Quick! Before you start, if you'd like to LISTEN to this post instead of reading it, scroll down to the comments section!- Enjoy!
Today I'd like to talk about attention. Now just by posting this, I am attempting to take some of your attention, and if you are reading this you are lending it out to me.
Let me begin by saying deeply appreciate you lending me your attention. As of this date. there are 89 of you who have expressed interest in lending me your attention here on Steemit with the click of a follow button and for this I thank you. I promise to do my best not to waste the attention you are lending me, and in exchange, I'll do my best to provide you with some value. Maybe a new skill or "making" idea, sometimes a story, other times it may just be a stream of consciousness with some wisdom or a few ideas you can take with you to your own mental playground. - (Like this post!)
What I'm saying is attention is important. And if what you're giving your attention to isn't serving you, you might want to let it go.
I know it's not easy. If you're here on Steemit you're one of the fortunate 42% of the world population with an internet connection so I'm pretty sure you know all about how valuable attention is. Even as I write this, I have to admit I only came here to jot down my thoughts because I was mid way through a podcast about relaxation and I had a brain storm. So, I clicked away busted open Caret and started writing.
Here's the problem, we're not as in control of our attentions as we may believe.
I've always been susceptible to "rabbit holes", so I can't entirely blame the information age for that one.
As a kid when our family took long car rides, I'd have a mental debate with myself, constantly swapping sides to see how far I'd get before I stumped myself or ended up at a paradox. (I guess my limited college career studying philosophy was fated- damn I was a weird kid.)
Let's say for a moment that you're deeply unhappy and frustrated with your life, you need to shake off the dust and stagnation, you want to get moving in ANY different direction. Maybe you'd like to lose weight, or you're unhappy with your job, you're unfulfilled creatively or you want to be more accountable for the way you spend your money? Unfortunately, there are swarms of developers working around the clock to make sure that doesn't happen.
Alright, let's go a little more specific with the example. Say you've spent the last 5 years watching Epic Meal Time videos, and suddenly you've got the urge to try a plant based diet. You're certainly not ready to go full vegan but you saw a documentary about how if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off the roads. TRUE STORY
Damn, that's crazy, sorry to deep dive this hypothetical example but I couldn't help but go there.
ANYWAY- You're into being a vegetarian once and awhile, awesome. Here's the problem, that memo didn't go to your favorite social platforms and as far as the Almighty Algorithm is concerned, you're still going to want to see Epic Meal Time videos, and so, that's what you'll get.
It's no secret that a TON of data has been gathered about all of us during our travels through the digital ether, our likes, our dislikes, our habits, our beliefs and views about the world and how we interact with it, all stored in a server farm, all ready for the plucking at the will of any of your favorite online platforms.
The problem is, they don't want to see you change. They have no vested interested in your personal growth or evolution. The prime directive of the algorithm is to keep you... COMFORTABLE.
Talk about the WORST C word amirite? ;)
Think about it, the more you change, the harder it is to advertise to you, predict your habits and most importantly, to keep you plugged into their own Matrix.
So on Instagram, you wasted a few minutes watching videos of someone poking a bowl of slime while waiting for the bus once, so what? Well, now Instagram know you dig a slime video now and then, so like any good pusher they'll give you a little bit more, and more until your entire timeline is filled with slime, and conspiracy theories and people living lives you admire but ultimately make you sad that you haven't achieved yet. (Admittedly, that's what MY feed is like, feel free to substitute your own examples, you know what they are.)
See the problem? See what a bad transaction that is? You're forking over your attention, the arguably most valuable asset in the digital realm and what are you getting? You're getting things that are designed to draw you deeper into what may be the worst and most damaging qualities about your outlook, your personality, and your habits! - LAME!
I started brainstorming a few ways that I'm personally going to try to shake loose the digital entanglements. I've noticed quite a few people just going right ahead and deleting their social accounts, and while that's commendable, it's not an option for me since a big part of my income is tied to social at the moment. (Post Apocalypse dual-wielding crossbow Dayle is waiting in the wings though, don't you worry!)
Here are 3 ideas I came up with:
1. Reorder the apps on your phone.
Literally just slide them to a different spot. That's all! I can't tell you how many times I grabbed my phone at the end of a work day and muscle memory had my thumb unconsciously pressing the bottom right-hand corner of my home screen where Instagram lives. 15 minutes later I realize, I didn't really even want to be here!
2. Make an effort to learn something new
Facebook is one of the worst offenders because their algorithm learns who you're more likely to interact with and prioritizes your feed with like minded people and articles until you entire experience becomes an echo chamber of blind and delusionary reinforcements to what you already believe. Research a new topic, explore different hashtags than your normally would or watch a YouTube video about something you know literally NOTHING about. If you're a quantum physicist, learn about pig farming. If you're a ballet dancer, brush up on your knowledge of the resonance frequencies of the world's unexplained ancient monoliths. Break the cycle.
3. Install "Kill News Feed"
This one was a game changer for me, it was originally pitched to me as a "productivity app" but since I've enabled Kill News Feed on my Chrome browser, I've never turned it off. I can still engage on FB pages, use Messenger, and interact in groups but that funnel of predetermined slop-content FB thinks I want to see on my feed is magically replaced by...
NOTHING! Isn't that lovely?
I hope these suggestions help interrupt a few algorithmic trajectories and open up a few new neural pathways in your brain as well. I wish for you what I wish for myself, infinite possibilities! Your only limitation mentally, physically, emotionally should start and end with you. Not a piece of software built to keep you the same.
<3
Dayle
Interested in learning more about @texttosteem? Want your own posts read by a Jersey Gal or British Guy for your posts? Check out this post: humble.link/texttosteem
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