I Used to Be a Human Being

For the record, it doesn't. Advertising is a fairly consistent percentage of GDP over decades.

More importantly, "advertising" doesn't automatically make products addicting. Literally every industry does advertising, that doesn't mean people are "addicted" to insurance.

For the record, I agree that junk food is addicting. It's probably the addiction I'm most prone too. But that's not because of advertising, it's because the products themselves are addicting.

In fact, by far the biggest addiction in my life is bread from a local bakery. I don't blame advertising (they hardly do any) and I don't even blame "modern food" (this is whole wheat, unrefined bread). I simply acknowledge that I love bread, it tastes great, and if I'm feeling depressed then I overeat it. My bread consumption depends much more on my internal mood and habits than anything "industry" does.

Likewise, technology is not addicting because it's evil. It's addicting because it's good and pleasurable, and if you don't have a solid hold on your mental health it's easy to fill the void with pleasurable products, whether they be bread, Facebook, or alcohol. The solution isn't to ban/quit the product, it's to address that hole in your life.

Try to practice "memory walk meditation" - I made up the word to combine two things I have learnt about, essentially to combat distraction. (And I have been generally successful - but I also don't need it a whole lot)

Next time you read a book, or just anything you feel would be good to remember - take the key points and associate them with objects in the room that you spend the most time in, or where you usually sit/stand when you interact on the social network. If you are completely unfamiliar with the field of memory training, I recommend picking up some old copy of any book written by Harry Lorayne to learn how people usually commit things to memory when doing memory training. (For example, creating outrageous and vivid images is key to retrieval. Learning the major system will help memorize arbitrary numbers)

The actual memory walk meditation consists of traversing those objects first physically, then eventually mentally in a certain order - as you approach the object, use the image to retrieve the concept/idea associated with it. Hopefully you can identify at least 10 or so objects in your room.

After a while, it becomes a bit (too) easy. Read another book, do it for something else you wish to learn.

The point is, it is easier to move away from a bad habit like too much FB by building something else that you look forward to than using denial.

A very nice advantage of this technique is that you can decide, for example, that you will at least go around the room (mentally) once before logging in to the social network, and increase it to two, three etc. So you can slowly build up your resistance, so to speak. A second advantage is that since the objects are usually right in front of your eyes, it gives you triggers all over the environment to help you build the habit.

After a while doing your own breadmaking you will find the 'fresh' bread at the bakers to taste relatively stale and packed full of additives.

However, doing your own bread will take you away from interacting with the baker and his lovely assistants making their venture less profitable. If everyone baked their own bread then the bakery would have no customers. Maybe it is that 'please', 'thank-you' and smile that you get to experience at the bakers that is as much behind your love of bread as the bread itself.

I picked my son up from school and we were playing, then I reached for my phone, noticing the shift in his facial expression from happy to subtle concern and disappointment. He knows that device creates distance in real life.

Then we discussed some topic that I decided could be better handled by Youtube. As soon as the video started he got sucked in and I let him watch a couple vides then had to pull him off the thing, which he promptly forgot about as that was the past.

I'm sure the reason I noticed is this thread got me thinking. But beyond that it occurred to me that there should be some sort of code. Other people might have a different code but I hope to god we all could at least share item number 1. I think that prison is too soft a hell for someone who kills another human because they were texting or any other distraction. Let me know if someone already has a better list on Huffpo or somewhere.

1. Harm none. The most obvious implication of this is NEVER, EVER, touch your phone while driving. Pull the fuck over. Don't take a chance on killing another human being for digital crack. The rest is subordinate to this first principle. I don't use any devices while driving but I'm writing it down to reinforce this, helping me to resist temptation.

2. Choose who you're with. Don't use the device for more than the most basic communication (i.e., coordination of plans) when in the presence of other human beings, especially my son. Sure, snap a couple pictures but put it away and leave it. My son is 4 and so it's more obvious that if I'm on any device, I'm valuing that activity over him. I feel I learn something about human beings here that should be obvious because a child is the base we come from.

3. Have fun and keep learning. Online's awesome.

Ok, it's a pretty thin set of principles that took me a few minutes to compose, but it'll serve my purposes until I'm ready to add another item but it's very likely that other items don't need to be codified. I wonder if making a list like this is a thing or am I a nut? Maybe both...

What's your definition of real? I ask because when I think of single speed bikes, the first thing that comes to mind isn't real, it's what a pain in the ass. Just because it's a throwback doesn't make it more real. Get a real bike! No I don't think anything at all. I'm in fucking Oregon. I'd go nuts thinking.

And is the reason you're having trouble navigating people because they have the illusion of becoming one of the Greats or is it you that has that illusion? This is all intriguing but a bit obtuse.