Finding peace in the digital world

I had the most hectic week. Work, family, and friendship-wise, I was needed everywhere.

After brewing a sexy cup of iced americano and a two-hour nap, I am in decent shape to pen down my thoughts.

What am I scrolling?

I am forcing myself to spend more time on Substack, Reddit, and YouTube.

With Instagram’s algorithm getting too good each day, it’s hard to get out of the loop once you’re in. Or if you’re in the mood to watch a specific genre of reels - Anime, cricket, comedy, cute animals, etc., for me.

I believe we’re in the age of content overload. There was a time when access to information was difficult - and now are the times you get multiple sources on the same topic.

It’s easy to drown in tons of information and never get any impactful work done. Or, as much as I like entertainment, Instagram pulls me into its tornado, stealing my time from consuming content that helps me overall.

Right now, I am in this space of expanding my knowledge as widely as possible. This means I am randomly consuming content without any initial interest towards it - then figuring out if it is a genre I’d like to explore further.

This is one of my recent favourite reads. If you’re unhappy in your job, you might resign after reading this.

Finding peace

At this point, I am convinced one way to acquire substantial peace is by developing multiple device-free hobbies.

The world is moving fast. Each piece of technology and every segment of your digital life is designed to make workflows faster and cause instant stimulation or dopamine. Almost to a level where it’s rare to find activities that slowly build up to dopamine.

This is where offline hobbies are a blessing.

I can see my patience and attention diminishing, but if anything is holding the ship strong, it’s my device-free time. I play cricket, brew coffee, walk, read books, collect dynamic souvenirs, and occasionally repair watches. There’s always a slow build-up to dopamine, no instant simulation, and it requires patience. It’s almost meditative in its own way and what netizens call ‘detox.’

That’s all I have for this short issue. I have some opinions on jobs, momentum, and movies but these are only half-baked. Some other day.

Love,
Vikra.