Diet for the Mind
Time to Limit Mental Junk Food
I have an idea, and it’s a good one. It’s going to need some real energy behind it, so talk it up with everyone you know, post about it on Instagram, make some YouTube videos, get it on TikTok. This one needs to be big. This is one of those great ideas that you’re going to say, “Shoot, that was so obvious! Why didn’t I think of it?!”
Are you ready for it? Okay, here it is….
The Mental Junk Food Diet
I’m okay with trying different names. I played with others. Here are a few:
‘The 30-Day Brain Cleanse’
‘The Return to Sanity Pledge’
‘The No Click No Scroll Zone’
We pay so much attention to what we put in our mouths, so why is it that we pay almost no attention to what we feed our minds? You don’t even need to search for information on what you should be eating, because like it or not, you’re going to be inundated daily with articles about new studies, or reinterpretations of old studies, and lists upon lists. Coffee’s good for you, but no more than 2 cups a day, and no later than 1 p.m. And no heavy cream or whipped cream, or sugar. Of course, tea is better, especially green, but black is okay too. Hot or cold is fine, though rats live longer on hot. Dessert is okay, in small portions, but no low fat or no fat, because those are more processed, and processing is bad. Olive oil is definitely good, but watch out for seed oils. They’re bad. Oh, and butter. That’s bad. No wait, it’s good now. Or was it good and now it’s bad? Hmmm. Better check the new food pyramid.
Meanwhile, in the realm of what we feed our minds, it’s just click, click, click, scroll, scroll, scroll.
The average American adult spends over 7 hours per day looking at a screen.
Okay, some screen time is valuable. Maybe looking up a new recipe, Face Timing with a loved one, researching a medical condition or planning a vacation. But what’s that add up to on a daily basis? An hour? Two? No more, and that’s being generous. I know, it’s just me talking here, but I’m sure we can agree that there’s plenty of clicking on mental junk food happening, on headlines like these:
‘Spotted at a restaurant, this Hollywood legend is unrecognizable!’
‘Love Boat Star Claims He was Snubbed by Famous Guest 40 Years Ago’
‘Prince Harry, on the Verge of Tears, says U.K. Tabloids are Making Megan Markle’s ‘an Absolute Misery’
‘Jennifer Lawrence Reveals the One Thing She Wanted to Do While Pregnant, Until Her OBGYN Vetoed the Idea’
‘Four Netflix Movies You’re Going to Love this Week’
No doubt it’s happened to all of us, because every headline is written to be click-worthy. And you know the drill. Click at your own peril, because ‘if you liked this article, you’ll want to see this one too’ and before you know it, we find ourselves glazed over down some rabbit hole watching outtakes from our favorite childhood sitcom on YouTube. Or worse, much worse, we’re whipped into a lather after binging on political content, ready to cancel dinner plans with family or friends who we think may disagree.
I absolutely agree with this one David. I recently became aware of just how much algorithms and spoon fed content was coming my way and attempting to shape my world. So now I am doing my best to fight back and make my own algorithms and not click on thing served up to me or look up something on my phone vs. remembering it, etc.
it is absolutely necessary to have a mental junk food diet. And I believe a lot of people are already on "that" kinda diet. Being more aware of of that digital/online/junk/socialmediaBS they consume. But you still see way more people constantly on their phones instead of with their nose in a book or their eyes on the person they have a conversation with.