To tell you the truth, I decided to withdraw. I pulled myself out of Facebook, for the most part, and settled into the relatively enjoyable space that is my personal Instagram.
If I have (or do) open up Facebook, it is mostly to see what my goofball husband posted. We share an account, and when I start seeing “LIKE” notifications, I have to go check, because he sometimes goes rogue and posts some nonsense just to get a rise out of people. He’s like a social media raccoon. Sometimes he gets into the garbage and scatters things about, usually in the form of totally gross foods he tries to pass off as tasty. (This past week it was “Oscar Meyer Original Bologna Meat Seltzer”. Cue the vomit emojis in the comments. Mission accomplished, Trash Panda.)
Three thumbs. That’s about all I’m good for on Facebook. Three thumb swipes to advance the feed, and I’m out. Amidst the Hawk Tuah Girl “news” (how is that still a thing?) and whatever political threat du jour, folks post some outrageous stuff I think they truly believe. All of that makes me lose faith and hope in humanity. I find it all much more disgusting than even “Ham & Cheese Loaf Seltzer”.
So I end up back over on Instagram where influencers rule. They manage to keep the bar so high, I’m either constantly engrossed in their absolute, over-the-top madness or intrigued by their ongoing deluge of latest and greatest whatever. Should I go redecorate my entire home with functional farm house feng shui in mind, or should I focus my efforts more toward buying 100 acres and starting a homestead? I don’t know, but I like to think about it. (And there’s rarely a mention of Ms. Ma’am’s bitcoin disaster, political foolishness, or processed lunch meat seltzers, unless I go purposely look for it. Is it better than Facebook? Of course not. But I worked hard to get my algorithm in the good shape it’s in, and it’s a lot safer space for me than FB!)
It gets me down, all the nonsense out there. I start feeling some kind of way, and my brain gets in a twist. I heard lately about a principle called “Hebb’s Law”, and immediately, I texted it to myself so I could look it up later. Could this be why my brain feels twisted?
Hebb’s Law, also known as Hebb’s Rule or The Theory of Hebbian Learning, was postulated by Donald Hebb in 1949. Hebb wished to connect psychology and neuroscience and believed that a biological process happened in tandem with a cognitive process. Simply put, he suggested that neural pathways participate in learning and behavior such that when a cell repeatedly activates a nearby cell, the connection between the two becomes stronger. “Cells that fire together, wire together.”
If we repeat, drill, practice, recite, or think thoughts over and over again, we stregthen our learning. I watched a video where a woman used a chain for reference. “What we think, we link.” (This video is not only a good explanation of Hebb’s Rule, but it’s a great motivational speech if you need a pick-me-up. Watch it HERE.)
If that’s true, and of course we have come to recognize the value in Hebb’s Rule, what am I doing to myself on social media?
If headlines are written to scare people, it works. Should a post urge you to hate a person or a group, we might lean that direction just by virtue of repetition. The satire piece gets LIKEs. The dirty gossip gets shared. The crusader garners a million followers…and so does the sexy thirst trap. The never-ending cycle of trash rots our brains.
The repeated exposure no doubt rots MY brain. I’m firing on headlines of hate and fear, and therefore, I’m wiring my brain to be suspicious and wary. I’m thinking about the ongoing mix of political opinion, and I’m forming link after link of disdain and contempt for other people.
Social media made me wildly insecure, too. I even stopped writing, because I became terribly uninspired and doubted the whole point anyway. I didn’t think I could come up with anything good to say, it felt fruitless to try and motivate anybody, and what I fiddle with here at the house seemed so boring. I have been busier than ever yet simulateously at a loss for what to do with myself. Nothing stood out as worthy of sharing, and I haven’t felt particularly magical and fabulous, which is absolutely not like me.
It’s the brain rot, I’m telling you. I don’t like that. I don’t like any of it.
Good ol’ Hebb was on to something when he figured out that our thoughts and habits can make or break us. I don’t even remember where I heard Hebb’s Law mentioned or what I was doing at the time. I think it was on the radio, and I grabbed my phone to speak it into a text to myself. I am glad I looked it up, though. I’ve been firing on all the wrong thoughts and creating a chain that’s adding weight to an already burdened little soul trying to find herself in this new, post-retirement, pre-menopausal stage of life.
I want to forge new chains. Thanks, Hebb.
It’s good to be here this morning. Note that my Facebook presence might be limited, but I have a fresh website where you can find all the “Amanda Herring, Writer” things. Please consider following along there and sharing anything you find interesting or inspiring. Much love. – AH