Disconnection Notice
I don’t know what to do with myself without social media.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t even post a lot. But I get sucked in on the endless and mindless scrolling. It fills up a lot of my lull time and has become my pacifier.
When I look at my life now, I can say that it’s uneventful -- and I can’t even attribute that to me choosing to stay home. It’s the lack of things that I do at home because I am consumed by my doom scrolling.
One of the artists I follow said this on her vlog about disconnecting from social media for a month:
“Because I couldn’t find the new shiny thing on my phone, I started becoming way more interested in finding new things in my life that were interesting. It was almost like I was high on life. I became really interested in history and art history and other people's art career and I started becoming way more interested in things that I haven't done before and wanting to learn new things because yet again, I wasn't like I wasn't feeling overwhelmed and like over stimulated like sensory stimulated by my phone.”
this is what happened and how it changed my art practice, Fran Meneses
I don’t want to continue being the person who says “I just laid down this weekend” but I also don’t want to push myself to go out when I prefer staying in. I am paying subscription for YouTube and Netflix, but I rarely use it. I have new art supplies, but it feels so tiring to clean the mess afterwards. I’ve accumulated books from the past months (or years) but I say I haven’t got the time to read them.
I want to be bored, and not default to reaching for my phone to scroll on Facebook or Twitter. I want to be bored and enjoy films, series, and documentaries again. I want to be bored and create that artwork I pinned on Pinterest. I want to be bored and reach out for that book that’s been on my bedside table for months now. I want to be bored and do something that I loved. Manoush Zomorodi, author of Bored and Brilliant, said this in her TED talk:
“So the next time you go to check your phone, remember that if you don't decide how you're going to use the technology, the platforms will decide for you. And ask yourself: What am I really looking for? Because if it's to check email, that's fine -- do it and be done. But if it's to distract yourself from doing the hard work that comes with deeper thinking, take a break, stare out the window and know that by doing nothing you are actually being your most productive and creative self. It might feel weird and uncomfortable at first, but boredom truly can lead to brilliance.”
How Boredom Can Lead to Your Most Brilliant Ideas, Manoush Zomorodi
I need to re-learn what I loved doing before being trapped in this digital era. In my head, I think I’m bored. But truthfully, I am just distracted with my phone. There is so much stuff to do and things to explore. Disconnection notice is here though, time to live life outside my shiny doom box.












