Trapped in a perpetual loop on social media, mindless mildly funny Tik Tok after Tik Tok, I paused for a moment and pondered if that classic book collecting dust on my shelf was any good?
But before I could act on the fleeting idea, a cute cat appeared on my screen and captivated my attention as it bobbed to the latest pop song.
My phone, and probably yours too, can show you where you spend your screen time. As I apprehensively clicked in, I felt my jaw drop at the hours I had sunk into social media.
On average people spend over an hour and a half on social media a day according to Statista. That includes your nan who has never heard of Instagram, pulling the average down. I beat that number by some margin.
Besides the latest viral sensation in my curated feed, the news floods my screen. The Covid-19 death count; killer bees; the world burning (whether California or the Amazon); and the latest hate crime from America – “8 Dead in Atlanta Spa Shootings, With Fears of Anti-Asian Bias” – depressing my world view.
I sometimes wonder would my time be better spent, let’s say, watching a well-directed, story-rich film? Or reading a captivating novel that expands my mind?
A Microsoft study concluded that our attention span had shrunken by 25% in just a few years to a measly eight seconds.
So in a time when our attention span is shorter than ever, I find sitting down for two hours reading or even watching TV a chore. Social media is my favourite companion, always by my side or at least… in my pocket.
It seems hopeless. Maybe I should give up and resign myself to the fact that I enjoy switching my mind off and staring at the blue light projecting all the world’s darkness into my subconscious.
No, rather I need to make a concerted effort: set some time aside to read or exercise or watch some well- written television.
I think I’ll go get the feather duster and give that novel a go.