Discovery

This week was my spring break, and I made sure to fill it with activities I enjoyed. I spent time with friends, went to movies, and visited new coffee shops, the library, and the bookstore. Along the way, I began reading Arthur Brooks’s new book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.

In the first part of the book, he makes a convincing argument about how we turn to our phones, and that the time we spend scrolling has led to addiction and less genuine connection. What I did notice was the influence social media has on my own thinking and enjoyment of activities. On the positive side, I have cut down my doom scrolling — I stay away from TikTok and X, and I limit my time on Facebook. I use Instagram for information; for example, the last couple of recipes for potlucks came from Instagram, and the coffee shops I visited came from Instagram recommendations, so not that bad, right?

Then I noticed something: I found myself at these shops thinking about where I sat, what I ordered, what people were thinking, and where I needed to go next. The whole purpose of going — to enjoy the coffee, soak in the ambiance, and find some wisdom and direction from my reading — was a distant afterthought. Social media was shaping my experience. I was living the moment through the eyes of someone posting rather than someone present. Maybe the antidote is simple — next time, skip the algorithm entirely, drive around, and let curiosity lead. What would it feel like to discover something without being told to?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​