Everything’s Awesome and no one’s happy
Day 281 / 365
The comedian Louis C.K. had this great bit about how we are living more luxurious and technologically advanced lives than our ancestors, and yet we are not happy about it. He was baffled how a person sitting next to him on a flight was complaining about the wifi not working, while he was sitting on a chair thousands of feet in the air, soaring through the sky at amazing speeds!
When I was in school, my parents didn’t allow us to watch TV for the 2 months leading up to our final exams. All I had for entertainment back then was a little radio transistor.
I used to listen to songs on it while I studied. Every once in a while a song would come up which I liked, and I would take a 3-minute break to enjoy listening to it.
Fast forward to present day, when I would go through a playlist of top 20 of my favourite songs while I am on my way to work. And that too would be done absentmindedly, as I am browsing through facebook. Where did it all go wrong?
I think the problem is that there is an overload to top-quality electronic entertainment right now. No child today would be happy playing with a ball for hours when there are so many great youtube videos available just a click away. We have made it easier and cheaper for people to pass time. No one wants to be bored for even a second now.
I tried doing a mini dopamine fast today. I Turned off my phone and other electronics for an hour. If you try this, you will realize how tough it is to make it past even the first 5 minutes. But once you do that, you would really enjoy this little alone time, where you can sit and introspect without being bombarded by messages and notifications. I plan to do this a few times every week, and I think everyone should try it at least once.
This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here
Yesterday’s blog — The South Pole