Living Life Below the Noise
I’ve just seen another Instagram post on cracking the latest algorithm in the seemingly unending pursuit to be heard: Post more! Use stories! Start using Reel! Get people to comment as soon as possible! Pay to promote your post! Just reading this advice exhausts me.
More and more it seems that the focus in social media (not to mention the broader political arena and the rest of life) is on being heard above the noise rather than on saying anything interesting or useful. This is not a game that I have any interest in playing. There has to be another way – a more sustainable way to navigate the world; one that runs somewhere between shouting to be heard and escaping altogether by tuning everything out. A path between “on” and “off.”
Several months ago, I bought The Shape of Ideas: An Illustrated Exploration of Creativity by Grant Snider, on the recommendation of my friend, Rachel. This collection of gently thought-provoking comics on the joys and frustrations of the creative process contains some gems. One that has stuck in my mind and that I keep going back to is this:
From Grant Snider’s Incidental Comics website under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
This comic has inspired my motto for the year, which is “Below the Noise.” I’ll be continuing to think about exactly what this means in terms of how I’m going to spend my time and energy, but here are some initial intentions:
Listen below the noise. 2020 was a relentless onslaught of news, information, and noise masquerading as both. While I do think that it’s important to stay informed and involved – if there’s one lesson we’ve learned from the US this past year, it’s the hazards of becoming complacent – I intend to start spending less time with headlines in favor of time with some of the more thoughtful newsletters that I’ve found. I’ve realized that one of the things I miss about a physical paper is the ability to turn directly to the art, science, and literature sections. This year, I’ve been so sidetracked with screaming headlines that I rarely even make it to those sections – if anyone knows of a great news source for these topics that bypasses headline news, please let me know! I will also be continuing to take periodic news breaks – these breaks were a sanity saver for me this past year.
Talk below the noise. I’m enjoying writing this blog (even though some people are telling me that blogs are rapidly becoming a thing of the past) and so I will continue to do so. For me, it’s a meaningful way to organize and express some of my thoughts and I’m happy if some of you are hearing it below the noise. In the same vein, I’ll continue to post on Instagram (I have all but given up on Facebook and I don’t use Twitter) with a focus on sharing what I think is interesting and not worrying about shouting to be heard on a broader scale.
Look below the noise. One of my goals this year is to go deeper into the art world in a more meaningful way than is possible in the echo chambers of Instagram and internet browsing. I’m going to try some old-fashioned exploration strategies, including reading books and articles and watching documentaries. Of course, I won’t be giving up the internet – it is a fabulous source of information after all – but I’ll try for targeted, deep, and meaningful content rather than the more mindless browsing that I am so easily sucked into.
Socialize below the noise. I’ve always been a person who collects a smaller group of close friends rather than a vast group of acquaintances and I would almost always rather socialize one-on-one or in a small group than at a large gathering. In the same way, I’m happiest interacting on social media at a level that’s deeper than the ubiquitous “amazing” comments (though don’t get me wrong – if you really do feel that one of my art pieces is amazing please let me know!). This year, I’m going to try and up my “meaningful social interaction,” both virtually and in-person.
What about you? What are your intentions this year?
