When is the last time you did your laundry, went for a walk, washed the dishes or completed any other menial task without background music? How often do you put on a show or movie on the TV, only to end up scrolling on your phone the entire time? With the popularity of wireless headphones and the perpetual proximity to our phones, it is easier than ever to be constantly entertained. The overconsumption of media we have become accustomed to is destroying our brains and lives, and I think we need to shift our habits.
During certain periods of my life, I have put in headphones as soon as I woke up and not taken them out until I had to, sometimes for most of the day. Though it is fun to feel like you have a soundtrack to your life or constantly be learning new things from podcasts, the value of silence is increasingly discounted. Our brains are not meant to be constantly stimulated. To be fully ourselves, we need time to think and process things on our own. Having more periods of silence throughout my day makes me feel more at peace and in control. Additionally, when you stop constantly distracting yourself, you might start noticing more of the nice things going on around you. Scrolling through Instagram in the checkout line of the grocery store may lead you to miss a funny exchange between the people in front of you. Walking down the Mall with headphones in, you may miss your friend trying to say hi. While doing things in silence no longer comes naturally, intentionally limiting the noise in our lives could yield unexpected, positive results.
A few months ago, I saw this quote: “We are not meant to know this many people exist, let alone what they’re all thinking.” It made me laugh at the time, but this is a thought I keep coming back to when wanting to limit my media consumption. Being exposed to other perspectives and opinions is important, but oftentimes the online noise goes beyond education and creates a false reality where insignificant things seem life-or-death. We need to turn off the distractions and start thinking for ourselves about what we believe in.
To combat the onslaught of information we are exposed to at any given time, we must change our habits. Notice when you are picking up your phone and think of something else to do instead. Whether it’s creating something, talking to a friend or simply being entertained by our own thoughts, replacing the time we spend consuming media with slower and more meaningful activities will help us live better lives.
This week, don’t wear headphones while doing an activity you normally wear them for. Have only one screen on at a time. Resist the urge to scroll during an in-between moment and learn to be entertained by the world around you instead. Our lives will begin when we stop acting as consumers and start acting like individuals.