Is Social Media Like Processed Foods for Our Brain?

I'm coming off from listening to this excellent conversation on the Rich Roll podcast with Cal Newport.

I'm trying to have some solitude and process it all. I love his definition of solitude that it's not receiving input from others' thoughts but be in a space with no input and be in your own thoughts. You don't necessarily have to be up in the mountains or taking an hour to do it. It can be simply not being plugged in while making dinner or going on a drive or even going to the bathroom. Its vital for your brain to sift through all the information that your brain just processed. Like he says, "your brain is not wired to be constantly wired." Your brain needs to pause.

What really hit home for me was when they made correlation between phone usage and the effects it has on our brain like processed foods do to our bodies. The reason why he wrote Digital Minimalism is after his book Deep Work he noticed that people would do better at work but then would still fall back into bad habits at home and then it would start effecting them in their work place the next day. He says you can't expect to eat junk food the night before and expect to perform at your highest level the next day physically. The same came be true in phone usage.

Social media he considers is that 'junk food'. But I've also recognized that it's not something that can be a 'treat' where it ends up being a binge fest. That's happened to me multiple times. I go off instagram for a while and then I literally spend the next hour catching up when I decide to get back on and I quickly fall back into the habits I was before. I really want to learn to be okay with missing out.

I've written about this before but how being constantly wired, for my introverted brain, is sensory overload and by the time dinner rolls around, I am done! I just read this book Introverted Mom and she said that when you start to feel angry it's a cue for your brain to pause. Just simply stop and take a breath and let your brain pause can make a huge difference.

Also, again something I've mentioned or noticed, is that when I get done with my long binge fest, I still feel so empty. It's a false gratification that I think will fill me up because I'm looking for that one post that will magically do that for me. And sure, I like seeing what people are up to but for some reason, spending so much time on social media causes me to go into a haze of sorts with my brain.

So how to create intention with our phone and media usage? I don't think I have the answers but I really want to be more deliberate about why I'm using the things I'm using and set it for a certain time. I've tried not to have my phone during meals and reserve looking at Marco Polo or my computer when Dallin is down for a nap or the end of the night. And save most of the things to do on my desktop instead of my phone.

What ways have you found that help in establishing intention with your phone?