Don’t let them colonize your mind

In the disturbing film, A Clockwork Orange, the protagonist's eyes are being forcefully kept open, and he has no choice but to watch the most horrible scenes in order to “rehabilitate” from the awful crimes he has committed. I won’t attach a picture from the film, as it looks truly repulsive.

Currently, in real life, many people choose to watch short videos on their smartphones for hours on end. Their eyes aren’t being forcefully kept open, they’re doing this to themselves, willingly.

What are the consequences of this behavior? Are we “rehabilitating” our brains, in a way? Why do so many people choose to let their minds be colonized instead of doing something else with their limited time on earth?

Are our brains simply too vulnerable for addiction when it comes to certain technology? Seeing how nearly everyone in the public space is glued to their phone whenever one second of empty time arises, that is an attractive conclusion.

Personally, I don’t think our brains are equipped to deal with the barrage of input we give it every day via our smartphones.

Our body has feedback loops built in. For example, if you overfeed your body consistently for long periods of time, you’ll gain weight. This isn’t a huge problem at first, but at a certain point, you’re at risk of developing insulin resistance. If you keep going with overconsumption of calories, it’ll develop into full-blown diabetes type 2. The feedback loop between your pancreas and the rest of your body (simplistically put) is broken. Our body isn’t meant to be overfed for years on end, it’ll stop working correctly at some point. This feedback loop is known.

What would be the feedback loop for “overfeeding” your brain with social media slop every day for years on end? I’d hypothesize that you’ll notice consequences in your attention span, let’s call it fractured attention; with ADHD-like symptoms. Perhaps you feel restless if there’s an empty moment and your smartphone isn’t in direct sight. Or, you’re one step further, and your smartphone is glued to your hand almost the entire time you’re awake.

But the true, lasting consequences, are they known? Do we get dumber the more we use our smartphone instead of developing new skills or learning new things? Does our brain atrophy?

The answers are probably complex and not yet (fully) known, so I won’t speculate any further. Let’s keep it pragmatic, shall we.

The way I see it, time and attention are your most precious resources as a human being. The average human life lasts for about 4000 weeks (book tip). Why would you spend so many of those precious moments on your phone, watching meaningless slop on social media? Is that seriously worthwhile?

What can you do? How would you test if the feedback loop for overfeeding your brain has gone too far?

You can do self-experimentation, by stopping the consumption of social media for at least a month, and then see what happens. Write down your own hypothesis, and test it.

If that is a bridge too far for you, I understand. After reading this article, I hope you are at least aware of the opportunity cost that excessive smartphone use has on YOUR LIFE. You only have limited time on earth, how do you want to spend it?

Social media apps are designed to colonize your mind, to hoard your attention and keep you hooked. However, you are the one who is keeping your eyes forcibly glued to your phone. You let them colonize your mind, is that really what you want to do with your life? Don't give Big Tech that power over you.