It's 12:52pm ET and I'm starting my blog which means I'm on track today! (Reference my blog yesterday where I noted that I've been undisciplined lately)
I'm sitting in our kitchen window and for the past 20 or 30 minutes was scrolling Reddit as I ate my ramen lunch; which reminded me I need to order more ramen, but as I scrolled down my feed it made me wonder what other people are seeing.
I am probably not talking about the younger generations on TikTok, YouTube, etc. I don't know what is on TikTok and I only use YouTube to watch basketball and music videos and an occasional tech tutorial. My partner and I use Reddit to get our information. I tried deleting it but it's really the best way to get news and it can be a really great community if you use it the right way.
Nowadays I utilize my iPhone's "Time Limit" feature. I set a limit of 30 minutes per day for Reddit. Once my limit is up I can extend it but it's like a little nudge to get off and do something else. My daily average on Reddit is 44 minutes, which isn't that bad considering bathroom trips and lunchtime scrolling. Too much information?
In addition to limiting how often I use Reddit, I've also "curated" my home page so that I only see content from the communities I want and recently went further and created a "Custom Feed" with just content from communities like:
It is really nice to see a collection of content from around the world that is positive and happy. Every now and then I accidentally switch to the News section and my happy mood is immediately destroyed so I have to switch back and see some new memes.
Quick aside: if you're still not sure what a "meme" is, you can use the etymology of it - it comes from Ancient Greek, meaning "imitated thing". Like a rumor in high school, it's just something transmitted from one person to the next - the most common way these days is via an image, text, or gif.
One of the things that is so amazing about being part of a community is shared joy. When you're reading through comments you see some really positive vibes being spread, even among people who don't know each other - which is a really welcome thing on the interwebs. Stuff like this:
The internet can be an extremely toxic place so I like to simply avoid that negativity and look for things that are good and bring a smile to my face.
As we're officially headed into the holiday season I didn't want to try and talk about anything too business-y or serious - I just wanted to take a few minutes to share a reminder that if you're struggling to find happiness during the holidays, a community to be a part of, or just positivity in your life then consider the ways you're taking in content.
Hedonic adaptation (or the hedonic treadmill) is something that has been talked about I feel like a lot during the pandemic. It refers to how humans take in negative and positive information and return to a base level of happiness.
Interestingly, the happiness set point, though largely determined by genetics, can be influenced by events and raised or lowered over time. Though I have no scientific evidence to back up my claim, nor current ability to test this I will hypothesize that:
by exposing myself to more happy events than sad ones I can raise my happiness set point - and so can you.
By turning off news networks, not fretting about what the latest omnibus bill has in it, and avoid rage-inducing communities I bet you'll be happier and a much better person to be around.
Limiting yourself online will keep you from going down too many dark rabbit holes, Alice. Intake some positivity and raise that happiness level for a bit but don't overdo it. Once your limit kicks in, walk around, clean something, or knock something off your to-do list.
Check out the communities I listed above and/or look for communities for things you like: woodworking, 90 Day Fiance, cars, crafting, gardening, etc. Find others who enjoy those same things, share information, and encourage those in your community. If you want some help finding some feel free to reach out and let me know.
Feel free to share happy memes or stories with me - or anyone in your life, really. Here's one from me to you:
I haven't yet decided if I'll be writing in between the holidays, but either way, I'll see ya soon!
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