My Screen – My Choices

There are days when the world feels as if it is spinning a little too fast. The chatter of updates, the flash of videos, the steady stream of reels that everyone seems to be watching and forwarding. I am bombarded by messages in the morning, from lots of well-meaning people. However, I often find myself stepping back from it all. Not entirely out of disinterest, but also out of a quiet need to breathe.

I have noticed that when I stay away from social media, a soft calm settles around me. It is almost like stepping out of a crowded noisy room into an open field with quiet. My own thoughts return. I enjoy this silence and break. It gives me space to look at the small things in my day, like the colour of the sky or the smell of the morning breeze. These moments do not demand my attention. They simply wait to be felt.

While living close to nature and growing away from time traps like social media reels, videos, forwards and tweets, there is an insight I have developed and found to be quite effective. I have stopped downloading pictures and videos shared by others wherever possible. I no longer open forwarded links, especially from people who are in the habit of sending them almost every second day or even more frequently. They mean well and want to share what they feel is worthwhile. Yet from my perspective it is not useful, and it often turns into a steady drain of time and leaves me exhausted. If I need information on anything, I will look for it when I actually need it. I would rather watch the videos I feel drawn to and read the thoughts I want to read, instead of what someone else enjoyed enough to forward it my way.

At times, to keep the apps a little misguided, I post thoughts from entirely different perspectives. A trick I learnt from a good friend of mine. It keeps them from surrounding me with similar views and topics. The same goes for likes and views. It creates a sort of confusion in their algorithms that keeps the suggestions at bay.

Do I see forwards at all? Yes, at times I do. When someone who rarely sends anything decides to share something. Usually such a forward has something worthwhile. Also, when the forward is accompanied by a short note written in their own words. Or when we have spoken on the phone and a link is shared in the context of that very conversation. These feel meaningful and personal, and I make an effort to check them.

Even on popular occasions like birthdays or festivals, I prefer to write a line or two conveying my thoughts rather than send pictures. A simple ‘Happy New Year’ sent directly by a person means more to me than a fancy image they might have forwarded to many others. Even if the text message has also gone to everyone on their list, it still feels more personal to receive a few words than a picture crafted for a crowd and downloaded from internet.

In my effort to move towards a slow and mindful way of living, I have uninstalled many social media apps. Some remain only because they help me with my homestay work and my livelihood. Friends now phone me more often. Messaging is minimal. And this feels nothing short of blissful.

Instead of moving with the stream, I move at my own pace. A chapter in a book, a quiet mindful walk, a small task done with care. These bring me closer to myself. In the simple choice to avoid the noise of endless content, I find a calm that feels like home. I am still not there. The social media and the forwards still distract me but with time I can feel the improvement in myself.

Click here for all related posts – Browse my blog on slow and sustainable living !