Why I Use These Tools

Staying awake inside the machine

The obvious question about a practice built around tech capture is why I’m using these tools at all.

I use AI chatbots as a thought partner. I’m good at concepts, at metacognition, at taking a bird’s eye view. Working at the detail level is harder for me than it used to be, and a chatbot is genuinely useful there. And I learn things by arguing with one that I wouldn’t have thought of alone.

I also use it as a mirror. I get to practice self-regulation and to see the things in my communication that need improvement. If you use it, I recommend using it for growth.

Things I stopped doing

Once I understood how the mechanics worked, I cut my social media use by about ninety-nine percent. I’m not okay being studied like a lab rat, commodified any further than this society already has, having my views cataloged and then deliberately exaggerated to enforce the us-and-them mentality. It’s all keeping our attention on blaming each other so we don’t focus on the actual problem: the few ultra-wealthy, power-hungry corporate interests controlling the system, versus we the people. So I’m out. They can’t have me.

And if I can’t get news from social media without the hyperbolic inflammatory manipulation built in, I’ll get it elsewhere.

What I kept: I’m a drummer. It’s one of my life passions, so I still use it occasionally to watch drumming videos. An occasional animal video I send to someone in my family. And I check messages, so people can reach me. Lately, I’m also using it to reach anyone who might benefit from this work.

But truth be told, I can get those on YouTube if I look for them. They just aren’t spoon-fed. God forbid I have to look for what I want to watch.

Also, if you’ve noticed your interests popping up more and more on social media and think it’s the universe reflecting that you’re in the flow, sorry, it’s the algorithm, showing you more of whatever you linger on. They’ve been reading you to the millisecond for years now.

That’s it.

My advice

Get off of it as much as you can, and get back into the physical world. In-person groups. Walks. Hiking. Sports. Anything that uses your body, while your body can still do it. Crafts. Pick up your passion. If you’re a writer, use a paper and pen or a stylus, but don’t stop using your hands.

Keeping myself honest

I decide before I open something what I’m there for. I notice when I’ve stopped thinking and started passively accepting. And I’m lucky to have a cat who tells me when I’ve been on too long — he comes over and gets in the way, and truly, he’s usually right.

Staying Sovereign →

My position

Honestly, I’m still wrestling with the fact that I use it. We’re immersed structurally, so unless you live in an off-grid community, it’s hard to get away from.

But if the whole thing were paused tomorrow, the development stopped, the tools pulled back, I’d see that as a win. We are not mature enough as a species to be building this. We don’t have the emotional wisdom for it, nowhere near the scale we need it, and I don’t think we’re close to getting there either. We are oriented to immediate pain relief. Pleasure and ease are seductive to our nature.

So, be very, very deliberate, and make sure you’re using the tools and they aren’t using you.

If you set limits around your social media use and have difficulty sticking with them, first remember that’s to be expected. These systems are designed to pull you in without you knowing why. Willpower is not enough against systems this psychologically savvy. That’s what this practice is for: to help you develop your ability to stand back from whatever is pulling at your attention long enough to pause and choose whether the next move is truly what you want or simply an instinctual reaction. Book a free call here to discuss how I can help you build your peak attentional capacity and a concrete plan for ensuring your life choices are genuinely yours.