Now that I’m off social media again (not sure if LinkedIn counts), I’ve decided to start this site. I’ll post some cool things here and there. This first one is about why I left.
I fall asleep to podcasts (when Adèle allows me). Usually it’s Joe Rogan, Chris Williamson, Andrew Huberman or Theo Von. A few weeks ago I was listening to Chris Williamson, and a guest on his podcast said something I haven’t been able to shake:
“The most dangerous people in society are lazy ambitious people.”
That is me.
I’d call myself ambitious. I’ve been lucky enough to have some pretty insane experiences growing up, and I want to work hard enough to one day pay for them myself and share them with the people closest to me.
But at the same time, I was on my phone 10 hours a day. I’m embarrassed to even write that, and I honestly don’t know how it’s possible. I saw a stat on Instagram (I know) that you can scroll the height of Mount Everest in 20 days. So I’ve got a super fit thumb.
That’s the problem with being ambitious and lazy. You want to be successful, but instead of working on it, you’re lying on the couch scrolling. Then you feel bad that you’re not working on it, so you scroll some more to feel better. And everything you scroll past is bigger and flashier, so your goals get more unrealistic while you do less to reach them. It’s a crazy vicious cycle.
The worst part is the goalposts keep moving, and you get desensitised. Be that with cars you see. Same with relationships, and it works both ways. Girls see guys flying their girlfriends somewhere new every weekend. Guys see models all day like it’s normal, so a genuinely gorgeous girl in real life, not reel life, is suddenly “mid”. Add the fitness influencers and it hits the core pillars of life: money, love and your own body.
That gap is where the bad headspace comes from, and a lot of the anxiety that’s got into everyone today.
Hi, my name’s Luke and I’m an addict. I’ve tried to quit before. I deleted it and ended up on YouTube Shorts instead (don’t recommend). Then I made a bot account I needed for my internship at Hugo Boss, and somehow that one stuck too. It always creeps back in. You send a few reels, the algorithm does its thing, and you’re sucked back in. So I’m not saying any of this from a high horse.
I know the excuses because I’ve used all of them. “All my saved videos are on there.” “I need it for birthdays.” “I use it to stay close to my friends.” 99% of your feed isn’t your friends. Social media tells you what everyone’s doing, not how they’re doing. A phone call does.
And ten hours a day is more than a full-time job. I keep thinking about what those hours could turn into.
I still take public transport. Maybe if I hadn’t spent the last few years scrolling, I’d have a car by now. But when I look up and see every single person on their phone, it’s honestly quite scary. The only reason it’s ‘normal’ is that everyone does it. The bad thing is, we all know we should stop. I doubt any of us will be on our deathbed, pissed off that we didn’t scroll more.
Not that long ago, I was trying super hard to move to Rotterdam and live with my girlfriend. That was my dream. Now I’m living it, and I love it. But I was so consumed by my phone that I never took a moment to take a deep breath and think, damn, this actually happened.
So I’ve deleted it! I’m not telling you to do the same. Just have a look around. You might already be living a dream you wished for.
As cheesy as this sounds, if this gets even one person to put their phone down, I’d be happy.
Best,
Luke
P.S. Crazy thing is, I had to write a whole blog post just to psych myself up to delete it. And I still went back and forth on whether to post this.
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