My phone usage has been an insane 8 hours a day average. The thing is, the only app that I really follow people I know is Facebook and I don’t really struggle with obsessively scrolling that. The hard things are Instagram and TikTok, where I mostly follow celebrities and influencers, etc. So I know I need to get off of those apps, but I suffer from a different kind of FOMO. Not the fear that I worry about what my friends are doing, but the worry about missing out on what’s going on in the world or that I’m going to miss out on some life-changing piece of information that comes out online. I know these are all things I am saying to justify my habit, but the devil on my shoulder tells me, but yeah, you have actually learned a lot of useful things online. Any suggestions on how to reframe my mindset around this? To get even deeper, I have this feeling like there’s something wrong with me that needs fixed and the answer is out there on social media to fix it. Super healthy, lol.
Somehow I missed this comment from November. Haley - I'd love to know, are you still in the same boat with your usage and your feelings of missing out on what's going on in the world?
Right from the title , I knew I was going to find this very insightful.. i have also utilized similar measure as you have to avoid the infinite scroll cycle.
However, my latest scroll indulgence has been YouTube, the minute I face any resistance in the work or study, I find a way to soothe and avoid the feeling with scrolling.
When I'm anxious or having trouble deciding on a course of action, the next outlet is scrolling..
You brought up such a good insight -- "when having trouble deciding on a course of action" -- it's like the pause of indecision is too hard to sit in so we just scroll to soothe that feeling.
Wow I so can relate to this. Whenever I feel anxious or depressed I immediately reach for my phone to drown it all out. Recently I’ve been allowing myself to just sit there, and feel my feelings. No phone, no noise, just me and my thoughts. I’ll dwell for a bit, but then I try to let it go. Far better to spend 10 minutes doing nothing and processing your feelings, than an hour scrolling through piles and piles of content and feeling worse.
Love this - can relate to the restless need to do something on my phone. It nails the feeling I’ve had recently that although I’ve signed off some social channels, I’ve probably actually just replaced them with less obviously “bad” ones (like Reddit, even Substack!) where I can trick myself into thinking I’m learning / being productive… but ultimately I’m still on my phone.
Yes! I had to create major boundaries with Substack. I rarely look at the app now and mostly use it on Desktop. I do the same thing "this is work" or "I'm learning" - then I look back and realize "I got nothing done" or "I just learned nothing"
My phone usage has been an insane 8 hours a day average. The thing is, the only app that I really follow people I know is Facebook and I don’t really struggle with obsessively scrolling that. The hard things are Instagram and TikTok, where I mostly follow celebrities and influencers, etc. So I know I need to get off of those apps, but I suffer from a different kind of FOMO. Not the fear that I worry about what my friends are doing, but the worry about missing out on what’s going on in the world or that I’m going to miss out on some life-changing piece of information that comes out online. I know these are all things I am saying to justify my habit, but the devil on my shoulder tells me, but yeah, you have actually learned a lot of useful things online. Any suggestions on how to reframe my mindset around this? To get even deeper, I have this feeling like there’s something wrong with me that needs fixed and the answer is out there on social media to fix it. Super healthy, lol.
Somehow I missed this comment from November. Haley - I'd love to know, are you still in the same boat with your usage and your feelings of missing out on what's going on in the world?
Media. Super healthy, lol.
Right from the title , I knew I was going to find this very insightful.. i have also utilized similar measure as you have to avoid the infinite scroll cycle.
However, my latest scroll indulgence has been YouTube, the minute I face any resistance in the work or study, I find a way to soothe and avoid the feeling with scrolling.
When I'm anxious or having trouble deciding on a course of action, the next outlet is scrolling..
It's quite problematic
You brought up such a good insight -- "when having trouble deciding on a course of action" -- it's like the pause of indecision is too hard to sit in so we just scroll to soothe that feeling.
You’re not alone Zainab :)
I uninstalled Instagram only to find myself scrolling on YouTube and Snapchat to fill the void
Yep! you have to replace it with a NON scrolling activity. :)
Wow I so can relate to this. Whenever I feel anxious or depressed I immediately reach for my phone to drown it all out. Recently I’ve been allowing myself to just sit there, and feel my feelings. No phone, no noise, just me and my thoughts. I’ll dwell for a bit, but then I try to let it go. Far better to spend 10 minutes doing nothing and processing your feelings, than an hour scrolling through piles and piles of content and feeling worse.
It's so simple, but the shift can feel insurmountable!
Love this - can relate to the restless need to do something on my phone. It nails the feeling I’ve had recently that although I’ve signed off some social channels, I’ve probably actually just replaced them with less obviously “bad” ones (like Reddit, even Substack!) where I can trick myself into thinking I’m learning / being productive… but ultimately I’m still on my phone.
Yes! I had to create major boundaries with Substack. I rarely look at the app now and mostly use it on Desktop. I do the same thing "this is work" or "I'm learning" - then I look back and realize "I got nothing done" or "I just learned nothing"
The brain is tricky!!
Will you record voice recordings of your posts? We can listen to an AI voice but human voices are nicer to listen to
Somehow I missed this comment. It's something I've considered, but don't have time to tackle yet. I also don't know if I have the right voice for it!