I detoxed from the digital world and it was the best ten minutes ever
I’d reached the point where every other thought was to reach for my phone. I was anxious to be kept in the digital loop, but in doing so, I’d allowed the internet to obstruct my mindfulness.
I may very well be a champion Tweeter and a legend of Medium, but at what cost?
First thing in the morning, I checked my phone. On being woken in the night by screaming children (my own), I checked my phone. Watching the new Star Wars, I checked my phone (also: the film’s running length).
Something had to give. I was spending more time with social media pals than I was flesh-time* friends.
*Check this isn’t the name of a sex toy before publishing.
Ask my sons. They spent last weekend watching back-to-front (nose-to-tail?) episodes of Paw Patrol. Yes, they absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t an activity I’d ever seen suggested by a Medium guide to parenting essay.
So, yesterday, Sunday 17th December, I admitted I had a problem. And I resolved to do something about it.
I detoxed from the digital world. And it was the best ten minutes ever.
Here’s what I did:
* Was present in the moment, especially when moving from sitting to standing, just like Headspace says to do.
* Bonded with my children.
* Read George Saunders’ award-winning Lincoln in the Bardo.
* Told my wife I loved her.
* Wrote a short story about a puppy that moved me to tears and is probably good enough to be published by the New Yorker.
* Translated the Voynich Manuscript.
* Wrote a letter to my MP with a suggestion that would solve the Brexit issue to the satisfaction of all parties.
* Discovered a cure for cancer.
But then I thought of a really funny tweet that would definitely get me into double-figure retweets and also I needed to check that co-workers/ex-girlfriends weren’t enjoying themselves and one episode of Paw Patrol was hardly going to hurt, was it?
See the special tweet below
As soon as I lifted my phone, everything achieved in those ten minutes vanished, like when Samantha fell through a sidewalk cellar hatch door in Sex and the City.
I switched on Paw Patrol. My wife and children — I ignored them. I literally burned all the literary novels I possessed. Voynich, Brexit, cancer: forgotten. I flicked through Facebook instead.
And, you know the worst thing? My tweet didn’t even get a single like, let alone a retweet.
By Tim Mitchell
I detoxed from the digital world and it was the best ten minutes ever
I’d reached the point where every other thought was to reach for my phone. I was anxious to be kept in the digital loop, but in doing so, I’d allowed the internet to obstruct my mindfulness.
I may very well be a champion Tweeter and a legend of Medium, but at what cost?
First thing in the morning, I checked my phone. On being woken in the night by screaming children (my own), I checked my phone. Watching the new Star Wars, I checked my phone (also: the film’s running length).
Something had to give. I was spending more time with social media pals than I was flesh-time* friends.
*Check this isn’t the name of a sex toy before publishing.
Ask my sons. They spent last weekend watching back-to-front (nose-to-tail?) episodes of Paw Patrol. Yes, they absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t an activity I’d ever seen suggested by a Medium guide to parenting essay.
So, yesterday, Sunday 17th December, I admitted I had a problem. And I resolved to do something about it.
I detoxed from the digital world. And it was the best ten minutes ever.
Here’s what I did:
* Was present in the moment, especially when moving from sitting to standing, just like Headspace says to do.
* Bonded with my children.
* Read George Saunders’ award-winning Lincoln in the Bardo.
* Told my wife I loved her.
* Wrote a short story about a puppy that moved me to tears and is probably good enough to be published by the New Yorker.
* Translated the Voynich Manuscript.
* Wrote a letter to my MP with a suggestion that would solve the Brexit issue to the satisfaction of all parties.
* Discovered a cure for cancer.
But then I thought of a really funny tweet that would definitely get me into double-figure retweets and also I needed to check that co-workers/ex-girlfriends weren’t enjoying themselves and one episode of Paw Patrol was hardly going to hurt, was it?
See the special tweet below
As soon as I lifted my phone, everything achieved in those ten minutes vanished, like when Samantha fell through a sidewalk cellar hatch door in Sex and the City.
I switched on Paw Patrol. My wife and children — I ignored them. I literally burned all the literary novels I possessed. Voynich, Brexit, cancer: forgotten. I flicked through Facebook instead.
And, you know the worst thing? My tweet didn’t even get a single like, let alone a retweet.
By Tim Mitchell
Picturesque Brazil : Take some time out from digital media- travel is a good idea
The tweet that got hardly any retweets
