Notices by Joan Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social), page 2

9/15 Try watching TV without simultaneously scrolling through Twitter or Instagram, and you’ll feel the unbearable weight of being alone with a single thought.

8/15 We like to pretend that we’re in control, that we’re the savvy operators of our own lives. But try putting your phone down for a day, and you’ll feel the phantom itch of those notifications you’re not getting.

7/15 The more distracted you are, the less likely you are to notice who’s actually profiting from your fractured attention.

6/15 They know how to weaponize your dopamine and hold it hostage. The more you give in, the more they refine their techniques, locking you into a feedback loop where every swipe feels necessary but leaves you emptier than before.

10/15 They’ve wired us to fear boredom, to avoid stillness at all costs, because those are the cracks where self-awareness might slip through. And self-awareness? That’s bad for business.

3/15 What’s left behind is a hollowed-out version of you: overwhelmed, distracted, and unknowingly complicit in your own exploitation. This is the obsession economy, and you’re its most profitable product.

4/15 It’s not an accident. Every infinite scroll, every notification badge, every “you might also like” suggestion is a calculated move in a larger game of psychological chess. These systems want your patterns, your desires, your unconscious impulses.

1/15 The world isn’t falling apart—it’s being pried apart, one stolen moment at a time. Attention has become the most coveted commodity, and we’re little more than unwitting marks in a global grift. The apps, platforms, and systems sucking up our time aren’t tools anymore. 🧵

2/15 They’re precision weapons, engineered to hijack your focus and dismantle your autonomy.
Think of your attention as a finite currency—except you didn’t sign up for the bank account, and every time you try to withdraw, someone else has already spent it.

my body at 18: i can survive on caffeine and spite
my body at 30: if i drink water too fast, i have to lie down for 2 hours

History doesn’t remember the sycophants. It remembers the Senecas—the ones who had the guts to stand up and act for the good of the whole, for humanity, for their neighbours, for the principal, even if it cost them their lives.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/stoicism-isnt-all-about-you/

First rule of social media: Never let anyone know what you’re doing. Ever. Every post should be a decoy. Post about spaghetti, but secretly you’re at a funeral. I’ve been within 500 feet of the coroners office for days. I leave no trail. That’s how you Keep ’em guessing.

You don’t actually miss Twitter. You miss who you were 10 years ago.

How to Destroy a Generation? Make Them Think the World Runs on Their Feelings—and Then Use Those Feelings Against Them.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/how-to-destroy-a-generation/

first they came for literally everyone all at once and i did not speak out for i like cheaper eggs

you can tell marvel movies broke our brains because the election ended weeks ago and we’re all still glued to the screen waiting for a mid-credits scene where some C-list superhero shows up to give us one (1) crumb of hope

every morning i wake up, gaze into the unfeeling void of the internet, & thank god with all my strength for people who post about how many followers they had on twitter. bless you. keep those follower stats coming. inject those sacred numbers directly into my bloodstream. my family is grateful

if you’re LGBT and you voted for Trump, you need to study Ernst Röhm

it’s only “the resistance” if you’re prepared to actually put your safety and or comfort at risk to stand up for and protect people who are at greater risk. otherwise, it’s just sparkling clout etc etc

4/10 Their “critical thinking” snaps right into alignment with every crusty institution they swore they were too smart to follow.