Disillusioned
The Social Dilemma, #nowreading, and stuff I'm digging
The last few weeks I have been trying to manage my own expectations and stay productive. This resulted in getting plenty of time to write on the weekends, but not much willingness to do so. So I decided to take a little break to pause, reflect, play with my son, and get a few long-pending tasks done.
It has been a long October. I realised that we have been in Taiwan now for more than a year. The last time we found ourselves outside this tiny island was a trip to India in October 2019. This marks our longest time away from home*, and it doesn’t seem like the pandemic will make a visit worth the risk any time soon.
*The definition of home seems to be slowly shifting in my mind. It’s a funny feeling.
The importance of mental health and emotional well-being has come into sharper focus these past few months. We are in the Age of Misinformation and Distraction - notifications, fake news, and conspiracy theories coming at us from all sides. All we are ever doing is reacting to external stimuli.
Yesterday I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix. The message of this documentary is summarised well in the above tweet.
I have been thinking about deleting all my social media apps for a while now. I constantly talk to my wife about it. She asks me if I find myself wasting time on any of these apps. To be honest, no - I browse Instagram for about ten minutes every other day, and I have almost completely stopped using Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit for a few months now. After this small behavioural victory, the next logical step for me is to reduce or entirely remove notifications from my phone.
The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free.
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
If I could delete one social media app, it would be WhatsApp. I find it to be the most annoying of the lot. It is a distraction machine with never ending notifications and tons of misinformation and propaganda doing the rounds on (mostly) family groups. While it is a convenient means to keep in touch with family and friends around the world, it is quite stressful to be expected to remain “available” at all times. The unspoken pressure of the blue ticks (I keep mine on) and returning missed calls without delay drives me up the wall. I could also rant on about people having strong opinions on your WhatsApp display picture, but that is material for another post.
Perhaps the answer is to use these apps in a responsible manner, rather than deleting them. Although if I could delete one social media app, it would be WhatsApp. It would just be nice to be one of those persons who is largely off the grid.
The other day I told one of my aunts that I wish to be more like her. I love how she has kept her curiosity alive and cultivated different interests — yoga, historical reading, gardening, acupressure, mathematics, theater. She is constantly curious. Any time someone answers “Google it” to her question, she insists on getting us to explain to her. I think that is a fantastic attitude.
What are your thoughts on social media and its use in your life? Do watch The Social Dilemma if you are interested.
I’m reading
The weird space that lies outside our solar system
Where mangroves are disappearing, and why
Doomsday Glacier vulnerability seen in new maps
Find the dinosaurs that roamed your neighbourhood 65 million years ago
How to eternal spring of Google Maps reflects our view of Earth
Tasmanian devils roaming in Australia again after 3,000 years
Maps that suggest maybe the future isn’t all bad
I’m digging
The website design of the Real Life Magazine
Everything on the Tim Ferriss podcast
Microsoft To Do — my task manager for the past 3+ years
20 years of continuous human presence onboard the International Space Station
200 days without local Covid transmission in Taiwan
Title Credits
I look forward to hearing from you. Stay safe!
Oh my god! Yes! Delete whatsapp is a movement that needs to start. It eats up 90% of my device time. Welcome back, was really looking forward to your newsletter. :)