From doomscroll to vintage vinyl: my analog reset

How I ditched stress of endless feeds for the ease of long-form content

If I could curate the perfect neighborhood, Amy Poehler would live right next door. She’s so freaking smart and funny and genuine.

Recently, I learned she doesn’t watch scary or stressful shows because “life is scary enough,” and I felt myself lean in even more. She went on to say she has a very active amygdala and a well-developed sense of empathy… neither mix well with pranks or jump scares.

Same, Amy.

I can’t do scary movies or stressful shows either. And I will always gravitate toward comedies.

Have I seen Friends and Psych a bajillion times? Yes.
Do I keep rewatching because they’re soothing? An unwavering yes.

So you can probably imagine that I skip the box office thrillers and true crime podcasts, but you know what I wasn’t skipping? Social media.

Nearly two weeks ago, in an anger-fueled, spur-of-the-moment decision, I deleted Instagram and TikTok from my phone. I just couldn’t take the constant firehose of political clickbait any longer. My anxiety had been climbing since last fall, and I finally admitted how unhappy it was making me.

Since stepping away, something surprising has happened: I feel more connected and content.

With my newly found brain space, I started reflecting on the last time I felt this at ease — and I had to go way back to the mid-90s. Before smartphones, before endless news cycles, before juggling a marriage, homeownership, and kids.

Back then it was loose midrise jeans, Blink-182, and actual downtime. No feeds to scroll, no notifications pinging. Just life.

The algorithms have us distracted.

Since deleting the apps, I’ve felt a strong pull toward living an analog life: long-form articles, 20-minute YouTube videos, and an old-school record player spinning Dean Martin start to finish.

Of course, I can’t go back in time. But I can bring forward some of the joy and simplicity into my midlife era. I already picked up the most comfortable 501 90s Levi’s and am seriously considering switching to a pink Razr flip phone.

I’m still discovering what will bring me more joy — but social media, at least in its current form, is not it.

And no, I haven’t buried my head in the sand. I still stay informed, just on my own terms:

• I limit my news time to morning coffee with Substack (The Preamble and Heather Cox Richardson).

• I made my phone boring. If I need a distraction, it’s a few rounds of solitaire (with ads!).

• For headlines, I skim Ground News to see what’s happening and only click if it’s worth a real read.
  

The result? I feel calmer, more intentional, and yes, still in the loop.

I do hope to find a way to use Instagram again soon — I genuinely miss the connections there.

Before you go, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: how are you feeling about social media these days? Any chance you’re also longing for the good old days (minus the dial-up tone)?

P.S. This is actually a practice I use with my workshop clients: we look back at the times in your life when you felt most alive. What were you doing? How did you spend your time? Then we figure out how to bring some of those good bits forward into this season. You don’t need a time machine — just a little intentional reflection.

The next workshop kicks off in January, and it’s going to be phenomenal. Get on the waitlist here.