I was browsing the Facebook news section as I found yet another article about how social media is there to distract. I begrudgingly looked past it, as I see that kind of thing all the time and to the point where I am exasperated, but it got me thinking about another topic.
How much time are we spending distracted these days? And how much of that is due to increased efficiency in general?
My karate instructor has me do chores sometimes, and these chores often take weeks. Often times, these chores can be done away in a few hours, but he believes in the process of refinement. In fact, he's very good at editing because of this. And even though I find it silly sometimes, I get to see first-hand how in the earlier generations, people do not sit idle or distracted for an extended period of time.
There was always something to be done. Cooking was a practical necessity, they were not blessed with as many cheap food options and great supermarkets where things are often pre-made. There had to be thought that went into everything for survival. Which made the time people relaxed in the past more meaningful.
We've heard about Netflix and chill so many times our ears have bled, but how many people do you see sleeping for an adequate amount of time, or enjoying a walk around the neighborhood? Because our definition of relaxation is ever changing, I began to notice a dichotomy between the happiness that different kinds of relaxation provided. Furthermore, I noticed that different kinds of relaxations promoted different kinds of distraction.
When I walk around the neighborhood, I often do it for the feeling escape and for the change of environment. Immediately afterwards, I feel like I can work, and moreover, I actually feel like working. However, when I'm looking at an Instagram video of some sort, I get sucked into that world and I don't want to come out. It is as if that relaxation came too easy, I didn't "work" for it, and I felt less adequate as a result of having participated.
It's a weird thing to think about. But when I am flipping through web pages, reading different articles, I am less prone to finish the article I started on in one sitting. It takes me a focused amount of discipline to finish the task at hand and move on to the next one. In fact, I really only started doing this since I've gotten better at my job. The first year of my job, and all the years prior to that in my life, I've been distracted all to easily.
It's only since I've learned to relax on my own terms that I've gotten some more focus. For instance, yesterday I went on a hike with a friend. I was already drained from the night before, but for some reason, my body felt a lot better than if I had just watched movies all day. I don't think one can boil it down to just a matter of being sedentary vs being on the move. I think it's more of a matter of keeping your mind active while relaxing, and not shutting off.
I'm writing this article now, and I feel great. I don't feel like it's work, because I want to write all the time. But I also feel like I am doing something. This is important. Watching a movie that changes your philosophy in life is different from watching a movie for entertainment value. I feel like we do the latter much more often, and are poorer as a result of that. The type of distraction I think I enjoy more is one that leaves me feeling fulfilled.
Everyone needs time away from work. Everyone even needs to shut off every now and again. But I think we shut off far too often for our own good. It only results in further depression and anxiety and guilt.
Which brings me to putting this into practice. Changing the way you spend your relaxation time can be hard, but rewarding. I would write down, on a scale of 1-10 how each one hour increment of you being free on the weekend made you feel. When you write it down, make sure you also detail the aftereffects. For example, write down how your hangover made you feel as much as you would write down how being drunk made you feel. Or write down how being sore made you feel as much as you would write down how extreme exercise made you feel. Average the results.
Do this over a month. Then gravitate towards the activities in life where you rated highly, and stray away from the ones that you rated lowly.
One might even call that activity a "good distraction".
Heh.
Social media's main purpose is to throw advertising at you (broadcast and print media, too).
You make a good point that it is important to spend your spare time doing something that is creative or adds some value to your life.
Sometimes it's difficult to differentiate the necessary, healthy distractions from the ones that are easy and entertaining. But as you said, not all distractions are actually fulfilling or meaningful, and my takeaway is to recognize and prioritize the more productive distractions in my life.