the internet used to be a form of escapism. now big tech corpo has taken over and we are nothing more than a string of numbers to them.

(This was copied from my SpaceHey blog!)

ive been seeing a lot of videos about something called a "dopamine detox". (if you don't know what it is, it's essentially getting rid of overstimulating apps and replacing ur phone with multiple gadgets(like an ipod instead of spotify or a camera instead of your phone.)) and i honestly didn't even realize that i was partaking in this for the past week until i watched said video. my screen time hasn't changed much(average of 6 hours), but most of it came from my computer being on in the background while i do something that soothes and calms me down. it's always been pretty easy for me to detach from the internet, considering i made the choice to never download tt when i was 10(?) and the only social media i have is pinterest, yt, and snap(which i never use other than to keep streaks). 

i actually think that we should all do this. why? well, the enshittification of everything is starting to get to me. yt has literal corn on shorts, pinterest is a graveyard of ai and ads, and every algorithm these days are made with the intention of keeping you "engaged". though its not really engagement. ur just being constantly supplied with overwhelming amounts of dopamine to the point where it's too hard to get off. not to mention that everything is so expensive, and all the streaming services are just taking away more and more features from us. take spotify for example! ads are everywhere, you cant even loop, and so many oter things that used to be free are now locked behind a $17/month paywall. when you burn a cd or use an ipod, you're freeing yourself from the needless wasting of your money and the worsening of your experience overall (for those who dont pay for premium). using all these various things just feels so much more authentic than just having a dark gray glass slab that makes you addicted to flashing lights and worsens your attention span.

lets talk more about social media, specifically spacehey/other myspace revivals. all these SM sites give you a window into other people.. strangers' lives. i personally think that comparing value a to value b is a very human thing to do; however, being to see these instagram influencers' perfect lives in dubai and bali really makes this comparing so out of control. don't you see why things like depression and other mental health issues have gone up so high? obviously there are many other factors(staying in more, etc.), but having the ability to look at kim k's life just drains any droplet of motivation that someone has. after all, what's the point of getting out of bed when there are so many people who are rich and making 6 figures a day? and this leads into why i love spacehey so much. it's not just a remake of myspace, it's also what facebook, snapchat, and instagram all used to be: a space that allows for customization that caters to one personality(notice how widely scrutinized it is to not have a "basic clean girl" personality in genz) and lets you stay connected to your friends... and only your friends. not to mention it still lets you socialize with strangers without being too invasive in your/their lives. i've met so many amazing people here and the lack of overstimulating features such as doomscrolling makes it so much more authentic. i feel like im in a little town with my people when i go on spacehey. i don't feel like this at all when i go on other social media sites. spacehey has allowed for my screen time on my phone to drastically decrease and im now reviving my ancient interests in sewing, crocheting, and old computers/coding. i barely go on my phone, i average 20 minutes of screen time on my ipad, and with me introducing more specialized gadgets into my life, i feel more immersed in the 00s than ever with how easy it is to just... disconnect, i guess. 

if you ever want to bring down your screen time, start with the little things. bring a camera outside. your DS? use it more often. switch to an ipod(i havent made the switch yet, though i will be soon), and most of all? do the things you used to/still do enjoy. because trust me, it already starts to pay off after only a couple of days.

thank you for coming to my ted talk!

signing off,

irr <3