It’s me uploading that content and making those videos that are adding to the problem of people sitting, watching endless videos, and scrolling and scrolling.

There is one side of me that wants to be involved in it because I can see the beauty of it – sharing the amazing places that I’ve travelled to. I want to turn that into content, and I want to show people what I’ve done. I don’t want it to come from a place of trying to brag; instead, showing people things that they maybe didn’t know existed. I’ve found incredible places that I would have never known about had I not gone on social media, but it’s me uploading that content and making those videos that are adding to the problem of people sitting, watching endless videos, and scrolling and scrolling.

I want to be involved in it, but I also don’t, because I don’t want to be part of the problem. I think our generation deals with a lot of anxiety, and I think it comes from the pressures of social media.

I feel that, in myself, it’s like a micro-anxiety in every single department. It’s that fear of not being good enough because I’m not helping the planet; I’m not a vegan, and I’m not an activist. But I care about the planet, and I don’t want it to cease to exist because of global warming.

Everything that I do almost contradicts each other.

I think it’s just having these micro-anxieties about global warming that can be so overwhelming. When do you ignore it, and when do you embrace it and try to be a solution? I’m fighting that dilemma. Everything that I do almost contradicts each other. Part of me wants to go out and see nature and see the beauty of the world. In my past relationships, the thing I would always say to people is, ‘We don’t have to spend money on a date. Instead, let’s have a picnic on the beach, let’s go walk up this hill, or go and see this river or waterfall. But then the other side of me is participating in things that are probably quite destructive to the planet – whether that’s fashion or the things that I buy – including makeup – is it cruelty-free, is it harming animals?

Slowing down helps.

I’m not going to lie, I sometimes just ignore it because it can be so overwhelming at times. I know a lot of people will say it will never get done unless people stand up, but at the same time, feel like ‘I’m just one person, and there is a whole world against me, so I’m not going to make that much of a difference’, and therefore, that feeling becomes overwhelming. And obviously, doing nothing doesn’t solve anything.

Just stopping and slowing down helps. Don’t be so hard on yourself. If you do think something is bad for the planet, just pause for a second. Have a think. If it’s buying something; do you really need it, or do you just want it? My mum taught me the best thing, which is, if you see something that you like, don’t buy it there and then. Walk away. And if you keep thinking about it, go back and buy it, because at least then you know that it is something that you do truly think about and want.

Focus on something that is beautiful that is already out there.

Slow down and appreciate the good things that are around you. Go and enjoy the moon, the sunset, the things that are there. I am so obsessed with the moon. I love going out and just looking at her – she’s so beautiful. I’ll take pictures of her. Just having that enjoyment of something that is there, that so many people don’t look up at. There will be something out there that you will find enjoyment in that is beautiful and nature-related, or something that is very peaceful that helps with your overall mood and mental health. Focus on something that is beautiful that is already out there that should be appreciated a little more than it already is.

Overconsumption vs social media.

They’re both so dangerous in two different ways. Social media is detrimental to our mental health. The constant comparing ourselves to each other, along with the endless scrolling and the addiction that that brings. I find that if I wake up and the first thing that I do is go on social media, I do not have a productive day. The distractions are so much easier to find, having done that already, because I want to go back to it. If I avoid going on my phone in the morning, I am more likely to be able to sit and focus on something. Things like that [social media addiction] are so damaging, and people don’t always realise.

But then, the overconsumption of goods and fashion is so detrimental to our planet because they’re just being discarded. I love shopping in charity shops, and they’re now just filled with stuff from Shein and Temu, and I can’t stand that. ‘You’ve used it, you know it’s not good quality, which is why you’ve discarded it’, and it’s clogging up landfill and charity shops, and we’ve got to rummage even harder to find the good things. That low-quality thing didn’t need to be bought; it didn’t need to be made.

I think they’re very dangerous for two completely different reasons, and I think they’re just as bad as each other – it’s like a double-edged sword. And when you put them together, that’s like making the atomic bomb. It’s endless scrolling, watching people, and buying the pointless things that you didn’t need, and you’ve combined the two together. It’s a recipe for disaster. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the person who invented endless scrolling regrets it – it’s the same with Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb – what he created was revolutionary, but he lives with that guilt every day.

On solving these issues.

When you try to stop someone from doing something, they want to do it even more. People are not going to change until they want to do it themselves. They need to care about the world in order to look after it. I don’t really know what the solution is other than people realising it for themselves. Because I think, as time has gone on, I have become more aware of it. The more that I see on social media. The more I hear on the news, the more aware and worried about it all [climate change] I get.

Putting the phone down for a moment to decompress from what I’ve just seen.

A lot of the time, I’m worried and stressed when I’m on social media, usually because I’ve seen something stressful on it. It’s is incredible at raising awareness of issues and things that are happening throughout the world that you didn’t have access to, especially politically or geographically. But also seeing that is where feeling overwhelmed and worried comes from. So a lot of the time it’s just about putting the phone down to decompress from what I’ve just seen. Going back to doing things that I enjoy and calm me down. And the things that calm me down are not on social media.

Don’t just do everything that everyone else does. Go and find your own thing.

Would I completely get rid of social media? I don’t know. I think if I could push a button that took it back to a different era – yes. Only because there were so many beautiful things that I did when I was in Australia, when I was in Japan, when I was in Bali, that I wouldn’t have done because I didn’t know they existed. Maybe I could have found those things through my own research, and maybe that’s what we should be doing a lot more. I am a preacher of – don’t just do everything that everyone else does. Go and find your own thing. Go and walk down the quiet street that doesn’t have all the tourists, and see what you find down there instead. But I think you can find your starting point or some good advice and recommendations by using social media.

Don’t film the concert. Be at the concert.

Put the phone down more, be present, and enjoy the moment. I like filming things, but there is a time and a place for it. There are some moments where I’d rather put the phone down. Don’t film the concert; be at the concert. Listen to the concert. Watch the concert. Because, trust me, on the way home, you might watch a couple of those videos, but after that you’ll never watch them again – so why did you stand and film the whole thing?

Be present. Go and enjoy what’s out there that isn’t through social media. Don’t live through someone else’s posts. Go and live it for yourself.

…

Notes From the Editor – Extended Reading

READ: The Deals That Made the World by Jacques Peretti

You think it’s going to be a book about business, but it’s chapters focus on business and the future of our world. It details our capitalists society’s impact on global warming and also explains that there are actual laws that exist that allow companies to get away with excessive environmental destruction and mass manipulation with little to no consequences. Useful if you want to understand exactly what is going on, and how insidious the situation is. A good starting point to understanding our potential collective next move to overcome the damage. Equally shocking and fascinating.

READ: What Has Nature Ever Done for Us? by Tony Juniper

A book that explains all of the free services that nature provides, and the annual economic/ monetary cost of losing these services due to global warming, as per overconsumption and environmental irresponsibility. Reading this will give you an awareness of the specific areas of impact, as well as financial loss and personal impact garnered. It also provides in-depth solutions. Just what we need.

WATCH: The Social Dilemma on Netflix

A fascinating documentary that explains the stark reality of social media’s design and how it is able/ designed to manipulate us in the way it does, and the impact this is having.

Want to make a quick impact right this minute?

• Use Blackle.com instead of Google.
• Delete the Instagram app – use the browser instead (it’s less addictive). Even better, spend a week off of Instagram. (It’s the spiritual equivalent of taking a long, hot bath.)
• Avoid TikTok at all costs.