#27

Thoughts on how we spend our time online

A few specific acts will truly lift my mood and inspire my mind for the following hours, if not days. I am almost always guaranteed to leave a fruitful conversation with someone where the ideas flow back and forth, and the words move like a dance full of concepts that may otherwise seem trivial. In an effort to proactively seek out these conversations with bright and new voices, I was lucky enough to meet, chat, and learn from Caroline Albro this past weekend. Caroline is the brilliant writer behind Brand Baby, one of the few Substacks I drop (basically) everything to read. 

Together, we sipped coffee and discussed everything from personal academic and career journeys to our near and far goals. I will selfishly save that for myself as she gave me valued advice for attempting to clarify my ever-changing professional journey ahead. Despite leaving with a full head of welcomed thoughts, one concept has been scratching the borders of my mind to reach this page. 

The majority of us spend a lot of time online—we all know this by now. Whether mindlessly scrolling TikTok or IG or reading the headlines and briefings on major news applications, our thumbs grow stronger from swiping countless times each day. Social media consumption is often demonized, leaving us reluctant to check our screen time monitors. But as our world grows digital, I fixate on the difference between active and passive consumption. For my current work with Moxies, the next-generation social gamified platform for girls, I have dedicated much of my time to researching and considering the difference between the two. 

In this new series of posts, I will try to make sense of the two and what makes a user stay consistent. I aim for you to finish each read with an unlocked, mindful approach to your internet consumption. This will be an open discussion with my readers, as all replies and engagement in my community chat are welcome! 

PART ONE

When I think about active consumption, I am referring to engaging with content mindfully to retain information that could lead to new wanted knowledge, discussions, ideas, and creation. Whereas, passive consumption broadly would refer to mindless scrolling without the distinct goal of welcoming growth in some capacity. These are both very generalized categories and there are many more ways we could pull these two apart, but for the sake of clearly delivering my thoughts to you, I am sticking with the two. 

Active consumption is thought to be a more productive use of our time and can make us feel less shitty about time spent online. It can even be positioned as the opposite of “brain rot” and often makes us feel more connected. With the new rise of long-form written content and the knowledge-creator economy (which I discussed in this post), many of my peers have rushed to Substack and newsletter platforms as a replacement for additional time spent online. Despite the content of these posts, I would say most would head to platforms like Substack for an intentional digest of information. Some friends have even replaced their time on other platforms in the morning or before bed with time reading newsletters and articles of their interest. This leads me to believe that most feel better about their otherwise guilted time on their screens after proceeding with intention. 

Active consumption often leads to creation. Unsurprisingly, when one's mind is open and actively eager to gain knowledge, one is more likely to be encouraged to create in some capacity after finding unique inspiration from other creators' work. The clearest example of this is the exponential growth of newsletter platforms, as more and more people are ready to get their words and thoughts out there (we know everyone just wants to be heard). Beyond socialized long-form applications, my mind jets to other (some smaller) niche social platforms when I think about active consumption.

Many of these apps are created for active consumption, whether they have identified that or not. These community-based platforms aim to inspire proactive creation and idea inspiration through engagement. Some that come to mind are TYB (Try Your Best), Diem, Geneva (recently bought by Bumble), and Rodeo (my sister suggested Beli and Strava as well). For those that may be unfamiliar, I’ll attempt to summarize: 

TYB is a “community rewards platform for brands and fans to connect and grow together.” A user joins a brand’s community channel and can engage in different challenges and activities to receive rewards applicable to future use of the brand. There are also community channels to engage with others, discuss your shared interest in the company, etc.. 

Diem is a “dedicated place to ask questions you can’t google, inspired by the way women search.” Think: a tailored and safer Reddit.

Geneva, which might have changed a bit since Bumble acquired it, is a group chat app that connects you to the people you want to meet and the things you want to do in your city. Think: a friendlier Slack, a safer and less sus Discord, and a more explorative WhatsApp. Users can join different community channels hosted by brands and creators or simply a page dedicated to a shared interest. 

Rodeo is “an immersive experience where content meets commerce. Built for creators, shoppers, and brands.” In simple terms, you can upload outfit checks with direct shop links. 

While these three platforms may attract users for differing reasons, each works to encourage the user to create and engage in ways that other mainstream platforms fail to do. I find applications like this to provide more “value” to our time online, allowing the user to actively and intentionally engage with others' content. Additionally, niche community engagement can make users feel less intimidated to create and share with others. As someone who spends a lot of time online and testing different emerging platforms, I strongly believe that screentime spent in this way can lead to positive thought production, mind expansion and exploration, network growth, and inspiration to create. However, with the stronghold that the leading social platforms currently have on their users today, I hopefully cling to the idea that more and more people will seek out time on TYB, Rodeo, etc.. 

I’ll end Part One here so I don’t lose you. I leave you with these questions: When you think about your time online, can you distinguish between active and proactive consumption? Do you find more value in your active time online?

Thank you for taking the time to read and let me know all your thoughts about this. I’ll see you soon for part two!