31 Days of Scrollitude

(featured image is from Steve Purcell’s Toybox comic)

When I decided to try going a month without social media (of the infinite-scrolling variety, i.e. Instagram, Mastodon, and Bluesky), I expected that worst case, I’d break down at the halfway point. Best case, I’d end the month like someone who’d been crawling through the desert and had suddenly found a refreshing spring full of life-giving water, and I’d go right back to obsessively spending hours on the apps.

As it turns out, it’s been more like walking leisurely through the desert and happening upon a can of lukewarm LaCroix. I’ve done my best to respond to the comments people have made to my auto-posts over the past month, but I’m not feeling super compelled to resume my old bad habits.

I’m going to try and avoid veering into an evangelist-vegan attitude and tell everybody that they should do it too because I mean to each their own but we all know that my newfound lifestyle of moderate restraint is kind of, you know, better than yours. But for me, at least, it’s been a complete success.

I went back on Instagram, and I don’t miss it. I just feel bad for the dozens of young single women who have spent a month wondering why I haven’t accepted their follow requests.

Over the past month alone, I’ve read more than I did all last year. I’ve finally watched some movies that have been on my to-watch list for years. I get to dinner time without feeling like my brain is too full for anything more substantial than YouTube videos. We finally started watching Severance! (Yes it’s very good and no spoilers please).

One downside to only having this blog as my outlet is that I have been missing the conversations from those auto-posts. Also, microblogging formats are an encouragement to be more concise. It was only after reading a comment about Nosferatu from my friend Rose that I realized I could have condensed paragraphs of what I’d written into the simple observation that “Count Orlok is an incel.”

So my current plan is to keep it up as best I can. Maybe not maintaining the artificial vow of silence, but using social media for conversations instead of time-killers. Avoid installing the apps and just using the web apps. (Except for Instagram unfortunately, since they’ve deliberately hobbled the functionality of the web interface, almost as if they’re a company that has poured tons of money into ensuring app engagement).

And if I’m ever looking for a distraction, open up a book instead of a “quick scroll” through the apps. The new Reeder has been an excellent way to feel less post-apocalyptic, reassured that people are still out there posting away and I’m reading stuff that was written within the past month.

I’d been hoping that a break would help with whatever mental block is keeping me from being able to do any game development after hours, but not yet. At least it’s paved the way, and I can dive back in as long as I keep up the social media abstinence.