The Toxic Side of Binge Scrolling on Social Media

It’s another quiet night at home. After a long day of work, a break for dinner, an evening walk, and some mindless TV, Will and I are back on our laptops. As always, he’s on to his next YouTube video, and I’m here, “talking” to you - my mysterious (and some not-so-mysterious) readers.

Tonight, after a particularly toxic binge-scroll through Instagram which left me feeling entirely numb and paralyzed, all I could do was put my phone down on the coffee table in front of me, sprawl out on my couch, and just let out a loud, exhaustive and completely exaggerated moan. You know, the kind when you’re tired, bored, annoyed, and restless all at the same time? 😕

So, what’d I do? I put on my “Happy Jazz” playlist on Spotify 🎶, turned off all the lights, lit my favourite Vancouver Candle Co. candle, and just sat there. I sat for a few minutes, and did nothing. I simply listened to the music and let my thoughts settle, or, take me wherever they pleased.

And, after just sitting there…still, silent, seated in my dimly lit living room listening to the smooth sounds of a muted trumpet, I felt content. Suddenly, the racing thoughts, anxiety, and self-criticism brought on by an endless Instagram scroll had faded. So much so, that I felt a renewed surge of physical, mental and creative energy, grabbed my laptop, and decided to share my thoughts with you now.

What is it about the not-knowing that makes something more exciting? The ignorant bliss of saying, “I don’t wanna know”. We all have that friend or family member who just has to know. They whip out their phone and look up whatever question arises in the conversation immediately🤳🏼. I for one, am definitely not that person. In fact, I’d almost always rather not know. Because, for whatever reason, the more I know, the worse I feel. Am I the only one that feels like this? 🤔

Now, of course, I don’t mean ignoring the things that really matter, like climate change, human trafficking, hypertension, investing for retirement, etc. But, the things that don’t matter, like what everyone else is up to when you’re not with them, really don’t matter. What someone ate for breakfast, which café they frequent, their dress size, where they’re vacationing, or what kind of car they drive - none of that matters! Yet, somehow, we’ve built an entire industry around what everyone else is doing, wearing, eating, driving, all under the guise that it helps make our lives better. But, I’d venture to guess that all of this “influence” being strewn into our lives might actually be making us worse.

I know none of what I’m saying is new to you. We’ve all gotten the memo about the negative affects of social media on our mental health. We’re shocked every time we see our daily or weekly screen time notification. Yet, we still keep our phones in our back pockets at all times. Or worse, in front of our faces, even while seated across a table with a loved one. We’re constantly connected to what everyone else around the world is doing at any given moment, while ever-losing that inner connection with ourselves.

I know too much. And, chances are, so do you. Although I enjoy “staying in touch” with distant family, old friends, and random acquaintances, the honest truth is, it’s probably better that I not. It’s better if we bumped into one another on the street one day and I’d see that you’re pregnant with your third child. We’d chat about where you’ve living now, how your parents are doing, what you do for work, and if you still talk with so and so…and so on, and so forth. And, it’d all be news to me! A wonderful, pleasant surprise; not something I thumbed through on my phone while sitting on the toilet that very morning.

So, if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, “you know what, I know too much about Octavia”…you’d be right. And, as much as I love having people engage with my work, I promise, I won’t be mad if you never come back to this blog again. Because one day, if we ever have the pleasure of running into each other, we’ll have plenty to catch up on! 😉

Cheers,

Octavia