What the NYT Story Got Right About My Relationship with Social Media
What the NYT Story Got Right About My Relationship with Social Media
Amongst those closest to me and who know me best (some of whom were interviewed for the story) there is the general agreement that the New York Times article missed the mark. They did not paint the picture of who I am. They didn’t share my mission or what my message for the world is. They honed in on the negative disproportionately.
Did Hilary miss the mark with this story? I’ll share about that in my next writing, but in this article I want to share my perspective on what she got right in my relationship with social media.
The headline “Robin Greenfield Wants to Be One With Nature. But He Can’t Quit Instagram.” certainly is designed to increase clicks. I read many comments from people who follow me who see this to be an unfair headline, but there is more context here than they likely know.
I spent 20+ hours in communication with Hilary and this was an important part of the conversations.
My take is that in order to be “one with nature” and I mean FULLY, deeply interconnected like I am striving to be, I must vastly hone in my relationship with social media. The number of hours I spend looking at this screen is not conducive to the oneness I seek. Our minds, nor our bodies, were not evolved to be on these screens like we are today. The lights throw off our circadian rhythm and our sleep. We are desensitized, losing touch with the gifts and powers of our sensory organs. The dopamine hits that come from the design of these websites is very unnatural to the human mind. Now, it is undoubtedly possible to have a very deep relationship with Earth and still use the internet. Many of you reading this are probably existing in that realm. And some of you may take this headline as an affront to you. That is understandable. But for those that do not see the point here, you may not understand the depth as to which I want to go to live interconnected with Earth and the life we share this home with.
“Social media is his one remaining vice. It is both the megaphone for his earth-friendly messaging and his Achilles’ heel. It’s hard, after all, to be a purist or an anti-corporate stalwart when counting “likes.”
Many people took issue with Hilary calling social media my vice. But let my personal words here set the record that social media is indeed a vice for me. These are honest words of my own and none other. Yes, I am using social media as a tool for stimulating critical thought about our lives, for questioning the often unquestioned societal norms of our time, for shining a spotlight on the absurdity of destroying Earth the only home we have, and for sharing myriad solutions for how we can live in alignment and harmony with Earth and all life we share this home with. No doubt, I am using social media (along with traditional media and the internet as a whole) as a tool for positive change. But that doesn’t mean it can’t also be my vice. It is indeed for me both a powerful tool and a vice. I check the view and like counts far too often. I read the comments seeking connection when I could get that connection with the humans, plants and animals around me. I stay up too late, losing important sleep, letting social media take the priority. I forget to look at the sky, to be grateful for the ground under my feet, to breathe deeply, to move my body… I have made substantial progress over the years in breaking free. In 2019 I wrote this article My Addiction to Devices… And How I Remain Sane in the Digital World and I’m grateful to be able to reflect and say that article no longer represents me. But it is no doubt still a vice that prevents me from becoming my fullest self, and one that I aim to hone in.
Most people who follow me on social media don’t know what my mission really is. I’ll let you in on one of my big drives, to become a master of my own mind. That is a term that I’ve taken from Vipassana meditation, a yearly 10-day silent meditation that I take part in. This is a practice of self-observation for self-purification. To overcome all unuseful cravings and aversions, all societal programming, all unhealthy habits in both mind and body…. Ultimately to come into relationship with our minds at the highest level so that we can live lives of deep joy and contentness while doing no unnecessary harm to others and dedicate our lives to service. Social media is known to have been crafted to prevent us from becoming fully liberated humans. These platforms are designed to be addictive, to keep us on there for longer than we want, to capitalize on our cravings to earn them more money… And I am a victim of these platforms in this regard. I’ve come a long way, I now take off over a month per year from social media, but it is one of the main barriers for me to get my mind into the balance of where I want it to be.
As most who follow me know I have gone to great lengths to bring my actions into alignment with my beliefs. I documented over 100 changes that I made, when I learned that the way I was living was causing incredible destruction to Earth, my fellow humanity and the community of life we share this home with. I have cut ties with most destructive corporations to live a more simple, Earth-connected life. As the NYT wrote “He let go of his possessions, as well as his connections to the government and commercial society. He has no phone, car, driver’s license, passport, health insurance, property, bank accounts or credit cards.” This has been a diligent 15 years of practice of non-cooperation with systems of destruction. And yet, here I am on Facebook and Google, two corporations that do not share my view or strategy for how we live in harmony with Earth. These companies are two of the great destroyers of so much of what I love, but I am feeding into them. I’ve even had people tell me that the only reason they are on there is to keep up with my life. Although I have made a lifetime commitment to not monetize my social media, thus not contributing to these corporations financially, no doubt they are profiting off my presence on these platforms. I am feeding into their hands.
In my experience I’ve found that very few people understand just how violent this technology is to the world (and thus how hypocritical it is for me to utilize them so greatly). For those interested in broadening their perspective on the violence of technology, I recommend reading Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi by Mark Boyle . Every single click on the internet is an invisible click of destruction to ecosystems and life in distant lands and I am far too liberally clicking. I have gone to great lengths to reduce my usage of most technology and I am very much still working on reducing and honing in my usage of the internet and social media.
Note, Mark Boyle has been one of my greatest influences and he chose to leave the internet some years ago. I have lost touch with him, but know he is still positively contributing to society.
Now, I read many comments from people on my social media postings to the likes of “Please don’t leave social media. Without it you will not be able to reach people anymore.” I appreciate the sentiment that they value my message and want me to continue getting the message out there to a large number of people. However, far too many of my colleagues and friends believe that it is no longer possible to reach the masses and create change without social media. This belief puts too much power into these corporations and plays into their hands. I believe It is still possible to live a life that enriches millions of others, without the usage of social media. There are many people who are living proof of this today and I aim to be one of these people in the long run of my life of activism. Writing on my website, writing books, writing guest articles, local press – magazines newspapers, TV news – national and international media, speaking in person and on the ground activism are some of the avenues that still exist for reaching large numbers of people. I’m confident that I have the creativity and skills to exist in this world in a way that reaches the minds of millions, while never logging onto social media again. The question is, do I have the willpower?
What I think Hilary reports on in this story – and that many people also see – is the juxtaposition of how I’ve left so much behind but am still so prominent on social media. Yes again, I am using it as a tool for change, but I think this is a reasonable critique of my mission. This is a window into an area in which I am not fully living my message. And I’ve opened myself to public analysis and criticism because I’m the one who has chosen the strategy of letting my life be my message. It’s all on the table.
It is indeed a hypocrisy. But I am not in shame of this hypocrisy. I embrace that to be a human who cares for Earth and humanity while existing in the dominator society is to be a hypocrite. There’s no way around it. My job is to reduce my hypocrisy where feasible and to be transparent about my hypocrisies that I have left. Those who are here to uplift one another will not tear each other down because of our hypocrisies, rather we will have constructive conversation together around them. If we can’t be honest about our relationships with Earth and one another can we ever heal these relationships? My take is no. Honest self-reflection is utterly necessary to become the change we wish to see in the world.
In my followup article, I end by saying “Changes are coming. I will break free.” Some people seem to think that I am listening to the opinion of this journalist too much and my desire to change is from a place of spite or to prove myself.
Indeed, the critics often are my motivators, and they have played a substantial role in helping me design my strategy for effecting positive change. I am in love with the combination of psychology and environmentalism. Reaching millions with messages for the Earth is largely useless if I don’t understand the human mind and how my message will be received. I have read many thousands of comments over the years and they have helped to form my message.
However, none of my strategic life-design comes from a place of spite for this journalist or any journalist. So, Dear Friends, rest assured that the change coming is for me and for you.
What is this change that I speak of that is coming?
I am going to live in balance with social media and the internet.
Eventually I may log off social media forever. I may even log off the internet forever.
But not yet.
Over the last years I have been strategizing how I can most effectively use the internet as a force for change, while retaining complete power over my own mind. While existing in balance, harmony and authenticity… I believe that I can be a light in this world and that I can burn so bright as to ignite sparks of change in the minds of millions, without ever burning my eyes on these screens again.
This winter I will be paddling my canoe around the state of Florida, a 900 mile public speaking tour, and I will be offline for the entire 3 months. I will not have a camera, but I will be equipped with pen and paper. The tour will be planned in advance with events in every major city I pass through, so anyone who wants to find me can, including the media. This will be an experiment in reaching the people, without being online. It is a staging ground for what may be to come…
I’d like to end this article by saying thank you. Thank you for being here and using your mind to read this far. I honor you for the work you have done to hold onto your attention span in a time when most are losing it. I honor you for the work you are doing to be a master of your own mind. I honor you for critically thinking about our societal structures and for every single act you have taken to be the change you wish to see in the world.
One day you may lose track of me, as you perhaps spend less time online and more time connected to your community, but I hold that our sparks will always be inside of one another.
In the meantime, if my thoughts that I put onto this screen are enriching your life, I encourage you to find me here, where I can share a deeper perspective than is possible with the character limit of social media.
Love,
Robin