The Friday Focus is a weekly newsletter where we highlight:
A piece of content we love so you don’t have to doomscroll to find something interesting
A tip to help you reduce your screen time
A quote that has us thinking
To view all our blog posts go to getpresentapp.com/blog.
If you like these posts or have some recommendations of your own, feel free to reach out to us at contact@getpresentapp.com
Book We Love 📖
“Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy, and What We Can Do About It” - Tobias Rose-Stockwell
I heard Tobias give a great talk last night in NYC while promoting his new book and thought it would be a perfect recommendation for Friday Focus.
Tobias is a writer, technologist, and media researcher. His book delves into exactly what you’d expect: how social media platforms have an incentive to promote the most incendiary content because that’s what gets the most engagement. The net result is terrible for democracy as well as our collective wellbeing.
But what is also interesting about the book is it details the long history of disruptive communication technologies. Tobias dissects the massive impact inventions like the printing press, radio, and TV have had on societies, contrasting it with what we’re experiencing now. It’s incredibly interesting, but also helps put our current environment into context.
While today might seem crazier than ever, when you look back on history, you realize this isn’t our first rodeo.
Tip to Reduce Your Screen Time 📱
Do a weekend dopamine detox
We’re addicted to our phones because they elicit a tremendous amount of dopamine. Once we’re overstimulated, all we want to do is maintain our dopamine baseline, otherwise we’ll feel like shit. And the only way to maintain our baseline is to keep scrolling. And the more we keep scrolling, the more hits of dopamine we need to maintain that baseline. It’s a vicious cycle.
That’s why one of the best ways to reduce your screen time and get control over your life is to break the vicious cycle by taking a dopamine detox. This way you reset your baseline and come out on the other side without the uncontrollable need to always be looking at your phone.
People detox for different lengths, but I’ve found that even a weekend can be really effective.
This is what I’d do: pick a weekend where you can be off your phone for basically the whole weekend. Instead of scrolling, focus on doing low-dopamine activities. Think reading books, spending time outside, exercising, writing, doing puzzles etc.
Basically anything besides looking at a screen.
Now if you’re addicted to your phone, I won’t lie, this will be uncomfortable, but you will come out the other side feeling better and more in control of your phone use.
The key to success: embrace it!
Embrace the boredom. Embrace being uncomfortable. Take the time to really be present and notice things you’ve never noticed before. Become interested in the mundane. You might be surprised what you find.
Quote That Has Us Thinking 🧠
“Life is long, if you know how to use it” - Seneca