I am halfway through a feature of Jon Favreau’s Offline podcast. Today he is hosting Dr. Gloria Mark author of her book Attention Span. Listening to the podcast up until this point feels as if they are speaking to me. It is evident we need to unplug to mitigate mental exhaustion. Exhaustion from unsolicited robo calls, unsolicited social media apps that want our addiction to their product because that is what they’ve promised their investors, via annoying notices Exhaustion from conveyor belts of emails wanting something usually NOT THAT IMPORTANT. Exhaustion from our own chemistry being altered to the point we feel we need to pick up our phones during a perfectly captivating television program or sporting event. Reader, start deleting things. Start saying NO to people electronically by pressing the subscription deletion mechanism.
One joy in taking coursework is that my mind is so saturated after taking in a lecture that I’m finally able to just watch television sans my telephone or lap top. I have no desire afterward to read anything else and waste precious time I’d never be able to recover. The top suggestion the podcast is promoting is to read a book instead of getting back onto phones or lap tops. Do the usual get out in nature. Just be still and breath. At least create something if you need some stimulation. Interestingly, Dr. Mark’s research has proven that doom scrolling and internet addictive behaviors lend addicts to being prone to more right wing information intake!
So be alert, discerning and UNPLUG! Until next time.
-John
