Most of us have a fairly love/hate relationship with the internet.
On the one hand, we can connect with folks all over the world, share our creativity on various platforms, learn pretty much anything we want, and find inspiration in the creativity that others are sharing.
On the other hand, it’s very easy to slip into doom-scrolling, compare our creative practices and our lives as a whole with countless other peoples’, and replace the joy of creativity (and living life in general!) with easier hits of dopamine.
But the internet itself isn’t the problem. It’s not YouTube, it’s not Instagram, it’s not TikTok.
These are all simply tools. In and of themselves, they’re neither good nor bad.
The root of the problem is two-fold: we are OVER-LOADED with constant input and UNDER-TRAINED in digital literacy. The internet is new and exciting and full of potential, but none of us are being taught how to truly use it for our benefit.
This is definitely a topic I want to dive deeper into, but for the moment I want to discuss the concept of input overload. This can look like many things. Doom-scrolling for an hour, watching brain rot videos over breakfast, or always having something on in the background.
Our brains and our bodies need boredom. They need quiet. They need space and time to process information. And when we’re constantly clicking on another video or scrolling to another post, flooding our brains with new content, we aren’t giving ourselves that margin.
When I slip into consuming too much content, I get what I call “Busy Brain.” There are simply too many things going on in my head. Too many new ideas, too many new techniques I could try, too many new books I should read… There’s too much. My brain can’t process all of the noise and clutter. I find myself becoming fidget-y, unable to sit and focus on a project. I find myself becoming joyless as I’m no longer living in the present moment, always reaching for the next thing.
And over time, the numbness sets in. My heart and my head can’t handle the “too much” so they shut down.
And that’s no way to live. Not for you, and not for me.
I want to encourage you to set aside some margin. Put down your phone or your tablet. Turn off the TV. Just for 10 minutes. Don’t go do the dishes. Don’t go grab a book. Sit with yourself. Let your mind wander. Let it process the day. Let it rest.