Memory Rizz
Are we slowly but surely unlearning how to make the most basic memories known to human experience? Has the ‘I have ADHD’ epidemic reached worrying levels? I believe it has to do with social media presence and overstimulation.
millavm8 IG. June 2024, Malaga, Spain.
Life as we know it is a memory killer. What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Do you stare at the light coming in from your window, or are you absorbed into the blue light labyrinth glaring out of your phone screen?
I am sure you have heard of the ADHD TikTok epidemic. The internet is now full of "5 Signs You Might Have ADHD" and "6 Things People with ADHD Hate Doing." The term Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which once had a restrictive medical use, has now turned into a pop-culture phenomenon. People are bonding over it, relating to their impossibility to concentrate and carry out basic tasks in their daily lives.
'A term for babies': Researcher explains how some TikTokers misunderstand clinical terms, CNN US
What appears surprising—and concerning—is the mass social media normalization of having a minimum memory span. As someone who is fully immersed in the twenty-first century social scene, I myself find it hard not to relate to these excruciatingly generic yet accurate TikTok trends.
When I wake up in the morning, I don’t even register the light in the room, nor how I am feeling emotionally and physically. I extend my arm out to my bedside table, and I start scrolling. I start looking for unread messages, totally unaware that I am there, inside my body, and that it is a new day. I aimlessly look for a reality that is not the reality I should be paying attention to.
Way too often, I have to bring myself back to Earth again, spend phone-less days to ground myself, and remember how to listen to the sound of birds singing without subjecting myself to the temptation of scrolling through all of my friends’ Instagram stories. I have forgotten how to wake up in the morning and get out of bed in silence, make coffee in silence alone with my thoughts. I have also forgotten how to socialize without letting the world know about it. I look at the sunset and whip out my phone while the day is slipping through my fingers, and I try to hold on to it on a screen.
And when I eventually do bring myself back to Earth, I rediscover the joys of the past. What would life be like if we were living in the 80s?
Paradoxically, it would be much harder, but way more rewarding. You wouldn't be able to tell a friend you miss them in a split second; you would send a postcard or a letter. You wouldn’t reach a destination with your eyes glued to Google maps; you would use your knowledge and communication skills, and the best part is, you would not miss a second of it all.
This is why I made it an anthropological experiment of my own to start sending postcards again. I found a sense of joy and gratification in knowing I would remember that gesture for what it truly was. The words I imprint on the postcards are the timeless witnesses of the feelings and emotions I felt and owned in that precise moment of time. Writing postcards helps us tune in with many of our senses and helps us be and stay present. First, you have to focus on finding a postcard that you like or that says something to you. Later, you sit down and think about what you really want to write as you will not be able to erase it later.
Each of these steps are the complete opposite of what social media is telling us to do today. Postcards teach us to be patient and focused, and to not disperse our attention freely as if it weren't something extremely valuable. While social media is the epitome of information overload, postcards force us to select information and express ourselves accurately. There is no altering their content, and because of this, there is no remembering them faintly. It is the purest form of communication known to the human being and also the ultimate example of what it means to combat the ADHD trend running around the internet.
Interestingly enough, I find that social media has also made it a trend to romanticize the essence of the simplest of moments. It is now trendy to post a picture of basic human interaction and generate a sense of longing for such naturalness that, in a way, has been completely lost specifically due to the need to show it on social media.
gentlemen_of_italy IG
wggtoday We used to be persons. Now we are just bad-mannered people with many followers.
paolosorrentino_real IG.
vitucci_giuseppe Going back to normality, a love message to everyone!
monicagoodvibes This is the great beauty
maurobronsky “The great challenge, trust me, is to be normal.
The public reaction to these types of pictures circulating on social media is quite clear. Everyone is realizing the loss of naturalness in our contemporary everyday lives. This comes as no surprise… if we can’t even stand in a line without losing our patience because ‘we all have ADHD,’ how could we ever stand still and appreciate a simple moment for what it is?
Hunter Schafer, IG
We all live in constant search for something exciting, different, and interesting that will sweep us off our feet. After all, don’t we all wake up and look at our phones as if some magical event could have happened overnight? As someone who relates to this feeling and has also imposed on herself some bits and pieces of a simpler lifestyle, I assure you that no overnight magical Instagram content can ever beat the joy of having breakfast in silence and watching the light come in from your window while you jot down your feelings on a postcard.
