begin to play on Netflix or that Youtube has an autoplay function to play another video of similar content.

Similarly, Facebook and other forms of social media train users to continue to scroll endlessly without thinking much about what they are doing. It's incredibly easy to waste hours, days, weeks, and eventually a lifetime being a passive observer. If a person is only a consumer, their ability to produce their own content or create things of meaning will reduce over time.

Filling my already active brain with endless forms of media only leaves me feeling like my mind is bursting at the seems, lacking space to think clearly. It also detracts from my ability to interact with the people in my life, as the smartphone is an everpresent attraction to zone out.

Over the next 7 days, I will still write articles for Steemit but I will not be actively perusing the site or responding to posts until my week-long media detox is up. Though I feel Steemit is a much more sane form of social media, it still has certain characteristics that I could use a break from. During the next 7 days, I'll be listening to music and reading and listening to books on tape, and that's it.

I don't want to have too many expectations of how this experiment will impact my mental state, but I'll be sure to write posts to let you know how things are going.

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Title Image
All uncredited pictures from pixabay.com or my personal account

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