Excellent idea, Justin. Now, to pry that phone from the hands of so many on the planet. It really is addictive. I think with a self-imposed schedule of sorts, it can be done. Good reminder!
Going out to the garden now! Agree completely Justin. We need to ‘ground’ ourselves differently, and books, travel and adventure, being in nature — all sources of empathy-building energy. Appreciated the post!
My thoughts about your question are in the line you wrote about “becoming more directly engaged offline”. I think we each can come up with ways to do offline things and to help others enjoy offline things. E.g. I’m getting myself skilled up as a hiking guide. In doing that, I’ll be able to help friends and others to enjoy nature and the outdoors. It’s a small, practical thing that is within my remit to do. We all have activities we can do and that we can involve others with.
I completely agree. My life has changed so much since I became almost militant on what I consume. A life without television and minimal time online is life changing.
Excellent post Justin. I loved the stats you provide. My 30 yo daughter just deleted Instagram from her phone because the ‘news’ it was feeding her was doom and gloom and contributing to anxiety about the state of the world/country/life/etc. And IG was supposed to be a ‘fun’ social, not a news source, etc. I’m afraid of where the ‘socials’ are taking us and it’s ever-present, unfortunately, unless we disconnect and find another way t fill time.
Thank you Marlo! I hear many similar things coming from friends and family. My wife deleted nearly all her social media for those reasons as well. This does seem to be a huge theme of our time and how to get more of us grounded again is a huge challenge. As always, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Do we encourage people to get out and about with our writing? It's an interesting question, Justin. We'll never know how many people are influenced by our words yet there's a strong chance that what we write, and what you write about in particular, is not going to have the reverse effect.
Here's a suggestion. Have you tried doing a voice over for your posts? Listeners can walk while enjoying your words.
I have considered it but wondered if I have a sufficient narrator’s voice or if the automated voice would be preferred by listeners. Also a time thing for the moment. From what I’ve gathered, people place a high value on good voices for their audio books. You are right though, I should give that a try sometime.
I’ve been using just my iPhone and earbuds to record a voiceover once I’ve drafted a post. It doesn’t take long. It’s not a big dollar professional set up of course, but it’s me. And that MUST be better than an AI. 😀
This is really excellent. I think that we need to separate getting offline from travel - travel can be expensive, time consuming, exhausting, and feel like a luxury we cannot afford. Sadly, has turned into yet another thing people do "for the 'gram" actually leads people right back into the social media trap. The glorification of travel has led to overtourism, which actually does exacerbate the very real tensions that we are facing globally, environmentally and social.
You may not have to travel to touch grass. Urban parks might be accessible. Your backyard, of you're fortunate enough to have one, can be getting outside. I have created this space for experiencing real life on a fire escape, a balcony, countless parks accessible from the many places I've lived, beaches, nature trails, public squares, etc etc etc. All without spending money or traveling more than 20 minutes by car. Without a car, by public bus or my good old sneakers.
I now live in Cozumel, the principle reason because of my love of underwater life. Yesterday I snorkeled for 5 hours. On returning, I saw a bunch of beer cans underwater, that looked like they'd just been left there. I saw a family enjoying the water nearby and asked if the cans were theirs. They said no, and then reached down and picked up a can close to them. The mom said "necesitamos más gente como tú" (we need more people like you). It was a moment of connection that undermined so much of the nihilistic and hostile narratives that exist about people.
Thank you Elizabeth! Totally agree. I’ve argued elsewhere that I prefer using the term wander rather than travel and that adventure is more of a mindset and philosophy of life; that where we travel need not be elaborate, expensive, or half way around the globe in order to scratch the itch of our wanderlust. We do need to figure out how we promote better forms of travel and prevent things like overtourism and convincing others to be better stewards of cultures and environments when they travel abroad. At the very least I think that whole project might have to begin by recruiting people to get offline and cultivate healthier habits. So much to think about…Happy to hear you enjoyed and thank you for sharing your thoughts. 😊
Oooh I like "wander." I grew up in the 80s, and was an only child to a single mom who was gone a lot, and I "wandered" through little patches of woods in our suburban town with nothing but imagination and what I could find on the ground. Miraculously, I was never kidnapped.
Now, I wander regularly along the same stretch of coastline snorkeling multiple times a week. There is always something new to see, especially due to the biodiversity of wildlife. It's absolutely critical to mental health.
Many humans are really overstimulated and can't find wonder in the wander, so to speak.
Re tourism, YES and equally true of emigration (expatting). That's why I do what I do with Conscientious Emigration!
Speaking of social, I see after posting that AI thinks it knows what I want to say better than I do and deletes important connecting words. (Case in point, I just typed "can't edit" and it turned it into "can't wait.") Smh. A robot correcting my words (eye roll). Anyway, that is the reason for the errors in my prior comment.
Excellent idea, Justin. Now, to pry that phone from the hands of so many on the planet. It really is addictive. I think with a self-imposed schedule of sorts, it can be done. Good reminder!
Given that many of us get most of our information online, perhaps an online source needs to convince us to disconnect. That's not likely.
Going out to the garden now! Agree completely Justin. We need to ‘ground’ ourselves differently, and books, travel and adventure, being in nature — all sources of empathy-building energy. Appreciated the post!
Thank you Laura! Thrilled to hear this. And what coincidence, I’m about to head out to the garden as well. Cheers! 😊
My thoughts about your question are in the line you wrote about “becoming more directly engaged offline”. I think we each can come up with ways to do offline things and to help others enjoy offline things. E.g. I’m getting myself skilled up as a hiking guide. In doing that, I’ll be able to help friends and others to enjoy nature and the outdoors. It’s a small, practical thing that is within my remit to do. We all have activities we can do and that we can involve others with.
I completely agree. My life has changed so much since I became almost militant on what I consume. A life without television and minimal time online is life changing.
Excellent post Justin. I loved the stats you provide. My 30 yo daughter just deleted Instagram from her phone because the ‘news’ it was feeding her was doom and gloom and contributing to anxiety about the state of the world/country/life/etc. And IG was supposed to be a ‘fun’ social, not a news source, etc. I’m afraid of where the ‘socials’ are taking us and it’s ever-present, unfortunately, unless we disconnect and find another way t fill time.
Thank you Marlo! I hear many similar things coming from friends and family. My wife deleted nearly all her social media for those reasons as well. This does seem to be a huge theme of our time and how to get more of us grounded again is a huge challenge. As always, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Do we encourage people to get out and about with our writing? It's an interesting question, Justin. We'll never know how many people are influenced by our words yet there's a strong chance that what we write, and what you write about in particular, is not going to have the reverse effect.
Here's a suggestion. Have you tried doing a voice over for your posts? Listeners can walk while enjoying your words.
I have considered it but wondered if I have a sufficient narrator’s voice or if the automated voice would be preferred by listeners. Also a time thing for the moment. From what I’ve gathered, people place a high value on good voices for their audio books. You are right though, I should give that a try sometime.
I’ve been using just my iPhone and earbuds to record a voiceover once I’ve drafted a post. It doesn’t take long. It’s not a big dollar professional set up of course, but it’s me. And that MUST be better than an AI. 😀
Thanks for the read. Currently in Yosemite and I deactivated Instagram indefinitely. Taking a break to think.
This is really excellent. I think that we need to separate getting offline from travel - travel can be expensive, time consuming, exhausting, and feel like a luxury we cannot afford. Sadly, has turned into yet another thing people do "for the 'gram" actually leads people right back into the social media trap. The glorification of travel has led to overtourism, which actually does exacerbate the very real tensions that we are facing globally, environmentally and social.
You may not have to travel to touch grass. Urban parks might be accessible. Your backyard, of you're fortunate enough to have one, can be getting outside. I have created this space for experiencing real life on a fire escape, a balcony, countless parks accessible from the many places I've lived, beaches, nature trails, public squares, etc etc etc. All without spending money or traveling more than 20 minutes by car. Without a car, by public bus or my good old sneakers.
I now live in Cozumel, the principle reason because of my love of underwater life. Yesterday I snorkeled for 5 hours. On returning, I saw a bunch of beer cans underwater, that looked like they'd just been left there. I saw a family enjoying the water nearby and asked if the cans were theirs. They said no, and then reached down and picked up a can close to them. The mom said "necesitamos más gente como tú" (we need more people like you). It was a moment of connection that undermined so much of the nihilistic and hostile narratives that exist about people.
Thank you for this article. It's really poignant.
Thank you Elizabeth! Totally agree. I’ve argued elsewhere that I prefer using the term wander rather than travel and that adventure is more of a mindset and philosophy of life; that where we travel need not be elaborate, expensive, or half way around the globe in order to scratch the itch of our wanderlust. We do need to figure out how we promote better forms of travel and prevent things like overtourism and convincing others to be better stewards of cultures and environments when they travel abroad. At the very least I think that whole project might have to begin by recruiting people to get offline and cultivate healthier habits. So much to think about…Happy to hear you enjoyed and thank you for sharing your thoughts. 😊
Oooh I like "wander." I grew up in the 80s, and was an only child to a single mom who was gone a lot, and I "wandered" through little patches of woods in our suburban town with nothing but imagination and what I could find on the ground. Miraculously, I was never kidnapped.
Now, I wander regularly along the same stretch of coastline snorkeling multiple times a week. There is always something new to see, especially due to the biodiversity of wildlife. It's absolutely critical to mental health.
Many humans are really overstimulated and can't find wonder in the wander, so to speak.
Re tourism, YES and equally true of emigration (expatting). That's why I do what I do with Conscientious Emigration!
Thanks again. ❤️
Speaking of social, I see after posting that AI thinks it knows what I want to say better than I do and deletes important connecting words. (Case in point, I just typed "can't edit" and it turned it into "can't wait.") Smh. A robot correcting my words (eye roll). Anyway, that is the reason for the errors in my prior comment.