I left social media completely. I’m still on YouTube and Telegram, but those are less social, more informational.
Here are some initial thoughts after getting off social:
- I’m more focused. Before, when I had a task to do, I’d go to the computer, open up Facebook or LinkedIn, and then forget what the task was. This is less an issue now.
- I don’t follow the news. Instead, people tell me when something’s important. So you could say that the news follows me. This results in less stress, since I’m loading fewer intents and generating fewer IMRs in my brain, freeing up a lot of mental energy for more important things (please read my new Intent Load Theory page to understand what I mean by this).
- My network is smaller and more social. The people who were merely “social media friends” (roughly 3000 of them) have likely forgotten about me by now. I don’t blame them; I probably forgot about them too. At any rate, that doesn’t stop us from reconnecting via phone or email. If that happens, we’ll be closer than we were on social.
- I call friends more regularly and am better at staying in touch.
- I talk more to my neighbors. On social media, I would just dream of ideal neighbors. Now I realize that I have to live with my real neighbors. Some of them think I’m strange for trying to socialize, but that’s their problem.
- My phone is less important. Maybe I’ll get rid of my smart phone eventually. At the moment I only use it for Slack, Gmail, and Signal. I’m deleting YouTube off it because it’s a distraction.
- I feel less inclined to tell the world what’s happening. Instead I do a lot more “woodshedding” these days, to use Varg‘s terminology, where I focus for hours at a time doing a single task. I felt it was worth telling you all about this update though.
- Most people like the idea of getting off social media. But most require it for their work. This is a probably good reason to stay on. If I still needed to get stunt jobs through Facebook, I’d probably still be there. If social media is impeding your work, then it might not be worth staying on.
Current projects in development:
- The Art of Violence Book – You can read the foundation for my theory on violence, Intent Load Theory, here. This will become a book with a more intricate (and funnier) story woven through it. I’ll also critique more theories on violence. Almost all the theories are wrong, but they all have something true to them.
- Katzenjammer – Animated, musical action comedy. Script rewrite underway. Motion captured at my studio.
- Hellthorn – A pilot for an animated scifi action comedy. Motion captured at my studio.
- Kom-Bot (title pending) – An animated action comedy about a man and his training bot. Motion captured at my studio.
- Maintaining my studio. I work here full-time now. We’re working on cool stuff.
To stay in touch, join my telegram channel or drop me a line. Thanks 👍