Super inspiring as always, thanks Charlie 👌My problem is that I tend to scroll/consume when I literally have no energy to do anything else. Perhaps I need to come up with some new less cognitively demanding ways to create, or even some healthier ways to consume!
I do this too Hannah; it's totally understandable! I have shifted from scrolling on my phone to watching something on TV/a movie if I'm in need of entertainment/distraction mentally but my physical body has no energy to do anything more stimulating. I find it easier to disengage with, but it fulfils a similar purpose when I can't do anything but lie down and zone out.
I quite honestly found myself with tears in my eyes reading this Charlie, what a beautiful piece of writing, particularly the final paragraphs (of the main piece). I quit social media a few months ago, and I felt great, I loved it, yet gradually it has wheedled its way in and I feel perhaps more addicted than ever, I find it hard to uphold my boundaries I used to be able to keep prior to the quitting, and I find myself picking up and checking more often than before. My energy levels are low, I lose countless evenings (as well as daytime hours), my attention span is low and I feel little motivation to pick up a book and read, create art or even just to silently meditate on the moment, and your piece explains so much why & has given me some food for thought, particularly the “at what cost?”. I so so miss those times of the nineties/early noughties when we would have to get a computer out and load it up to look up something or write an email, I miss sitting at the table as a child with bits and pieces and sticking them to paper, or getting my pencils out and drawing, and I miss my mind not being full and being so exposed to the world from my home where I am supposed to be secured from the external world. I really am going to think about coming off again, especially after watching a few of your YouTube’s from a few months ago too as well as reading this. You’re an inspiration Charlie, I have no doubt it is difficult and imperfect but I saw on your YT how you said along the lines of that you gradually you started to be and exist in the moment, and that is what I want so much. Sorry for such a lengthy comment, it’s just so refreshing and comforting to read your thoughts on all of this in a world that seems to social media orientated. Thank you so much.
Wow, all of this really resonates with me. You've put into words exactly how I think and feel. Also, I read a lot but somehow still manage to rack up hours of screen time every day across my phone and laptop, so spending time on activities like reading doesn't necessarily mean screen time goes down, as I've discovered!
I am sorry it resonates with you too, it’s such a frustrating and saddening situation! I get you (in a similar way) with the reading yet still racking up hours…I wonder if other things like sleep or anything get sacrificed? I don’t even spend *that* long on social media but I just don’t seem to do anything else either, to me it’s just the total lack of attention that comes with having the easy availability of screens. I just wish it hadn’t been invented in a way because I could quite easily delete it all, but it’s the fact that everyone else uses it I feel like I’m going to miss out/I might regret it?! I hope you find some way of managing & finding peace with it!
Oh my gosh Han your reflections here hit my heart! You're on the journey and I have so much faith you will over time find out a balance of screens and creative pursuits that work for you and help you to feel like you too are gradually reacquainting yourself with each moment. Thank you for sharing your world with me in this comment, and I'm cheering you on.
I’ve been trying to reduce my screen time for weeks now and it’s been a constant battle. I think the crux of it was the fact that it simply took more effort to fill that time with something else. I’ll definitely do some more soul searching and planning ahead before my next venture outside social media. Thanks ♥️♥️
Love your insights on this - in October it’ll be 3 years since I logged out of my Instagram accounts (art and personal) after online life was a foundational pillar in my identity from teen years through my late twenties. I personally found it quite hard to create at first, after so much of my previous art was informed by public opinion. Slowly but surely, I reconnected, recalibrated, reintroduced myself to myself. It’s been life changing and significant. In a lot of ways I could stay away forever, and in others I miss the connection with those far away - your world definitely shrinks and that can be harsh. But as you noted, the benefits are still outweighing the cost, so for now I carry on 🌟
Love this so much: "so much of my previous art was informed by public opinion. Slowly but surely, I reconnected, recalibrated, reintroduced myself to myself."
I agree with you about on consuming less and creating more when it comes to media (social and otherwise) completely. I also like your idea of more low impact creative activities. The zine sounds like a wonderful project. Good luck with it!
This post reminds me that I notice a huge difference between intentional, what I call "conscious consumption," of media vs. the numbing, passive kind. I try only to use media (social media, television, etc.) if I have an actual intention going into it. For example, the way I feel when I sit down to watch a movie I've been looking forward to, phone away, fully engaged, especially when my partner does the same, feels like an actual experience. But thoughtlessly picking up my phone and blindly opening social media, or sitting down in front of the TV and bouncing around the apps trying to find something to watch ... that feels like it's taking something away from me.
Totally agree with you about this distinction! I find my scrolling tendencies have shifted to bouncing around the apps on my TV since I quit social media - I have to keep my wits about me so I can catch myself doing it as it literally is 'unintentional'. I just get stuck!
I often struggle with Substack because, after all, it is partially also a social media app. But I would lie if I said it did not change my life for the better. At least a little bit.
I'm so glad I found your Substacks, Charlie! Keep doing what you are doing🌸
What great advice to plan for your digital detox. It sounds so obvious, but really I think a lot of people, including me, think it'll be easy to just put the phone down and not think about social media when it's deleted. But from experience, it's not.
Thank you for this inspiring read. I’ve been off social media for about 6 months and have been exploring filling my time with other things. So lovely to read this and resonate deeply with it and found it so helpful! 🫶
Love, love, LOVE this Charlie! I'm on my own journey to reducing my screen time at the moment (particularly phone), so your videos & posts on digital minimalism are super interesting to me :) I'm assuming that your 6-month social media detox is continuing, since we're already over halfway through the year and it sounds like you have no intention of going back?
Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I’m in the messy process of disentangling myself from social media. I’m not exactly sure what the end result will look like, but it m excited to get more creative time back for writing and knitting.
Great article. How to restrain social media when it is a major source of expression for you? I photograph. Flickr is ok, on the whole. But Instagram is full of rabbit holes. How to use it, and yet not use it? It’s a mindfulness exercise….
The only way I've been able to do this is by replacing it with other sources of inspiration like going to art galleries, museums, buying second hand art books from the charity shop, sticking up print outs of my favourite art on my wall by my desk, reading blogs. I find it takes more time but the connection I have with what I find becomes a lot deeper.
Super inspiring as always, thanks Charlie 👌My problem is that I tend to scroll/consume when I literally have no energy to do anything else. Perhaps I need to come up with some new less cognitively demanding ways to create, or even some healthier ways to consume!
I do this too Hannah; it's totally understandable! I have shifted from scrolling on my phone to watching something on TV/a movie if I'm in need of entertainment/distraction mentally but my physical body has no energy to do anything more stimulating. I find it easier to disengage with, but it fulfils a similar purpose when I can't do anything but lie down and zone out.
I quite honestly found myself with tears in my eyes reading this Charlie, what a beautiful piece of writing, particularly the final paragraphs (of the main piece). I quit social media a few months ago, and I felt great, I loved it, yet gradually it has wheedled its way in and I feel perhaps more addicted than ever, I find it hard to uphold my boundaries I used to be able to keep prior to the quitting, and I find myself picking up and checking more often than before. My energy levels are low, I lose countless evenings (as well as daytime hours), my attention span is low and I feel little motivation to pick up a book and read, create art or even just to silently meditate on the moment, and your piece explains so much why & has given me some food for thought, particularly the “at what cost?”. I so so miss those times of the nineties/early noughties when we would have to get a computer out and load it up to look up something or write an email, I miss sitting at the table as a child with bits and pieces and sticking them to paper, or getting my pencils out and drawing, and I miss my mind not being full and being so exposed to the world from my home where I am supposed to be secured from the external world. I really am going to think about coming off again, especially after watching a few of your YouTube’s from a few months ago too as well as reading this. You’re an inspiration Charlie, I have no doubt it is difficult and imperfect but I saw on your YT how you said along the lines of that you gradually you started to be and exist in the moment, and that is what I want so much. Sorry for such a lengthy comment, it’s just so refreshing and comforting to read your thoughts on all of this in a world that seems to social media orientated. Thank you so much.
Wow, all of this really resonates with me. You've put into words exactly how I think and feel. Also, I read a lot but somehow still manage to rack up hours of screen time every day across my phone and laptop, so spending time on activities like reading doesn't necessarily mean screen time goes down, as I've discovered!
I am sorry it resonates with you too, it’s such a frustrating and saddening situation! I get you (in a similar way) with the reading yet still racking up hours…I wonder if other things like sleep or anything get sacrificed? I don’t even spend *that* long on social media but I just don’t seem to do anything else either, to me it’s just the total lack of attention that comes with having the easy availability of screens. I just wish it hadn’t been invented in a way because I could quite easily delete it all, but it’s the fact that everyone else uses it I feel like I’m going to miss out/I might regret it?! I hope you find some way of managing & finding peace with it!
Oh my gosh Han your reflections here hit my heart! You're on the journey and I have so much faith you will over time find out a balance of screens and creative pursuits that work for you and help you to feel like you too are gradually reacquainting yourself with each moment. Thank you for sharing your world with me in this comment, and I'm cheering you on.
I’ve been trying to reduce my screen time for weeks now and it’s been a constant battle. I think the crux of it was the fact that it simply took more effort to fill that time with something else. I’ll definitely do some more soul searching and planning ahead before my next venture outside social media. Thanks ♥️♥️
I absolutely loved reading this and so much of it resonates and I'm thinking of how much I can create with my spare time
That makes me so happy to hear Andrea, enjoy creating the ordinary!✨
Love your insights on this - in October it’ll be 3 years since I logged out of my Instagram accounts (art and personal) after online life was a foundational pillar in my identity from teen years through my late twenties. I personally found it quite hard to create at first, after so much of my previous art was informed by public opinion. Slowly but surely, I reconnected, recalibrated, reintroduced myself to myself. It’s been life changing and significant. In a lot of ways I could stay away forever, and in others I miss the connection with those far away - your world definitely shrinks and that can be harsh. But as you noted, the benefits are still outweighing the cost, so for now I carry on 🌟
Love this so much: "so much of my previous art was informed by public opinion. Slowly but surely, I reconnected, recalibrated, reintroduced myself to myself."
I agree with you about on consuming less and creating more when it comes to media (social and otherwise) completely. I also like your idea of more low impact creative activities. The zine sounds like a wonderful project. Good luck with it!
Thank you Barbara!
This post reminds me that I notice a huge difference between intentional, what I call "conscious consumption," of media vs. the numbing, passive kind. I try only to use media (social media, television, etc.) if I have an actual intention going into it. For example, the way I feel when I sit down to watch a movie I've been looking forward to, phone away, fully engaged, especially when my partner does the same, feels like an actual experience. But thoughtlessly picking up my phone and blindly opening social media, or sitting down in front of the TV and bouncing around the apps trying to find something to watch ... that feels like it's taking something away from me.
Totally agree with you about this distinction! I find my scrolling tendencies have shifted to bouncing around the apps on my TV since I quit social media - I have to keep my wits about me so I can catch myself doing it as it literally is 'unintentional'. I just get stuck!
I often struggle with Substack because, after all, it is partially also a social media app. But I would lie if I said it did not change my life for the better. At least a little bit.
I'm so glad I found your Substacks, Charlie! Keep doing what you are doing🌸
There is room for both to be true, for sure :)
Loved this read, def where I'm at...this is inspirational.
Thanks so much Sarah!
What great advice to plan for your digital detox. It sounds so obvious, but really I think a lot of people, including me, think it'll be easy to just put the phone down and not think about social media when it's deleted. But from experience, it's not.
Valuable advice for making the transition! I will take it into account.
Thank you for this inspiring read. I’ve been off social media for about 6 months and have been exploring filling my time with other things. So lovely to read this and resonate deeply with it and found it so helpful! 🫶
I cannot wait to start reading your zine. Creating over consuming is definitely the way to go. Thanks for another great newsletter.
Thank you Katie :)
Love, love, LOVE this Charlie! I'm on my own journey to reducing my screen time at the moment (particularly phone), so your videos & posts on digital minimalism are super interesting to me :) I'm assuming that your 6-month social media detox is continuing, since we're already over halfway through the year and it sounds like you have no intention of going back?
It is! Still not back on IG or TT. I've got some reflections to share in a future essay, but for now I'm still working out if I ever want to go back.
Can't wait to hear all about it ✨
Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I’m in the messy process of disentangling myself from social media. I’m not exactly sure what the end result will look like, but it m excited to get more creative time back for writing and knitting.
Great article. How to restrain social media when it is a major source of expression for you? I photograph. Flickr is ok, on the whole. But Instagram is full of rabbit holes. How to use it, and yet not use it? It’s a mindfulness exercise….
The only way I've been able to do this is by replacing it with other sources of inspiration like going to art galleries, museums, buying second hand art books from the charity shop, sticking up print outs of my favourite art on my wall by my desk, reading blogs. I find it takes more time but the connection I have with what I find becomes a lot deeper.