I had a similar fear when I started using Twitter less, and I realized if staying in the loop is your only motivation to stay online, know that loop is constantly moving and is more fragmented than ever. The loop does not exist. People are fawning over Chalamet's latest interview, debating a popular chef being canceled, or wondering if the pyramids are full of grain. It does not matter unless you're genuinely curious about it. Pursuing your own interests and hobbies make you more of an interesting person than knowing what other people are talking about. And if you miss out on something, let them explain it to you. It's actually hilarious to watch someone try and explain something online because it often doesn't make sense. Try unplugging completely for a week. When you come back, you'll realize you've missed 15 things and it didn't affect your life at all.
It's also helpful to reframe these apps as a tool. I use Instagram to find live music and stay in touch with friends. Having a scroll through reels can be fun, but it quickly feels empty. Recognize that feeling and remember there are more fulfilling ways to spend your time, but don't feel guilty if you have a binge every once in a while. We all need to zone out. So be nicer to yourself 💞
May 7, 2025
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once i got realistic about what type of content i consumed on ig and twitter, i realized so quickly it was not expanding the way i think and in fact was keeping me stuck in the same (oftentimes negative/harmful) thought loopholes. social media is addictive in part because it algorithmically reproduces the way we already think. it keeps us comfortable.
start questioning: what can help expand your life? what other creative and consumptive outlets do you find fulfilling? is there a book you want to read? something you want to draw or write about? or, in general, consider how your older self would have wanted your time to be spent. you are so right that social media makes us feel Bad-- but we don't have to! it is an act of self-care and deep love to work on stepping away from things that hurt!
as far as practical tips, the best things that helped me were:
a) like some others mentioned, deleting ALL social media apps from my phone so i can only access them on my computer. this helps because the online interfaces are a lot clunkier so it reduces some of the quick gratification that keeps you addicted. also you have to be literally sitting at a desk to use it, so the portability aspect/mindless scrolling is largely removed.
b) keeping a journal because it's a much safer space to dump thoughts than a private story
c) prioritizing in-person connection rather than mediating relationships through tech-- meet a friend for coffee! cultivate intimacy rather than superficiality, and notice how irl vs. online connection feels different
d) nervous system regulation and grounding practices to counteract how scrolling can make you anxious/stressed/disembodied!
finally i did struggle a lot with fomo and being behind on trends at first but then i realized it doesn't really matter. trends are fleeting. even without chronic online-ness i am still funny and relatable and i find it much more interesting to hear about people's lives when i haven't been informed about them in an endless information stream online!!
Oct 31, 2024
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in the age of endless access to information, the unknown can quickly become known - though i think we've reached a point where balance is desperately needed. our brains are sensitive and absorbing information constantly whether we like it or not. i recently deleted social media from my phone and now only log on at the computer (love how many pi.fyi recs i've seen on this) - anyways i finally joined the club and see no going back. i don't want to know everything about everyone all the time and on top of that be plagued with intrusive ads (no matter how relevant they may or may not be). being present is crucial, and watching other people's lives on our phones whenever we want can definitely take one out of the present. if i were a true conspiracy theorist, i'd say it almost seems strategically designed to interrupt our normal train of thoughts and give everybody add and make us less thoughtful or make us stray from our true path. i think there's an art to boredom and liminal zones. if you're in a doctor's office waiting room or in a coffee shop waiting for your drink, i think its cool to just be nothing for a moment, limbo is a luxury and giving your consciousness and attention to something every second strips you of that temporary feeling...
if we're homies and not seeing each other in person we can text about our lives. instagram stories have begun to creep me out, i don't like how normalized casual stalking has become. i feel like it makes everyone overly analytical and constantly thinking about social dynamics all the time, injecting way too many forms of micro-anxieties for everyone throughout the day - there's value in time spent alone with our thoughts and i feel like the status quo of social media and internet without boundaries at the moment is infringing on some timeless human functions. that said we need to connect and find out about things and discover each other and using platforms like pi.fyi and instagram allow us to do so, we just need to be mindful about how we go about it. i think it's okay to not know everything all the time, mystery creates intrigue and that's stimulating enough for me...
Jun 8, 2024
Lately, I have found much less of a calling to be on social media. I don't know a time where I checked my socials and walked away feeling happier. Do you? I have to be on my phone a fair amount due to work but I catch myself automatically clicking into apps out of boredom and I'm trying to stop that behaviour. I see the good in social media, the ability to stay connected to friends and be in-the-know on everything-- I think the whole point is that you feel left out when you're not on it.. so you're sucked in constantly. But that's not reality. I could disassociate for hours online and look up to the world around me and think, where the hell was I? I don't want to feel like a bystander watching other people's lives for a solid chunk of my day. Engaging more in the real world is a priority for me at this time in my life.
Feb 7, 2025
Top Recs from @Shadowbeni
a study issued last month found that dancing is the most effective way of treating and mitigating depression. Walking, therapy, and yoga also outpaced SSRIs. and if you're saying 'oh this was probably funded by Big Dance', there's no evidence of that and if you're saying 'that's just what a Big Dance shill would say', well honey you're right
Mar 4, 2024
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Reminder that most of what we do is a performance
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