the attention economy is killing us.
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- Опубліковано 30 кві 2024
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I feel sad that when asking for more vacation or personal days at work, the only argument I feel I a can use is ‘it increases productivity’ rather than ‘I’m a human being and i need to spend my time doing human things instead of generating wealth for you’
Feudal serfs had more of an inherent right to life than the average worker has today.
This was posted 17 seconds ago and I feel like me seeing this and consuming it so quickly might be relevant.
Same,
I feel like me reading this comment while listening to a song and scrolling reddit instead of watching the video might also be relevant.
extremely.
i make better content then this I'm a 30+ year old Jewish media creator with aspergers syndrome who is a jack of all trades with a passion for fighting against cyberbullying. I've been doing these kinds of things for over 10 years and I've picked up a whole set of different skills along the wayy.
Now did you watch the video all the way thru?
When I started my UA-cam channel, the first thing anyone would ask me was, "how are you going to make money out of THAT?"
The question annoyed me, because I just wanted to make videos. While not exactly "quiet contemplation", the act of doing it was a creative outlet that I didn't have, and that creation was the purpose; I had no other goal in mind.
Now, my UA-cam channel _has_ been wildly successful, and that has been wonderful for me in many ways, but it also turned my creative outlet into a job. I now have schedules and contractors, and sponsorship agreements.
I miss the days when I had a "pointless" creative outlet.
Of course the only reason I was able to make UA-cam videos for fun was because I had the wealth of time and money afforded to me. Many people don't have that luxury.
I would like to live in a world where anyone could "afford" the time to do "nothing". I think we'd all be better off.
Interestingly, that Second thought has made a video covering on this exact topic using examples of youtuber quit videos. He says, that capitalism incentivises this burn out.
Woah, one of my favorite (completely unrelated channels) comments on one of my new favorite channels! Love when this happens! Cheers everyone!
I love the term "toxic cottagecore" omg
i make better content then this I'm a 30+ year old Jewish media creator with aspergers syndrome who is a jack of all trades with a passion for fighting against cyberbullying. I've been doing these kinds of things for over 10 years and I've picked up a whole set of different skills along the way,.
Itll be its own spinoff ;) a cottage full of poison mushrooms 😂
Sounds like a horror title
This is the first time i am hearing that and it oddly sounds catchy and interesting.
It sounds like a weird underground rock/metal band. lol.
One thing I found interesting here is how you mentioned that it seemed a bit pointless in the beginning to do things with your grandma because she would forget it and all... It made me think about how much our minds live in the future and the idea of memory being so important?
Your grandma would have a nice day with you and whether she eventually forgot about it, it wouldn't change the fact that when being with you was her present, she enjoyed it.
I feel like we focus so much on how something will be or on how this something will seem that we forget that maybe just experiencing today is enough.
yeah this is definitely true. We have become so conditioned to evaluate experiences that we no longer value fun.
That explains why old folk homes are family free zones.
@@Praisethesunson
old folks homes are physically on the edge of towns, out of the way, hidden away, so people have to take longer to drive there.
They are claustrophobic, upsetting, and you have to book meetings.
At a certain point, old people become so unwell that they just want to sit with you, watch you be happy, and be comforted.
Thats very hard to do in an old folks home.
Remember to die well.
Everything's concerned with accumulating wealth for some unknown part of the future. No one wants to exist in the now
What I found particularly interesting in Burnout Society is the idea that we went from a society with an excess of negativity (too much you can't), to a society with an excess of positivity (an excess of you can). Too much yes, too little no. He has a section where he analyses how Freudian psychology, which emphasizes repression (so you can't), is no longer useful to understand the burnour society. We are no longer subjects (as in subjugated, as in you can't), but projects - constantly in a state of endless potential. But, he says, our personalities - who we are - exists for a large part in what we reject or negate. The danger is that we become this endlessly moldable clay that capitalism can use. Not only that, but your self-molding. You see what capitalism expects of you, you internalize this, and then you mold yourself. But this is exhausting. Peace comes from rejecting this endless potential, from saying no, from rejecting endless potential, from being a person instead of a project. Capitalist society has told us that endless flexibility and endless potential are a good thing, but it's better to reject this and form a stable personality. Something that gives you a grounding to reject those things that don't fit you. In doing so, we can stop being exhausted.
I assume many people watching this have, like myself, a seemingly endless thirst for knowledge. In the last year I decided to buy a piano since music has always interested me. It quickly turned into me acquiring a reasonable amount of gear to start making music on my own, throughout my journey I've tried to practice self control when it comes to learning new things. I'll get a baseline of where I'm at, jam for a little bit and eventually hit a wall, try my hardest to get past the whatever blockage is keeping me from progressing, and eventually watch some tutorials or learn some vital piece of music theory I was missing. throughout this process I've realized that there are simply just some things I don't want to learn. In order for me to keep the magic alive when it comes to making interesting sounding music I need to NOT know everything. There's often this temptation to look up "how to achieve X, Y, and Z." But overcoming the desire to know everything keeps some sense of childlike wonder alive and keeps things really fun overall. I hope I made some kind of point without coming off like a wannabe scholar lol
@@MrFrigid247 I get what you mean. I have something similar with games. For most games there's a meta - an optimal way to play the game. You can look this up easily online. Watching some UA-cam videos on it is all you need usually. But this takes the fun out of discovery. I had the same thing at the gym. Knowing the optimal way to train is kind of exhausting. I miss the days when I was just messing around and doing whatever I enjoyed in the gym.
I guess it depends on whether you enjoy discovery/curiosity/play or mastery/competition. With the first it's all more about the journey and like you said there's a good reason not to hurry this journey along too much
@@DKH712 If there are any available in your area you should try a rock climbing gym. It's made working out so much more fun for my girlfriend and I. we split our week up with climbing and lifting, but it really feels more like playing on a jungle gym. I love that you share a similar opinion on things.
I can't guess on if what you're saying comes from you or from some kind of informational knowledge derivede from some external source. But I feel that we as humans can't be potential in the way you express it, that's just an illusion. I feel that I have a work trough which gives me the opportunity to express good intention towards humanity so I do the work everyday because my sense of contribution renews itself and growths adding on past memories. I don't know if that's moldable as you say or if that enters the realm of capitalism, if I am a capitalist I don't know. Maybe yes. But how can you tell that a man is just a man or some kind of illusionist illusioning ourselves? I feel that now that I am writing I have the power to mold the attention of whom will read, so I have to be careful I guess.
@@MrFrigid247 I feel like it when scrolling through youtube. I wanto to give a meaning to what I am doing so I say that I will watch videos for the sake of increasing my knowledge and perspective, but then I find myself criticizing too much, but when I decide to pay attention to the opinions and maybe knowledge of the authors, then I keep confronting their views with mine. I don't know if this view can help you but maybe life is just a confront-like series of events in which we chisel out what we don't think it's true about ourselves and add on what we think it's true. I don't know if this is only my view or not.
That concern over boredom is in every part of raising a child too, my husband is coaching tee-ball and the instruction guides tell you to change activities every 5 minutes to keep them engaged. One day he had them practicing throwing a ball at a soccer ball on the tee and the kids eager kept at it for 20+ minutes and my husband had to fight the idea that they need to keep moving, keep doing. Those kids were learning to throw the ball and aim at a target AND they were having open ended fun. I read so many books studying child behavior when my son was a baby that insisted kids can only pay attention for a few minutes at a time, so we should embrace it. Yet I have had many conversations with different parents who had to acknowledge that their kids would engage with something they enjoyed for a long time and it was the parent who got bored and pushed a new activity on their child. The adults had to learn how to give their full attention to something, not the kids.
We rush kids so much and then bemoan their laziness because the fun they're having when they relax is not 'productive' enough. We're not happy living this way for ourselves, but we bend our children into it.
people really dont give kids enough credit, its wild how much theyre stifled by the limitations adults expect of them
*I HAVE RECENTLY BECOME* fascinated with boredom.
I have long covid, I was forced to take a 10-minute total break from any stimuli at all for 10 minutes every hour. To begin with, I was almost having panic attacks, then my brain started to process decades-old traumas, then came calmness and creativity. I don't NEED it as much now, but I still do this for the mental health benefits. I think human brains NEED boredom.
I love doing nothing and just think. it's what helps me after a long week of processing things, not scrolling
Awesome, I've started doing this as well when I realised that relaxing watching videos online was leaving me more overwhelmed. Now I just lay down and stare at the wall and breathe until I feel more mental calmness. Sometimes it's ten minutes, sometimes it's twenty.
How do you think Philosophy came to be?
The guys who invented had FREE TIME TO THINK!
So it's not for everyone but the biggest benefit I get from going on long runs *without any music* is a solid block of time in which my brain can just WANDER, and it is so, so crucial to my mental health now.
Constantly caught between the two poles of "I need to slow down, I'm doing too much" and "doing less is giving up and admitting defeat"
ever thought about the notion that the game being played can't be won? (except maybe precisely by giving up and being "defeated")
Yeah, accepting "defeat" is not easy. The social game is to keep going even if you are running towards a cliff. I think people who give up on society standards have tremendous power and strength in themselves, although society would look at them as losers.
Truth is, if you don't play the game, the game will disqualify you and will make you pay for it. Humans have a deep need to feel validated by society, and in capitalism, that means winning the game of achievement.
I have been pondering this recently too. People have such fond memories of older media, and I feel like that is due to the fact that we weren’t as overloaded with constantly new experiences and content, so we were able to actually meditate on the meanings of the media and find bits of ourselves in it. Nowadays I feel like we scoop things up and then drop them so quickly that almost nothing ‘makes a mark’ and has a chance to help to shape the person long term.
Binge watching content also wasn't a thing 20 years ago. When you only get to see one episode a week that gives you a full week to think about, discuss, and reflect on what you watched. A full week to wonder what will happen next. But with binge watching it is like eating breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one go. You don't have any time to digest what you consume before you stuff more in.
@@brianc5617 Binge watching was only possible 20 years ago if you bought tv series vhs/dvd sets.
@@brianc5617I was about to say this exact thing!! Binge-watching culture is so frustrating to me because I feel like if I don’t watch all 8 hours of a TV show on the day it comes out, I may as well never watch it, because if I consume it at my own pace, everyone will have moved on by the time I’m done. And reflecting upon all the binge-watching I did when I was younger, I find that I barely remember what about it I liked enough to watch it all at once. Maybe I didn’t even like it that much, I was just pushed to watch by FOMO.
😅
i love having the world explained to me in a calm voice by educated women.
The psychology behind what caused u to say that is actually pathetic
@@CodeineSkeeter someone else write a reactionary comment, i won't
@@strahlungsopfer exactly. ....
You can't exist outside of an echo chamber....you need the world explained to u by others who say what u wanna hear
Then u need someone else to respond on ur behalf
No takers? Cool. Then the comment is that much worth ignoring. Anyway, you’re right. This video format is relaxing! Gonna pause it and watch the rest while drinking tea.
@@Window4503 🙄
The panopticon never went away; we've internalized it.
The point was that it was always internal
@@comradetrashpanda8777 yeah, that's my issue with Han's argument, he seems to be misrepresenting what Foucault meant by disciplinary society
Panopticon? Is that a transformer?
@@robwalters2537 Yes, it is a transformer of sorts.
@@lucasballestin9085 Yes. Foucault's argument still stands. We have just become even more enamored with policing ourselves and others in the pursuit of "productivity," normalizing the disciplinary structures ever more subtly into private spaces.
"We're exhausted from having to attach purpose to everything we do. We live in denial of life's pointlessness instead of accepting it and creating meaning from that"
This.
I've been trying to live my life in a way that has meaning for me. I'm aware that there's no real point and sometimes that makes me really depressed. But other times it allows me to fully immerse in whatever I'm doing/making. Truly be in the moment for no reason other than being in the moment. And I get a lot of pushback from the people around me. Pushing me to do things they believe have value but are really just societal standards. Those standards hold no meaning for me. As long as I can do what I want to do, live out my creative hearts desires, then I don't see why I should have to justify any of it to anyone else with a meaning that means something to them.
About the criticism on "happiness": in my opinion, contemplation creates happiness in the sense of "serendipity". If I were not taking a walk at a certain moment and in a contemplation state, I wouldn't see bees, some birds interacting, hear a funny human interaction. Being able to experience that because I was available for that moment does make me happy.
Absolutely agree with your last point re: quiet enjoyment. Noise has always been an issue for me as an autistic person, but I've finally moved somewhere really quiet and honestly, even though I still sleep badly, my stress levels have gone down dramatically. It's even made me more relaxed when I'm not at home and the environment is noisier than I'm now used to.
I'm autistic and living in a tiny unit with no soundproofing. I can't afford to move elsewhere. I feel like it is killing me. I am always burnt out.
I think a valuable extension of the conversation in this video is the ableism inherent in capitalism and hyper productivity. How it creates environments that are physically and sensorially hostile to many bodies, and how it creates value systems that frame non-earning bodies as worthless.
And also, I suppose, how 'toxic cottagecore' and the capture of anti-work rhetoric by wellness peddlers can often be used to exploit (and placate) underserved populations such as disabled folks.
@@Jack-ns9sz You can create a degree of soundproofing for yourself. Soundproofing panels can be purchased and hung, and just a few of them can make an incredible difference, even if you can't completely cover your walls. If that's out of reach, any kind of wall hanging reduces the ability of sound to bounce around. Especially fabric hangings. Curtains on your walls are great. A walk-in closet is great if you've got one, even a tiny one, since all that hanging fabric absorbs sound really well. A last-ditch emergency solution would be to close yourself in your bathroom and drape blankets over everything, throw a duvet over the shower curtain rod, cover the floor with towels, and hang out for an hour or so of relief. I do that occasionally. It's obnoxious to have to put everything away afterward, but that's as close to quiet as I can get living on a major thoroughfare.
I hope your situation changes soon and you can get somewhere that allows you peace.
Pure coincidence: when I started watching this I didn't speed up the video to 1.5x or more like I use to. In the last years I've accumulated so many videos in my "watch later" playlist that I try to optimize time by merely consuming them as fast as possible, and it must have an impact in my appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of them, but there is this neurotic will inside me to watch them all, and FOMO too.
real
what's sad is that many people will not even have attention enough to finish this video fully...
I'm so embarrassed to say that it actually took me so much effort, I found myself scrolling at least 8 times watching this video and had to stop myself to go back to full screen...
@@RossoAmareno to be honest, same, but hey at least we finished it!
You can configure the speed of the video, actually.
1.25×
1.5×
Sometimes, if I have a hard time paying attention, I just increase the speed. It's pretty helpful.
Always recommend doodling a bit to keep the attention
I finished the video!
...while doing nonograms ;_;
self-improvement is an on-going process ok
This video feels a lot more personal than usual, I appreciate that
Go on, I'm paying attention
I always thought it was interesting that in English you PAY attention. As it's seen as a transaction.
I never thought about this. In Spanish we say "prestar". So it’d be something like "lend your attention"
Me immediately clicking the thumbnail is both high irony and the most self aware of my self destructive tendencies I have been for some time
I'm so sorry about your grandmother, Alice ❤. (I know that is not the main part of your video but) thank you for sharing--I found that part about assigning meaningfulness to the gesture of playing her song really beautiful.
Me too
But also the part about solidarity with our pets!
On the same line of Han's thought on purposeless, Ailton Krenak - a Brazilian indigenous activist - wrote a book titled Life is Not Useful. He shares the ancestral wisdom of originary peoples in Brazil as an antidote to contemporary concerns of us, "civilised" people. He also wrote Ideas to Postpone the End of the World.
I have been comparing our society with chickens in an industrial meat farming setting, where we are constantly agitated so much that we lash out at anyone around us like the chickens that pick and hurt each other.
And unlike the chickens, we are also more likely to get served divisive content that tells us to "hate" each other.
I like to consciously observe myself consuming (social) media. As many people I'm using it to "wind down" and distract myself from my daily worries. I noticed that this does not help, however. I've noticed that from this point of view, my mind has two states: a state where I absorb information and impressions, and another state where I process them. And the processing is not being done while in the first state.
Sure, Processing is being done sleeping at night, but I also noticed that if I'm not doing enough processing during the day (by something like quiet contemplation), I have trouble falling asleep because my mind is racing.
About "slowing down", I feel that there is a possibility of being very active while being non-productive. Because "productivity" is about the goal and the creation of value, we can still enjoy things in intense or fast ways without participating in the production of capitalist goods or services.
Contemplation is great, but a lot of the neurodivergent people I know struggle to engage in slow and non-stimulating activities like sitting on a bench, even in an active way. I think it is important to appreciate things we can do quickly or intensely yet without purpose : drawing a lot, writing all day, reading unrelated wikipedia pages for hours... These are not ought to be productivist, even though they are intense and long activities that can feel like labor.
Thank you for the great video, et commentaire pour l'algo
And that is the thing: WHAT is "slowing down"?
The best answer? NOBODY KNOWS!
There is not a "one-size-fits-all" description or solution - one like to slow down by smoking weed and looking at clouds, another like to slow down by solving Physics equations.
The thing we should be focused is in the "experience" of slowing down, not in trying to "find a perfect formula".
Excellent timing with that one. I've recently quit Instagram because of overstimulation, wanting to check if I am really burnt out or if my brain is just grilled with all the dopamine and overstimulation from doomscrolling. Guess what? I feel so relieved right now and my stress levels decreased significantly, I became less aggressive and more open to new people and new situations. What's more, I also noticed how weird it was to constantly check Instagram basically to watch other people's lives instead of just talking to them. We internalize so many unnecessary emotions and information from the social media that it's surprising to me how rarely we talk about social media putting literal garbage into our heads 24/7.
Thank you for this amazing piece of content, crème de la crème as always!
i’m procrastinating studying for tomorrow’s exam by clicking on this notification and watching this video
same lol. good luck!
i make better content then this I'm a 30+ year old Jewish media creator with aspergers syndrome who is a jack of all trades with a passion for fighting against cyberbullying. I've been doing these kinds of things for over 10 years and I've picked up a whole set of different skills along the wayy.
@@harryanthos good luck to you too! 🍀
@@ville__ sorry that happened or congrats idk
@@josefaak hes a bot or a troll n comments stupid shit everywhere
i truly hope its not a real guy bc the amount of times i see him is alarming and pathetic (as much as how much time i spend using ytb maybe 👁👁)
I had not heard the term "hyperattention" before but it is quite appropriate. Hypervigilance, hyperactive, hyperattention all originate from a lack of contemplation, deep thought, awareness, serenity and peace. It is the result of a mindset that money and efficiency - in order to make more money to be able to have more entertainment - that these are better than being still and enjoying true leisure and repose. It's all DOING and fear of just BEING - human doings and not human beings. But there is hope! Being/contemplation is more powerful than mere doing/activity and it is becoming more and more apparent to many!
As a retired person, who spent 40+ years in IT, I certainly understand the problem of burn-out.
And I probably spend too much time in front of the computer still :)
All my own fault, of course. I have every reason to live a quiet, contemplative life. I live in a remote valley on a tropical island, in the Caribbean. What could be quieter?
But as you say, the noise comes from within.
I _am_ trying to get better. I'm watching more long form videos, mainly of people surfing (it's amazing how relaxing that is :), or people working silently on some handicraft project.
What I _should_ be doing, is writing. I wrote less than 1K words today. Shame.
Thanks for sharing this video.
don't shame yourself, you are not alone in this problem
try to understand why do you avoid writing even though it is something you enjoy doing
@@alidelta7454 thanks for your support
*LAST WEEK I BOUGHT A MECHANICAL TYPEWRITER* possibly one of the best 5 things I have ever bought in my life. I SLEEP BETTER, lots better...!!!
My mind works in a completely different, much calmer, much deeper way - its like driving on a fast country road with no traffic V driving on a busy highway
I disconnect from internet 1 or 2 days a week. I come to visit my grandma who doesn't use internet connection. I help cooking, shop groceries for her, read and talk. Long talks where i hear i lot. Also sleep without reading from a phone. It helps a lot
0:50 We love scripts written in longhand! Go girl give us everything!
Its gotten to the point where I am guilty of taking days off. And even when I'm on a holiday, I can't be present and think only of work and the future.
sort of similar to your grandma situation but also the opposite: My sibling just had a baby and sometimes I get to baby sit that baby and those days I usually get nothing done. Like cant even scroll on my phone cause this baby requires 24/7 holding but it is super rewarding and you get to ponder the nature of emotional intamacy and dependancy, and you get to watch someone learn how their body and the world works which is kind of baller. I say all this as someone who is decidedly child free but what I am getting at is that it is nice to do labor that isnt "productive"
Recently left a super stressful and anxiety inducing job and burnout is REAL. After I left I was bed ridden and unmotivated for months. After 5 months I started feeling like myself again
From personal experience, I can tell you that it takes longer for me to recover every time I hit burnout. But I couldn't seem to give up "life in the fast lane" until I literally, physically, can't go full tilt all day. This is not pleasant. I would suggest being smarter than me.
@@ericakusske3321 wow man how many times have you hit burnout?? I’m only a few years out of college so this is my first time in the professional world personally.
i think the term that defines that feeling of doing nothing and feeling not necessarily happy is “content.” you feel content when doing those things. or when doing nothing. it’s contentment that pours through one’s soul when they realize they don’t need to do anything to feel a pleasant emotion.
It is truly ironic how content is the same thing that’s killing us. 😂
@@anushkajariwala129 i actually love this reply thank god for homophobia
edit: homophones not homophobia but i’m keeping it bc autocorrect is wild
This made me think about what I´ve already observed in little children. As a teacher in kindergarten I see problem in the begining. The amount of stimuli children get is anormous. The way how toys have changed is crazy. We went from simple toys to toys which are super colourfull and each of them has mostly one purpose how to play with it. They are constructed the way, that children don´t have to think or create their own games. We just serve them everything and when they stay by themselves without any stimuli for a little while they don´t know what to do and are immediately bored. They wait for someone to entertain them. It changed really fast and I see it as something dangerous. Maybe I sound old but believe me I am really young teacher and I was raised in completely different conditions so maybe thanks to that I was allways naturaly searching "boredom" and doing nothing and just observe surroundings. I am trying to transfer this approach to kids but it´s hard when whole society is heading the other way.
These two poles of "doing nothing, therefore I must do more" vs. "doing too much, therefore I must do less" is rooted in confusing doing with being. "Doing nothing" and "resting" is still a form of "doing"
Man, does this hit home this week in particular! I do appreciate how you manage to use this platform that's often more given to hot takes to well thought out, perceptive arguments! Hope you're having a great week, Alice!
I recently lissened to a radio interview from 1989, and it was so relaxed and slow. It almost had something meditative to it. I think my urge to get away from input and shutting my senses for an hour comes from the way media is right now.
This might sound kind of brain-broken, but I feel like your videos sometimes help as a moment of contemplation within my bad habit of consuming internet content. Helping me to stop and think about things from angles I didn't percieve before
no because I WAS JUST thinking about this, so thank you.
According to my phone, it took me 46 minutes to listen to this video and read some comments while prepping and eating breakfast.
Yesterday during my daily walk in the woods, I noticed that a bunch of red trilliums had popped up. I'd never seen red trilliums before so it was quite a treat.
Love that you put yourself into spending time with your grandma. Speaks to the idea that meaningful experiences aren’t necessarily happy but create the kinds of raw emotion that makes us feel most human.❤
Thanks for this video. It sparked the following thoughts and connections for me:
- Following the Sabbath is hyper radical.
- Roger Scruton in Why Beauty Matters says that "beauty transports us into contemplation". But he speaks of how beauty is useful precisely because it's purposeless.
- One definition of evil that is used in theology and philosophy is "meaninglessness" or "purposelessness". Even in situations like you described with your mother, we still find purpose in suffering well.
- It's so cool that the root word for contemplation is temple.
Thank you for sharing your story with your grandmother in the care home and also my condolences. Slowing down had sent me on a spiral (the constant need to grind/be productive nagging at you) but what is the meaning of life if you can't stay still and smell the roses. I've started being intentional with what I consume and eliminating everything else that's taking up the finite resource that I have (myself).
There’s one superior reason that makes me addicted to this channel and I have rarely found anywhere else : honestly
I recommend meditation. Especially the Vipassana approach ("seeing things as they are"). It's been the ultimate cure against the attention economy for me. Basically: this leads you to live a life of creative decisions ("actions") instead of this constant reactionary mindset that pushes us around according to external influences, which is incentivized to attempt to monopolize our minds. In my experience, contemplation is insufficient. The minds roams on and on without aim, and this leads you right back into old habit patterns. Truly reconnecting with our bodies is a great way of accepting silence and boredom in their full realization.
By far one of my favorite youtube channels - keep doing what you're doing!!
4:50 I’m in! Where are we going? I want out of this model of life. You are right, people in the US don’t hang out in cafes, we don’t hang out anymore. Restaurants want to turn over clientele to get more paying customers in those seats. In the past, people would hang out in coffee and tea houses; in US modern culture, we have Starbuck’s where we are overcharged for drinks (my latte is $6.25) and we are not encouraged to hang around. It was called a third place and we do not have third places anymore. Even with friends, it is deeply disrespectful to drop in and visit friends. You must announce your intention to visit, make plans ahead of time. Those unexpected, unplanned moments of joy doesn’t happen. I think people are highly stressed, they can’t relax so construct strict borders on private time, thus they miss those unexpected pleasureful times and connections that would actually recharge them. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. In the US, people have become obsessed with privacy. We have 4’-5’ walks around our patio areas in the complex where I live, but that is not enough and people build weird barriers to have privacy. It’s so strange. We are in a very weird situation right now.
I still thrive for happiness in everything i do, but its a kind of happiness that is different from how i for so long understood what happiness means. Happiness does not mean you are free from sadness and grief, happiness for me now simply means satisfaction and peacefulness despite what other’s thinks ! knowing that i did something because i really wanted to do it and not because what others thought will look cooler or worth revered!
the editing, paper script, and fit make this vid just perfect
I'm still only half-way through this video and I already love it. It's putting it all in words in such a great way. On the topic of contemplation, I wanted to add something, which is also related to the french cafes you mentioned. I have been working as a waitress at a cafe in Greece for almost a year now and we get all sorts of costumers, from very young to very old. To explain the situation a little better, you should know that the coffee culture in Greece is really relaxed. Going for a coffee is one of the most common ways to socialise and that's why we end up staying at the cafe for hours and hours on end. We love coffee, but it's not just about the coffee, it's about meeting up and catching up. In any case, what I have noticed while working there is younger or even middle-aged people will talk and talk and then, as if it was agreed upon, they will take a short break to check their phones and scroll a bit and then go back to talking etc. But older people are different. We get friends and couples who talk less and look at the street more. They just sit in silence, contemplating, and before, this struck me as strange in a way. I was wondering why they're not talking as much and what are they thinking looking at the street for so long. But now, I envy them. They're contemplating! It makes me happy to think about it like that. They live slower and they aren't as anxious to be doing something. I'm really going to try following their example more.
I can very much relate to the description of mild anxiety when faced with inactivity - despite having consumed quite a bit of "toxic cottage core" and slow living media it hasn't really been able to break through my subconscious need to judge everything I do on a scale of "usefulness." I also appreciated your critique that the feeling one gets with contemplation is not necessarily happiness. For me on a good day I might have a sense of attention and calm, but it also makes quite a bit of space for other emotions that are otherwise stuffed down by hyperactivity to emerge. For example grief for me often comes up most powerfully days, weeks, or months later when I have a chance to slow down and allow difficult emotions some space to flower. I guess other than my own judgement on inactivity being useless, that could be another source of anxiety when contemplating -- that I might not find it so easy to avoid difficult emotions without distracting myself with a task and the dopamine hit of finishing some work or chore.
I really like the path that your arguments took through quite different areas of human interaction. One thing that i found telling, albeit helpful, was your categorization of scrolling & contemplation into "passive & active", further cementing the unspoken ideal of remaining active
To come back to your point about contemplation not bringing happiness, I relate entirely. For me contemplation / meditation summon a feeling of peaceful acceptance. Knowing that the world is like that, that you don't have to avoid the anxiety and stress that come with everything happening around the world, and that it's in fact the first step toward changing things.
(En tout cas solide vidéo! Je m'abonne direct! )
I practice buddhism and for me happiness is a destination, but it doesn't come from craving sensual pleasures but from contemplation, slowing down and accepting reality as it is
This is happiness to me: "a sense of clarity and melancholy which i love"
10:30 i feel this too when looking at any type of animal, really, when i watch documentaries i keep thinking abt how bored i’d be if i were in their place lmao
second half of the video was really strong, great writing. your analysis and critique continue to hit a perfect pitch for me.
As someone from the UK i hear alot about how in mainland europe everything is more relaxed such as work and general life. The cafe example was on point! It makes me want to move to spain in particular alot!
I truly enjoyed this video essay in several ways. I liked how you included both your likes and criticism of Han's book but also adjusted this video's editing to reflect the slow cuts you pointed out towards the end, which, in fact, encouraged me to focus more contemplatively rather than passively.
Moreover, this is exactly the kind of message I've been trying to tell my college students in my seminars in various different ways as hyperattention and achievement culture is absolutely *devouring* their mental health in every way imaginable---even if they can't quite envision another way to be in our industrialized, digitized, never-stop world.
Keep being you, Alice! 🙂
Manufactured freedom. Someone’s achievement and another’s shackles
I loved your video! All the different locations and the subject itself was very enjoyable!!
Though I have not yet experienced a burnout, I do use work as a tool to distract me from painful private stuff, so I'm a prime candidate for a burnout. Luckily, I also like to observe my mind and found out that in times of stressful work, in my free time I feel the urge to "make the most of it", to make each second as recovering as possible, only to get annoyed and stressed out if I don't manage to make my free time as relaxed as I wanted. :) Now when I catch myself being annoyed because my recreational time is not recreational enough, I see it as a warning sign that I'm probably too stressed in general. On the other hand, when I'm capable of allowing myself to follow my curiosity in things that don't have an immediate purpose, I know this is a good sign that I'm feeling well.
100% my favorite philosophy channel. Thanks again, Alice.
This topic is very interesting to me for a few reasons. First, I am old enough to remember life before the internet, young enough to have experienced childhood during the early internet, and the rise of cell phones, etc. I also have ADHD, which was not diagnosed until I was an adult. I was also raised religious, and as such, had contemplation built in in the form of prayer.
As an adult, I've found that the hyperattentive expectations of the workplace have had a very damaging effect on my wellbeing. I've received so much flak for refusing to answer emails after hours or on the weekends in order to manage that time. I've also long struggled with email because it's inexpensive nature causes me to be deluged with low-priority messages that could have and should have been on a flyer or in person.
As such, I've found contemplation very important. As you point out, though, contemplation has rarely been a happy time for me. Rather, it is often melancholy or at best, peaceful. But these times also form core memories for me: times sitting in the forest and listening to the wind and birds and bugs; or watching people at a cafe. I derive deep meaning, connection, and liveliness from these moments.
Contemplation feels like stealing time and attention back for myself. And I love it.
Wow. As usual, your video has left me speechless!!! You have really nailed the feeling I’ve been feeling, and so many others are too. Thank you!
So many others have discussed this topic already but your take is the one I truly am looking forward to. So happy you made this one!
We are in a state of constant distraction. Attraction is actually distraction
This is an amazing perspective, everything was so well put
to me a more important concept than happiness for everyday life is contentedness/serenity coupled with the opportunity to experience awe and depth of feeling ("being moved" so to speak)
I’ve been subscribed to you for a while now yet have never commented, but I want you to know that this is my favorite video of yours so far. Thank you for speaking up for the truth and (ever so gracefully) fighting the good fight.
Love that shot with your outfit matching the flowers and foliage
Girl you just made my day. Thank you so much for this essay ❤️
Loving these videos. I've been thinking about this stuff for a while. I'm only a writer, cartoonist but I feel like I push myself to create just to justify me not working a "real job"
oh the irony of this being on UA-cam, always there to speak away the silence
This combination of academic thought-provoking discussion and bits of french humor makes your channel an authentic treasure.
I’ve been reading and enjoying pretty much all of Han’s books lately (thanks to another reference to him in another of your videos, so I thank you for that!). Sure, one can quibble about his DWM references, but I don’t think that we should necessarily let that detract from his message. And yes, his politics isn’t overtly in your face on the surface of the text-it’s more implicit-so that can come off as de-politicized. However, that in itself seems in line with the form and content of his thinking. True confession: I probably find his works appealing because he draws on The Greatest Hits of continental theory that I read in grad school forty years ago, tempered by a Zen Buddhist/Taoist sensibility that I also find appealing (I’m a uni prof of Japanese history and culture).
I love this video alice resting and relaxing and completely different in definition
Many years ago I was listening to an old recording of a talk that Allan Watts gave and in it he spoke about how capatalism corrupted leasure. Giving a leasure/time off as a means to an end to as you say recharge and become more productive. I think I was too young or rather immature to really let that sink in and understand the message, it wasn't until I lived in the middle of nowhere, almost living a cottage core lifestyle until I understood what he meant.
I want to stop and contemplate, but I also want to binge the rest of the videos from this channel!
ate us up with that final thought at 15:15 babe!! So good
On true happiness: This reminds me of a comment a Chinese martial arts teacher (who happened to be a Sufi teacher, as well) I know once pointed out. That “joy” (in the sense of enjoyment) shouldn’t be understood as “happiness,” but instead as “alive with.” And this one should “enjoy” sorrow when sorrowful, “enjoy” happiness when happy, “enjoy” anger when angry, “enjoy” pleasure when pleased, etc. He asserted that this was part of what “surrender” means in a Sufi context, “wuwei” means in Daoist / Confucian contexts, etc.
I bring it up as, from a contemplative perspective of such traditions, perhaps Han’s “true happiness” is most useful being understood in such a way. That “true happiness,” contemplatively speaking, is the ability to “enjoy,” to be alive with , the realities of things-events-experiences.
I really loved this video alice and it has come at an important time for me as I try and battle a very real information addiction i have. I feel the need to take up all my time with consuming information and i struggle to just let my mind wonder. Thanks for the reminder to calm things down
13:02 is such an important statement, well said
I love Alice, she always have relevant videos and I feel this video deeply.
i couldn’t agree with you more, your criticisms of the book are spot on
So thoughtful and rewarding. Thank you!
weird, I've been thinking about this myself a lot lately. great video!
That was an extraordinarily great video-thank you!
I really like how you left in the clip of you stopping the filming each time. Its been nice to see how the video approach has evolved in subtle and lovely ways. You seem more comfortable, and the story about your grandmother relates to my experiences with her. I feel an urge to document it all, so that each visit is 'productive' in that sense - and at times it interferes with me actually being with her. She will be 90 in August.
a couple weeks ago I found myself bored (and off social media) and it made me realize what a pleasure and privilege it is. I feel like boredom is one of the most inspiring states to be in. to be itching to do or create something and have the TIME to do it while also not feeling anxious or guilty about the things I "should" be doing. I hadnt been boredom in years and man I loved it.
Important perspectives; thank you for making this.
I enjoyed your take on this topic and think the theme of burnout and understanding it further than just in relation to work related pressure would be a interesting video!
destruction of dense city tissue due to industrialization in 18th-century lost of city fabric (tissue) due to fabrique French pun on sexual innuendo of French silk fabric) and in 20 century with automobilization logistics grew exponential so called city sprawl where no organic city tissue left.
Stendhal syndrome, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion, and even hallucinations.
We need be honest then we talking about old city center like Florence, Venice, Paris they are is a bit fake, because many narrow streets, passages, "petite" pedestrian bridges, antic book shops, stairways already rebuild and adapted for high flow tourism industry.
17:28 when you mentioned bombs my heart froze. I immediately remembered all this noise and uncertainty at sharp sounds that remind me of bombs or fear when I hear an air alarm. Only after hearing this and pause the video, I started thinking about how calm and relaxed I felt, since I did not hearing these sounds. However, as soon as I hear something similar to this, I immediately remember how I felt in Ukraine during this period. I immediately start to get scared and want to hide somewhere, sometimes I can start crying.
My idea of calmness was actually in no living in noisy house, and I never thought about social media or my life experience. The only outside noise that I thought was only this, and now after almost week of thinking I can see that there is much more.
Thank you for the video, love your content!
That feeling of melancholy and clarity... yes ❤
I've just discovered you while searching for someone talking about prominent issues in a rational way as possible without supporting extremist sides. I just want to say I'm grateful to you
I cleaned in a care home during lockdown; I’d see some of them just sat about watching daytime tv and think ‘damn that must be dull’. But then I’d come home and sit in bed watching yt 😅, it motivated me to take really long walks out in the countryside tho. Loved the shot amongst the bluebells btw 💕
This made me tear up. In relief. What a beautiful intellect. ❤