Pull and refresh on YouTube to bring you some new videos that their algorithm thinks you'll like.
Pull and refresh on Mastodon to see new articles recommended by people you follow, I'm sure some of them are interesting.
Reddit lets you scroll to the "bottom" of a list of things that may interest you that doesn't actually have a bottom.
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Facebook, Tiktok, and Instagram let you swipe to the next possible cool photo or video in the hopes that it's going to hit the dopamine button hard enough.
You're inbox of things that look interesting continues to pile up, like a weight pushing you down as you realise you're never going to read everything. You will never get to the end of interesting things to read and do.
Aspirational life
Even though you want to live the type of life that will read those interesting articles or watch those videos that purport to give you a new method to stop being overwhelmed by the madness. But dang those people show off something so amazing between their perfectly groomed productivity system, which you can buy, and their morning routine and the empty inboxes of all sorts.
Who wouldn't want to be as put together as a productivity influencer? They make it look so effortless. They're often also younger and have less responsibility than the 45-year-old father of 3 kids in various activities whose wife works evenings so does all the kid stuff solo.
The problem isn't that there is so much slop that you can't find the good stuff to read, it's that we're searching a pile of needles for that single needle that suites. We're trained by attention seeking algorithms to swipe to the next thing just in case it his that dopamine button harder and if it doesn't swipe again for the next chance at a hit of happy brain juice.
Reality
This is what the first week of Meditations for mortals is all about. Letting go of the stuff you'll never get to and being okay with that.
In an age of attention scarcity, the greatest act of good citizenship may be learning to withdraw your attention from everything except the battle you've chosen to fight. Meditations for Mortals Pg 36
Letting go of the guilt when you acknowledge that you can't care about the latest 50 examples of suffering in the world. Instead focus on one thing that's close enough to you that you can do well. Instead of spending 10 minutes a day on 100 things, spend a few hours a week on one cause that you can make a difference in over years.
Let that stream of articles pass by you and grab the few that interest you. Be okay with all the stuff you won't get to. Don't fall for the trap of performative goals meant to impress other online people.
Don't sit down to read or watch anything insightful unless you're willing to take notes on it. Be okay with letting all the other great content pass you by without remark.
