The trick to escaping social media

I’m a big fan of creative hobbies, topical rabbit holes, and other leisurely activities, which is why I appreciated Constance Grady’s recent Vox story on making these pursuits less about routines and goals and productivity and more about indulgence. If you’re scrolling endlessly, looking to feel something, consider putting down your phone and redirecting that energy toward the things that naturally spark curiosity in you.

“Embracing curiosity means finding ways to play with art and ideas, as if they’re clay, instead of chipping away at them, as if they’re solid stone,” Constance writes. Turn toward things that have the potential to surprise you, and specifically seek out topics you are uncertain about, but that you’re compelled — perhaps inexplicably — to know more about. “This mystery doesn’t have to be about science or philosophy,” Constance says. “It could be about what happens to a character in a particular thriller, or how to capture a likeness in charcoal, or what a certain part of your city looks like. The point is that it should be the kind of question that you can’t let go of.”

This kind of work is made possible by our Vox Members. If you would like to support Vox’s independent journalism, please consider becoming a Vox Member today.

—Rachel Wilkerson Miller, Senior Editor

The surprisingly undisciplined trick to escaping social media

Routines aren’t the key to healthy habits. Indulgence is.

by Constance Grady

Meta glasses are killing the vibe

by Alex Abad-Santos

The plight of owning “pervert glasses” when you’re not a pervert.

How to slow down time when life keeps speeding up

by Shayla Love

Skydiving or watching the grass grow? Psychologists and Buddhists explain how we can stretch our time.

Don’t give up vegetables because of the diarrhea parasite

by Dylan Scott

Your guide to eating produce in a time of cyclospora.

Read more >>>