I am not discussing politics here – at least not right here. Perhaps it is a discussion for another post (probably not), or a different cup of coffee (more appropriately in person). But it is not the subject of this weekly recap. It may touch at the edges of it, have whispers of suggestion because, of course, it does. I live in the same world at the same time as you. I know it, I see it, I feel it. Sometimes I think I do those things the same and different, so it is my responsibility to share. That is a super abstruse sentence. I am going to leave it like that; we could all stand some practice in patience for considering the oblique.
The prompting to delete all the social media apps from my phone has been an interesting one. As we are only one week in, I hesitate to declare it permanent, but I cannot currently foresee a reason to reinstall them. Conversely, I am nearly to the point where I prefer it this way. My interactions with socials are adequately sequestered to my first morning schedule, my evening check-in, and perhaps a mid-day look through if I have my laptop.
I will be honest; this took some unforeseen adjustments (story of my life right now). There are little things, like the added layer of difficulty in looking at reels and videos, that folks text me, and the sharing of photos and memories that I had to work around. More intrusive was breaking the habit of heading straight to socials when I opened my laptop. This led to distraction during times that I could not afford to be distracted (read: class). It became more productive to keep the laptop in my bag than on my desk. Lesson learned – I don’t need technology nearly as much or as often as I think I do, and probably still less than that.
And here is where I start to sound amazingly predictable and basic. Still, there is no other way around it, so I will just get this part over with because it is a necessary segue (or perhaps it isn’t, but I don’t spend a whole lot of time editing these things, so I will just leave it in here). There was an immediate and noted difference in the availability of time, how I functioned in that time, and my connection to community. It is amazing how much time-on-phone cuts into time in the world – even (especially?) when we think that the phone is creating our connection to the world.
With this reclamation of resources, I just did more of what I already do: I watch, I listen, I read, I discuss. What I did wasn’t different, but how I did it was. Because there was no alternative, no little notification to suggest I should head down into the world of curated content, no entry into the doom scroll apathy, I paid attention to what was instead of attempting to create moments of what isn’t.
You know what’s interesting about regularly being in a highly populated space? You either become more aware or less. I had become less aware. My dulled senses missed people. Here I am in a space that holds far more people than my social media friend list. And it is not what I see in my curated feed. People are not just scrolling by each other, consuming each other’s appearance, possessions, and actions. They do not each have the meme du jour held high above their heads, inciting high fives or disgust by passersby who also don’t realize that the thought is shallow and probably not what they think it means. They are not talking in all caps, yelling in rage, treating each other unkindly, speaking in empty rhetoric about heaven, hell, -isms, hate, stereotypes, prejudice, violence, war, ugly.
They just aren’t.
But they are gathered around trees, hammocks, picnic baskets, puppies, backpacks, homework, speaking in tones appropriate to the conversation. Sometimes it is intense and emotional, others it is casual and light. At no time is it confrontational and vicious.
Am I extrapolating a whole lot out of one week on one quad of an American university that houses a lot of privilege in the midst of some delicious weather? Yes. Yes, I am. And as soon as I had reservations about it, I dismissed them. It is no more or less curated or biased than any social media space we give so much attention to. It is no more or less privileged than having a device in your pocket that holds the gateway to the universe of information. It is no more or less constructed than any other account offered by media outlets as proof positive that this, THIS, is the way the world is now.
I am now at the point of putting thoughts on paper where I can feel my passions rise. I am excitable and a tad emotional. While that is not a terrible thing in general, I am not going to place that – at least not on this topic – here on the page. Instead, I am going to pivot, and you will just have to trust that it is related.
Stories are important for a lot of reasons, but none more than connecting and creating humanity. I realize that’s a big opinion that needs a lot of explanation, argument, proof, nuance, and consideration. That’s a discussion for another time.
Stories are important for a lot of reasons, but none more than connecting and creating humanity. They show us ourselves – through eras, generations, systems of power, beliefs, location, time, space, wonder. Stories show us who we are. They show us what we will tolerate, love, fight, and believe. They show us the wonder of what we are and have the possibility to become. And they show us the horror of what we are and have the possibility to become. They show us that we are capable of justifying either as good and right and just.
I think I am really going to have to start writing more often…there is so much more to say here…
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