6 good things to do

Hello friends

Ah February – the year’s shortest month feels long, stuck at the not-quite-almost-not-really end of winter. But for now, let’s sink into the last moments of this awkward month, and find moments of sweetness, connection, and warmth in the cold.

Inspired by Mina Le’s wonderful video-essay, I’ve been pondering social media and internet culture. It was interesting to get the reminder that ‘social media’ is so-called because it started off as a way for individuals to connect, publish their own ‘normal-person’ content – social media, as opposed to the traditional media of TV and magazines. But fairly quickly, Traditional Media People colonised the social spaces, setting up accounts and paying for promotions and sponsorship. The result is that today, a large portion of what users see on social media is created by professional creators or brands, while their friends’ less-frequent normal-person content moulders away in the dark corners of the algorithm, nary to be seen. 

On top of that, meme-ification of the internet means that the most popular comments are the smart, sarcastic ones. Seeing these little quips gain favour encourages people to find the funny in everything, reuse jokes and phrases and, ultimately, homogenise comments sections. Internet users are slowly merging into one sardonic mono-personality, and, as the internet über-psyche would say: “it’s giving Orwell-coded energy”.

So, in a bid to step away from the internet and its thundering production line, here are six good things to do instead of scrolling the rest of winter away.

Draw

Wild Life Drawing recently held an in-person session with rescued greyhounds. It really doesn’t get much better than that. But for those of us who aren’t in the area, they also host online classes. Online it may be, but internetty it is not. https://wildlifedrawing.co.uk/ 

Stare out the window

“We don’t go around saying: ‘I had a great day: the high point was staring out of the window’. But maybe in a better society, that’s just the sort of thing people would say to one another […] Not to find out what’s going on outside, but discovering the contents of our own mind.”

Read something

The information we take in on social media is generally surface level, and subsequently we have only surface-level awareness while we’re interacting with it. It doesn’t challenge our concentration, and generally speaking, it can’t educate us in any meaningful way. While lng-form written content can be more difficult to focus on, it can reduce stress and improve cognitive health. (Need a good new book? Try this, this or this.)

Do the thing you’ve been putting off

When I put my phone down, I often am surprised to find I am thirsty or conversely, need to pee. I put off cutting my nails, watering the plants or sorting the recycling. I ignore the dishwasher that needs emptying. None of these small tasks are horrible – brains just don’t get the same instant dopamine hit from doing them that they get from social media and games. The draw of the internet is so captivating that it distracts us from the world around us and the things we would otherwise be doing quite happily.

Move around a bit

One problem with distracting ourselves with the internet is that it’s a static activity. Movement in all its forms – from gardening to a little walk to a gym class – reconnects the mind to the body. Focusing on breath and movement together activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the so-called “rest and digest” mode, which counteracts stress. Research psychologist Kelly McGonigal, in her book The Joy of Movement writes:

“People who are regularly active have a stronger sense of purpose, and they experience more gratitude, love, and hope. They feel more connected to their communities, and are less likely to suffer from loneliness or become depressed. These benefits are seen throughout the lifespan.”

Send some voice notes

I used to hate voice notes because they were so rambling and inefficient. Like a good Millennial robot, I wanted texts and only texts. A text is simple, scannable and quick. But recently, a sea change. I’ve come to love voice notes, rather like this writer has, precisely because they are rambling, nuanced, and allow the speaker to get to the end of their thoughts. They are the modern written letter, in that sense. You get to hear the environment, their kids talking in the background, even their dog’s little scratchy sounds. It’s tangible and beautiful. It’s indirect. It takes time. More voicenotes to the people, say I.

(Bonus tip: Listen to music!)

This week we released a new song, with a video made in collaboration with a dear friend, the wonderful artist and dancer Łukasz Przytarski. For the Old, For the New is a song for slowness, for allowing life to take the road it will. Hope you enjoy it.

Until next time, may you be well, happy, whole and free.

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