This past winter was…brutal to say the least. And as I holed up in my bedroom after long work days, itching for an outlet–though, utterly depleted–I found myself more dependent on my phone than ever.
And it’s all too easy. You get out of work and flop on your bed. You unconsciously unlock the device that seldom leaves your side, open a social media app designed to cater content to your specific, niche interests and boom: you’ve lost two or three–or maybe even four–precious hours of your life bouncing from one addictive short form video to the next. And as we slurp from the infinite pool of content, our passions take the back-burner and a cycle of listless dissatisfaction is fed.
Hayao Miyazaki was once asked in an interview, “So what motivates you?”
His response:
“It’s boring to do nothing.”
I think about this a lot. How boring it is to do nothing all the time. How much time is wasted looking to the endless void that is ~the internet~ for distraction from our current collective reality.
Don’t get me wrong: burnout is real. Our world is in constant turmoil and sometimes you need a few days of doing nothing to recuperate. But if time is our most valuable currency, perhaps we shouldn’t be so willing to hand so much of it over to major platforms (*cough cough* corrupt corporations *cough*) that use our personal data for things like surveillance, AI training, political censorship, unwanted targeted advertising, etc. What if we took our time back? What would that look like?
For me, it looks like a dedicated return to my favorite hobbies: writing, making music, cooking, doodling, embroidering… All of which I already carve out time for, but admittedly, not as frequently as I looked at my phone this past winter. And when I don’t feel like participating in the act of creation, it looks like reading, bird-watching, listening to a beloved record top to bottom, sitting in the park with my friends, etc.
And it’s all too easy. You get out of work and flop on your bed. You unconsciously unlock the device that seldom leaves your side, open a social media app designed to cater content to your specific, niche interests and boom: you’ve lost two or three–or maybe even four–precious hours of your life bouncing from one addictive short form video to the next. And as we slurp from the infinite pool of content, our passions take the back-burner and a cycle of listless dissatisfaction is fed.
Hayao Miyazaki was once asked in an interview, “So what motivates you?”
His response:
“It’s boring to do nothing.”
I think about this a lot. How boring it is to do nothing all the time. How much time is wasted looking to the endless void that is ~the internet~ for distraction from our current collective reality.
Don’t get me wrong: burnout is real. Our world is in constant turmoil and sometimes you need a few days of doing nothing to recuperate. But if time is our most valuable currency, perhaps we shouldn’t be so willing to hand so much of it over to major platforms (*cough cough* corrupt corporations *cough*) that use our personal data for things like surveillance, AI training, political censorship, unwanted targeted advertising, etc. What if we took our time back? What would that look like?
For me, it looks like a dedicated return to my favorite hobbies: writing, making music, cooking, doodling, embroidering… All of which I already carve out time for, but admittedly, not as frequently as I looked at my phone this past winter. And when I don’t feel like participating in the act of creation, it looks like reading, bird-watching, listening to a beloved record top to bottom, sitting in the park with my friends, etc.
It could look like reconnecting with nature, and building a greater understanding and appreciation of our ecosystems and the creatures who inhabit them.
It could look like taking steps towards liberation from the very systems that hold us hostage in the digital world.
I want that for us! Do you?
Photos by Gabby C.