Kern Carter's Blog, page 66
January 1, 2022
December 31, 2021
December 28, 2021
HOPE’S EPITAPH
When despair rolls over one, and hope seems about to die, all one can do is carry on nonetheless
December 27, 2021
December 24, 2021
The Need To Distance From Social Media
Less scrolling and more outings! Photo by Svetlana from PexelsA few days ago, I found a voicemail on my phone. To my surprise, it was from a friend. Immediately, I wondered what the emergency was, because why else would one make a phone call in 2021?
To my utter astonishment, it was my friend who just wanted to talk and catch up. I was stunned — and also very touched that my friend thought about me enough to make an actual phone call rather than just on social media or via text.
I was also delightfully surprised the other night when one of my cousins called me, just to have someone to talk to while she wrapped Christmas presents. We ended up talking for two hours.
These two incidents made me realize that I truly miss interactions like that. It was similar to how I used to communicate with people in 2000s, when it was completely normal to have three-to-five hour long phone conversations with friends from school on a cordless (sometimes corded) house phone. I forgot about how enjoyable that can be.
I am beginning to prefer the option on the left. Photo by NEOSiAM from PexelsI also have a friend from my hometown that moved to the city where I currently live a year ago. We were always talking on social media about how we would hang out if they were able to successfully move. Although we still talk on social media, we have not once hung out in person since they moved. Did I mention they only live three blocks away?
I ran into another social media friend at the grocery store a couple of months ago. I was close enough in proximity for it to be rude of me not to greet them, especially when we interacted online frequently and really well. When I managed to say “Hey! How are you?” They only stared at me like I was the creature from the black lagoon and, with a half-mumbled greeting back, disappeared into the next aisle.
These occurrences really make me question just how authentic our social media friendships really are. I would like to think that my online interactions with someone would be the same as my in-person interactions I had with them. My suspicion that social media is a completely fake world is being cemented.
Rediscovering hobbies I enjoyLast night, instead of scrolling through my phone and reading comments about Doreen’s cheating man, I left it on the charger in my room. I sat down in the living room and picked up a book I have been meaning to start. I read the entire evening until I fell asleep, the book being almost finished.
I also noticed the mountain of books I have collected over the previous year that I have yet to read. (I used to go through two books a week.) This is when it dawned on me that I have been wasting what little free time I have just browsing a collection of mindless political memes and vaguebookings that don’t add any real substance to my life.
I am now thinking of a dozen other things I can be doing besides scrolling through a feed in my free time; going on long walks with my kids, completing paint-by-numbers, decluttering the house, making in-person plans with friends, getting eight hours of sleep, and writing stories for Medium.
More time to read at least 100 books in 2022. Photo by Min An from PexelsRevaluating how I spend my timeI am so tired of giving my energy toward things like my coworker from ten years ago, my next door neighbor from my childhood’s second cousin, and the pending friend request from a school acquaintance running for political office who is hoping to get my vote.
I also experience bouts of depression, which I partially attribute to all the toxicity I see in my feed; the politics, the trolling, and the latest terrible tragedy that has occurred. Seriously, how can anyone have a positive outlook on life when that is most of what they are exposed to?
We are all stuck living in this world until we aren’t, so why not do things that make us feel joy and accomplishment? While I understand that it is helpful to have a level of awareness for the purpose of self-preservation, what’s going to happen is going to happen, whether we read about it or not.
[image error]The Need To Distance From Social Media was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
December 21, 2021
Ditch Hustle Culture And Make Time to Care For Yourself
Take the needed time off, recharge, and come back once you’ve rested.
