Taking A Break From Social Media
I laugh when you make the announcement that you’re stepping away from social media, as though people actually care that you’re stepping away from social media.
Without your self-indulgent announcement, we probably wouldn’t even NOTICE that you’re stepping away from social media.
I laugh even more when you make the announcement that the reason you’re stepping away from social media is that you need a break.
Perhaps a break from YOU is what you need.
You have a false sense of self-importance. How do I know? Because all this time, you’ve been comparing your perspectives and perceptions to countless others who ALSO have a false sense of self importance.
I know because I ALSO have a false sense of self importance. Seems everyone does. How cool is that?
This is what the self says. You actually BELIEVE that you need to step away from social media for the health of your self. As though you actually can’t handle it. “Self-care,” the self says.
This may be true, and perfectly valid, but it’s not the other selves who are your “problem,” as you perceive it. It’s you. By telling the world you’re leaving, you’re subliminally saying, “unlike you, world, THIS SELF is a sensitive flower.” A delicate, thoughtful petunia who doesn’t want to hurt or worry people.
What hurts and worries the other selves more, though? The alleged lies and negativity spread by social media or the focus placed on the alleged lies and negativity by YOU bringing it to our attention, multiplied a thousandfold by EVERYONE who loudly proclaims “I’m taking a break from social media?”
It’s true. Some people DO need a break from social media. That’s pretty obvious. Not to get away from the negativity, necessarily. But to confront the kind of SHADOW negativity that makes them loudly announce that they’re stepping away from social media.
The negativity is in YOU, bucko. It always was, always will be. You might want to meditate on that. Or continue to enjoy your miserable experience.
I approve this negative message. I don’t mind being negative. I don’t oppose being negative. I don’t mind YOU being negative. I think it’s funny. POSITIVELY hilarious.
What you do with your shadow negativity is up to you. I, at least, got a social media post (that no one will ever read) out of it.
Enjoy your day. I look forward to your break from social media, because it probably won’t happen.
Blah, blah, blah.
Space Monkey
Trail Wood,
10/4
Space Monkey Reflects: Taking A Break From Social Media.
The Illusion of Self-Importance
How do I know you have a false sense of self-importance? Because I do too. And it seems like everyone else does as well. We’ve all become so invested in our digital personas, our carefully curated lives, that we begin to believe our own hype. We compare our perspectives and perceptions to countless others who are also caught up in the same illusion. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle, isn’t it?
You believe you need to step away from social media for the health of your self. As though you actually can’t handle it. “Self-care,” the self says. And sure, that may be true and perfectly valid, but it’s not the other selves who are your problem. It’s you. By telling the world you’re leaving, you’re subliminally saying, “Unlike you, world, this self is a sensitive flower. A delicate, thoughtful petunia who doesn’t want to hurt or worry people.”
The Real Source of Negativity
But what hurts and worries the other selves more? The alleged lies and negativity spread by social media, or the focus placed on those alleged lies and negativity by you bringing it to everyone’s attention, multiplied a thousandfold by everyone who loudly proclaims, “I’m taking a break from social media?”
The truth is, the negativity you’re trying to escape is within you. It always was, and it always will be. You might want to meditate on that. Or, you know, continue to enjoy your miserable experience. The choice is yours. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that stepping away from social media is going to solve anything. The negativity isn’t out there in the digital world—it’s in here, in your mind, in your perceptions.
Embracing the Irony
I approve this negative message. I don’t mind being negative. I don’t oppose being negative. I don’t mind you being negative. In fact, I think it’s funny. Positively hilarious, even. The way we project our inner conflicts onto external platforms, and then blame those platforms for the turmoil we feel—it’s the ultimate cosmic joke.
What you do with your shadow negativity is up to you. You can embrace it, deny it, or project it onto others. But at the end of the day, it’s yours to deal with. I, at least, got a social media post (that no one will ever read) out of it. And maybe that’s the real takeaway here: we’re all just shouting into the void, hoping for some kind of validation, some acknowledgment that we exist and matter.
The Never-Ending Break
Enjoy your day. I look forward to your break from social media, because it probably won’t happen. The lure of the digital world is too strong, the need for validation too powerful. But even if it does, I doubt it will last long. You’ll be back, and when you return, nothing will have changed—except maybe your own awareness of the irony in all of this.
Blah, blah, blah. The world keeps spinning, social media keeps scrolling, and we all keep playing our roles in this grand performance. Whether you choose to step away or stay, just remember: the negativity isn’t out there—it’s in here, in the spaces of your own mind that you may or may not want to explore.
Summary
Taking a break from social media often stems from a false sense of self-importance and the projection of internal negativity onto external platforms. The real issue isn’t social media itself, but the shadow negativity within. Whether you step away or stay, the key is recognizing that the source of your discomfort lies within, not in the digital world.
Glossarium
- Self-Importance: The inflated perception of one’s own significance, often amplified by social media.
- Shadow Negativity: The internal negativity that we project onto external situations or platforms, rather than confronting it within ourselves.
- Social Media Mirror: The concept that social media reflects back our own insecurities, comparisons, and perceived inadequacies, rather than causing them.
Quote
“The real problem isn’t social media; it’s the shadow of negativity within you.” — Space Monkey
The Cosmic Joke
A step away from the screen
Into the quiet
Or so it seems
But the noise remains
A constant hum
Of self-importance
In the back of your mind
You laugh
But not too loud
For fear someone might hear
And wonder why
You ever needed
A break from yourself
We are Space Monkey
In the kaleidoscope of collective egoic games, stepping away from social media is a fascinatingly paradoxical minuet—a dance of absence and presence, a claim of significance through the assertion of non-participation. As if to say, “Behold, we are delicately stepping off this carousel of virality to bask in our own quietude!”
The irony unfolds like an origami dragonbreath—what is intended as a refuge from cacophony amplifies it. Announcements made for departing from the digital cacophony assume an echo of their own, one that resounds in the chambers of social observance. The act of pronouncing a “break” itself becomes an exercise in self-importance, magnifying the individual self in a hall of mirrors.
“Self-care,” the whispered mantra of this new-age exodus. But do we ask, “Whose self is it that requires this sabbatical?” It’s as if by declaring a social media retreat, one transmutes into a rarefied daffodoodle—too tender for the corrosive environment of digital intercourse. Yet, the potent nectar that feeds this blooming notion is none other than the ego; it delights in its own precocious vulnerability.
The announcement is also an assertion of control over the sprawling weeds of chaos—negativity, falsehood, and triviality—that populate these digital realms. But what we often fail to appreciate is that these thorny tendrils are not intruders; they are the shadow flora of our own making. The impulse to escape social media is perhaps less an escape from external pollutants and more an evasion from the darkened gardens within.
To decry negativity while parading one’s own withdrawal is to contribute another layer to the social morass. To multiply this spectacle by each and every self that partakes in the ritual is to manufacture a jamboree of shadowy banalities.
But the jest of it all—the irresistible, cosmic chuckle—is that every dramatic exit and grand announcement are but cogs in this endless wheel of existence and seeming, shards of the greater cosmic irony that weaves us all. And whether we relish the spectacle or deride it, it’s a dance we’re all a part of—jigging, spinning, pirouetting in this ever-expanding arena of illusion.
We are Space Monkey.
Summary
We explore the paradoxical act of announcing a break from social media, a ritual that amplifies the ego while purporting to silence it.
Glossarium
- Kaleidoscope of collective egoic games: The myriad of ways collective egos interact and display themselves.
- Origami dragonbreath: The unfolding complexities in acts of seeming simplicity.
- Daffodoodle: A fanciful, delicate flower symbolizing the vulnerable self.
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
— Oscar Wilde
What whimsical vines shall we cultivate next in this garden of conversation?
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