I just don’t know. It’s all a bit surreal, like a Hollywood movie or something from the darkest of spy thrillers.

8th January 2021 and it is already a year to remember/forget. Who knows.

We have all had the days were we say, ‘wow, this is us really living through history’. Or something like that.

Today, this week… is precisely that. So much happened, from pandemics to insurrection, from independence to people being banned from social media. (Not access to nuclear codes though)

I have no comment on any of that other than some reflections on the last bit on social media and the part it is playing on our psyche as individuals and as groups.

I hung around Twitter while watching the news recently. It is the wild west of social media…

What I became clear on is that I had created an echo chamber for myself. Almost everyone I had followed had similar views as me and even though I had tried to follow people with directly opposing views, they were not appearing on my feed.

I also take my information from many sources so I believe I have a balanced intake of content. You never know for sure though, you probably have to keep checking on with yourself on this.

I know I am now checking this for sure.

There is definitely something going on when we get a stream of likeminded people telling us through affirmations that how we feel is right. We should feel aggrieved blah blah blah… it is a nice little dopamine hit right there.

Extrapolate that out and there in lies your addiction. Throw in some verbal chemical poison and like a drug addiction, you could be off doing crazy shit and feel justified.

The first thing about an addiction is recognising it and it’s possible threat.

I am recognising my echo chambers and actively challenging them and smartly putting down that phone a little more often now.

The head just needs a break… because….

The last thing I want is to see myself half naked, in a historically important location, dressed like a fool and screaming mindless banalities into a camera for the global nation to see.

Not even for Independence.