Before Endless Media

Before there was technology, people gained their understanding of the world through what they experienced through their senses.

People only knew as far as their own immediate surroundings, recollections from their memories, and stories passed down through the generations.

An example from Little House on the Prairie reads, “Pa fitted the logs together… and filled the cracks with clay, to keep out the wind and cold.”

To read is to take a dive into someone else's thoughts. Reading expands our world while demanding little in return. This is why storytelling and story writing has always been so impactful. We exchange our time and attention for an experience that can pour into us positively.

When Rapid Media Fragments the Mind

But not every form of media expands the mind in the same way.

The problem with social media content is that it is mainly consumed as rapid visual media (a succession of unrelated snippets or short clips). The use of this type of media has skyrocketed in the last few years and I believe we’ve only uncovered the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the damaging effects.

There is now endless media for our eyes to see and our ears to hear, but instead of expanding our world, the result is a foggy, fragmented mind that has a hard time making decisions.

This shows up most clearly when you compare how you feel at the end of an hour of scrolling, versus how you feel after time spent reading one piece of work.

Naturally, well written books will have you wanting to keep going to see how the story plays out but generally, after reading, you can walk away from it without feeling foggy or addicted to turning the page.

In comparison, with an hour of scrolling, you can easily blow past normal limits of attention. Your brain becomes fatigued from the massive amount of input and the mental drain causes a drop in your energy.

When the Mind Loses Continuity

When information moves too quickly, as with most current digital environments, the mind struggles to hold onto what truly matters.

In one moment, we are immersed in one person’s life, and in the next we are transported somewhere entirely different. There is little continuity—nothing for the mind to follow long enough to form a meaningful thread of understanding.

I recently followed a fictional character’s life through her first big trip from her hometown to a small mountain town in Kentucky, which ultimately ended with her finding purpose, love, and a more grounded reality.

This story added variety to my day, reminded me not to take things for granted, and I never became addicted to the book, having to check it at all hours of the day.

In comparison, I’ve dealt with having a hard time not checking my phone and have known many others to have the same problem. Just the knowledge of new content available each and everyday has us checking constantly.

The endless roulette style of short clips becomes addicting, in the same way that gambling is. You feel there’s a prize or reward even with no promise of it. It’s easy, fast, and cheap. It’s easy to see how this leads to many having a hard time working on tasks that require more effort.

Why would we want to clean the house when we can instead have a laugh, be inspired, feel sympathy, and feel falsely fulfilled all within one hour. The rollercoaster of emotions is the cheap and easy reward our brains were gambling on.

When Your Own Life Gets Lost in the Noise

Over time, the constant noise begins to affect how we perceive our own lives.

I believe we slowly lose the ability to decipher what path we should be taking.

You may see a clip of someone saying Cast Iron is the best to cook on, and copper cups are the best to drink from, and now you’re online shopping or skimming for deals for these things even though just yesterday it wasn’t on your mind at all and you had just committed to having a “no-spend” month.

But it doesn’t stop with shopping habits. This even happens with people looking for a new direction in life. Seeing something someone else is doing may look attractive and you may want to try it, but how do you know it’s right for you?

The implanting of ideas and the cluttering of our minds happens that quickly. If we’re constantly filling our brain with the experiences of others, it becomes difficult to separate out the calling placed on our own lives.

There are quiet moments, serendipitous meetings, oddly-timed coincidences, and perfectly placed lessons, just for us, all throughout our lives. But when our attention is scattered, it becomes harder to recognize the meaning unfolding within and throughout our days.

A Note About Ai

AI images are ramping up even in the rapid visual content space. Many people cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not anymore.

These fraudulent images and scenarios that never happen aim to affect our emotions and cause a reaction in us.

Every time you swipe, it is a silent agreement. You agree to allow whatever comes next into your home, into your eyes, and thus into your spirit. Before you even know what is coming next, every swipe is an agreement. This thought alone has helped me lessen the habit of scrolling, along with having a fictional and a non-fictional book in rotation.

Returning to Books

So we know now that too much social media overwhelms our senses, crowds our thoughts, and eventually clutters our internal decision making.

No matter how you look at it, too much at once is not what we're built for.

So pick up a book and reignite a long-form type of entertainment because it is not only enjoyable but it is good for you. Books give us the opportunity to follow just one storyline or narrative at a time, from beginning to end.

Instead of peeking into many digital windows of people’s lives and being left little context for what you’re seeing, I challenge you to read a book and experience the difference.

Follow a character through a written story and ponder the journey as you close the loop in your brain when the story ends.

Reading encourages patience and follow-through, improves the attention span, and trains your brain away from relying on dopamine spikes that fast visual content gives.

You may be surprised by how wide your world is able to expand when you slow down and focus on one well written storyline.