Saving Time

by Jenny Odell

Rosa writes that the capitalist “logic of increase”78 infiltrates cultural notions of the good life, meaning that to stand still in the realm not just of work but also of money, health, knowledge, relationships, or fashions, registers as sliding backward or falling down in the social order. I would add that the language of comparison and competition is amplified by social media—a constant scroll through even just friends’ photos is a never-ending tour through “what could be.” Studies have documented the cruel cycle in which people with low self-esteem use social media for expression and connection, only to expose themselves to “upward social comparison information” that in turn restarts the cycle. Out on the feeds, the finish line never stops moving. You have twenty-four hours a day and must spend them in a better—and better, and better, and better—way!