Digital Detox Experiment & BOOK REVIEW: How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
In Jenny Odellâs book, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, she encapsulates the idea of stopping and smelling the roses. We, as a society, are so caught up with work, school, etc. that we tend to put ourselves on autopilot and, in Odellâs experience, we donât stop to smell the roses. In her example, Odell delves into bird watching as a hobby. Bird watching takes patience and observance as you let the bird find you, Odell explains. As a matter of fact, it should be renamed bird observing or noticing. When watching birds, Odell describes that she is no longer on autopilot, but is placed in an environment that is thought-provoking, although she is, by our societal definition, doing nothing but sitting and listening. Throughout her book, she highlights these different aspects of the art of doing nothing, and its beneficial impact on taking oneself out of autopilot.Â
Odell references many strong philosophers and authors throughout her book yet one that has stuck with me is:Â
âStupid fools are those who are never satisfied with what they possess, but only lament what they cannot haveâ (35).
This quote is displayed by Epicurus and spotlights the meaning of the book. He believed that people ran in circles in modern society, unaware of what made them happy, which is why he condemned cities. They prove to create corruption of oneâs mind as people aim for as many opportunities as they can handle, limiting themselves to finding true happiness with what is around them.
After being released by an indie publishing house, Melville Press, this book has become an unexpected bestseller in Corona Times because of the awakening by others. During Covid, we have had relentless time to loathe and ponder our existence, especially during a worldwide pandemic and quarantine. This book is a tool in awakening oneself to understand the faults of our overconsumption. Without the busy distractions of work and school, many came to wake up out of autopilot leaving them to question their origin of happiness. Doing nothing provokes thoughts, which is why everyone began to think, rejecting the attention economy.
Jumping off of this ideology, the attention economy benefits from our social media activity and media streaming consumption because it is how our society runs. Mindless scrolling and advertising through social media promotes our consumer culture. Without thinking more, we buy things we don't need. Because our society is founded upon these beliefs, in order to resist, we have to do it intentionally due to the routine of scrolling. Consumptionism and consumerism are beneficially impacted when we benefit the attention economy. Social media consumption also affects our mental health and self esteem, leaving us to try and emulate this idea of being perfect, which is. constantly advertised by celebrities and moguls.Â
Celebrity culture is about the masking of all things imperfect. Celebrities are held on pedestals, almost as icons, and Odell highlights how draining and non-productive this is considered to be. Celebrity culture goes in-hand with consumer culture. Put in simpler terms, perfect sells. People are strung about looking and acting like other celebrities, to the point they revoke into this autopilot theme of purchasing what the celebrities promote. Furthermore, celebrity culture is completely toxic. By using the method of doing nothing, we eliminate ourselves from being a âcog in societyâs machineâ. We awaken from this thought that nothing truly is as perfect as it may seem. Â
I find myself taking detox breaks from social media due to my own self-confidence deteriorating. I mindlessly scroll for hours through apps like TikTok and Instagram until the day is over, and I begin my self-loathing process. During quarantine, the only way to stay connected to the world was through the internet so it was quite hard to take a digital detox. To be frank, I donât think I have taken one during that era just because of the longing and attachment to keep up with my family and friends.Â
Furthermore, I sleep with my phone within close proximity. I need to be able to be easily accessible due to my own anxieties of someone needing me late at night or early in the morning. My phone has become my main alarm clock so having it close allows me to turn it off multiple times as I struggle to wake up each morning. Iâve heard that having your phone next to you does affect your overall sleep quality as well as being on the phone before bed. To counteract this, Iâve tried countless times to start a habit of reading for at least ten minutes before bed, which has failed a few times thus far.
The role of nature in Odellâs book is a beautiful ode to the present. She returns to the main theme that nature is true and beautiful. Our heads are hovering over a screen for almost all of our lives that we forget to look up. Some examples of nature she refers to is a rose garden and the distraction architecture, transforming a garden in the middle of a city to an oasis, away from the toxicity of the digital world. In her main theme of birdwatching, though, Odell refers to the way birds find you. And instead of watching, it should be considered listening or noticing. Birds are always around, it isnât until we look up that we see them. We notice them!
While walking throughout my neighborhood, I began to see how peaceful it actually is. Walking through Queens, NY, I have never noticed how loud the birds actually were. It was inspiring to hear the beauty of nature awakening and blooming after the dark cold winter. As a kid, I would always sit on this one rock by the corner and play with the bugs. I havenât done that since I was twelve. I was relieved and amazed to see my inner child has not completely dissipated and it reminded me of all my ambitious goals as a child. When we are younger, our pureness and naiveness is a beautiful perspective that we lose when we begin autopilot mode. It was as though, by intentionally rejecting the attention economy, I was able to get back in touch. It was a beautiful thing.Â
By âdoing nothingâ Odell does not physically mean doing nothing. She refers to this idea of doing nothing as a way to catch up with ourselves. In big cities, for example, no one has time to breathe. Itâs a hustle and bustle lifestyle that many get distracted by. City Goers get stuck with the same routine of going to work and going home. Yet, can we really constitute that as living, as doing something? Doing nothing refers to noticing, enjoying, and appreciating life for what it has to offer as opposed to just living in society, constantly yearning for betterment. Itâs mentally healthy to understand the beauty of simpler things and not take it for granted. Personally, I believe humans are capable of âdoing nothingâ by Odellâs terms. We just need to open our eyes and see life for what it is, not what we continually try to make it to be, perfect.Â