I’m sick of social media. You probably are too.

I’ve been on social media for over 10 years and I need a break. I’m of the last generation to know some of their teenage years without social media. I’m empathetic to both the positive and negative effects of how we’re using social media and consuming content. I’d like to show people that, if used correctly, social media is phenomenal and an amazing tool. However, we’re using these services to pacify ourselves, we’re loosing the ability to think critically as we fill every uncomfortable, lonely, or bored moment with consumption of other peoples lives as if to remove the focus and analyzation from our own. Let’s make a conscious decision to become more self ware beings. Be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel to stay up to date with project updates.

Quit Cold

For the first 7 days of 30 I will not unlock my phone. Instead I will use my apple with (with no service) so I will need my phone in proximity to respond to texts and answer calls. Quitting the scroll and going from 100-0 gives your mind the ability to adjust out of the digital world and re-integrate back into the terrestrial world.

Occupy Your Time

If you’re going to stop doing something that takes up hours of your time, prepare some activities or hobbies you’ll start or do more of beforehand. I plan to spend my time doing various things like: reading, writing, working out, flying drones, making videos, researching interests, minimizing possessions, reflecting on the past, setting intention and planning for the future.

Limit Personal Consumption

Just because you’re off social media doesn’t mean you wont want to sit down and watch TV, Netflix, or some youtube videos. Be sure to limit or rid your personal consumption habits. My exception for this is if consuming content is a social activity done with other people.

Who inspired this?

Matt D’Avella

This was the first video that got my mind thinking about less in most aspects of my life. When I moved back to California from Washington everything I owned fit in my Subaru hatchback with room for me to sleep in. Matt D’Avella hosted Greg McKeown in his home studio and recorded a podcast which Matt then cut up into the video above.

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Essentialism by Greg McKeown is about the Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Its about choosing a more productive and focused life rather than a scattered life where nothing gets done. I’m still reading Essentialism and will update this description once I’m finished!

Yes Theory

Thomas Bragg from Yes Theory documented his 34 day digital detox from social media in this a very elegant and polarizing short documentary. In this video Thomas interviews Cal Newport, the author of the the book Digital Minimalism. I’m more than half way through this book in the first three days of reading and is the best motivator for getting yourself to take a break from social media.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Digital minimalism is a great book for those who know they need to take a social media break but cant bring themselves to do it. I started my 30 day no social media fast about halfway through this book. This helped motivate me to actually follow through, and gave me support during the first week of the experiment.

I embedded this video of Max’s because it embodies how I’ve been feeling during this social media break. Max dives into the value of book stores, what books mean to us as humans, and why you should be reading more books.

Screen Shot 2019-06-06 at 9.26.50 AM.png

In his most recent book Jaron Lanier lays out Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts RIGHT NOW. Each chapter dives into various aspects of how social media is modifying our behavior and taking away our humanity. This book is about 160 pages and distills the information about how social media is effecting us in a clear and concise book that can be read in one sitting. Out of all the books I’ve read over the last month and a half, I feel this is the most important to read. Jaron’s career started in the 80’s working at Atari and later became one of the grandfathers of Virtual Reality (and even coined the term). He has stayed in Silicon valley and explores his understanding of humans relationship with technology in his writings.

Revenge Of The Analog chronicles the decline and rise of analog things such as Vinyl, Paper, Film, and Board games. It also focuses on analog ideas such as how this philosophy plays out in Print, Retail, Work, School, and the revenge of the analog, … — Revenge Of The Analog chronicles the decline and rise of analog things such as Vinyl, Paper, Film, and Board games. It also focuses on analog ideas such as how this philosophy plays out in Print, Retail, Work, School, and the revenge of the analog, in digital. This book has inspired me to start a monthly personal publication, and a quarterly submission based publication.

I am still reading this book as I write this, but I feel this book is important as Sherry Turkle, professor at MIT, has done extensive research and seems to have interviewed thousands of people around how they use technology for over 25 years. Her p… — I am still reading this book as I write this, but I feel this book is important as Sherry Turkle, professor at MIT, has done extensive research and seems to have interviewed thousands of people around how they use technology for over 25 years. Her perspective is purely objective, and conveys peoples experiences, troubles, and relational dynamics that technology can bring. If you have the time to jump into a dense book, Reclaiming Conversation is that book.