I was struck one time mid doomscroll with the realisation that as much as we are given by things like social media, streaming services and now AI, what are they taking away in return? 

It showed pretty quickly after I deactivated my accounts. I somehow couldn’t quite remember facts that should’ve been second nature. I hadn’t read any words that weren’t from a comment section for quite some time. I hadn’t listened to music that wasn’t from a playlist or Shazamed. I hadn’t twiddled my thumbs for a while either.

I adapted. I’m proud to say that I can listen to an album the full way through as the artist intended (I keep a spreadsheet!). I can now recall things a lot better than I could before. I’ve read many books I’ve found interesting. I can even last 10 minutes without any music or background noise. 

There’s always more to do but I think I’m doing ok. On a scale from 1 (chronically online doomscroller who switches from TikTok to Twitter to Reddit to Tumblr to Snapchat to Instagram and knows every trend) to 10 (an Amish monk with a shaved head), I’d like to think I’m above a 5 (I get excited when I see an iMessage notification). 

Long story short, I have a lot of time on my hands now. It’s time I could potentially use to create something. However, when you create from potential, whether in tech, your thoughts or life in general, you can get carried away. Hopefully you can bear with me.