Bryan Johnson@bryan_johnson
Finished a seven day social media fast. It feels like the most effective longevity therapy I've done.
Everything got better: mood, sleep, energy, presence, judgment, relationships, and optimism.
Evidence shows a seven day fast produces a reduction of anxiety (16%), depression (25%) and insomnia (15%). The effects felt bigger.
Conversely, dipping back in, I can viscerally feel that my body metabolizes social media similarly to a fast food meal, corrosive relationship, hangover, and sleep deprivation. My body hates it.
After the previous fasts (40/hr and 70hr), I wrote that social media is pollution. Not a vice or guilty pleasure. It’s closer to water toxins, air pollution and microplastics.
This time, the major insight was that social media is a form of intoxication.
Alcohol is honest intoxication. It clearly tells you what it's taking from you. Social media on the other hand does not disclose itself as an intoxicant.
It produces the sensation of being informed, engaged, and connected while quietly evacuating your capacity for depth and independent thought.
You don’t feel drunk, you feel current. But evidence shows that it causes your brain to shrink. The impairment is real by you can't feel it. Making it the more dangerous type.
If you haven't tried it, I strongly encourage you to try a social media fast. Even if for one day.
