Alternate Routes

In the show Steven Universe, one of the main characters (Garnet) has the gift of clairvoyance. In Manoush Zomorodi’s book, Bored and Brilliant, Zomorodi advises readers to participate in various challenges to attempt to distance one’s self from the constant onslaught of social media and other distractions your phone provides. While I did participate in a handful of these challenges, I also know that my experiences are far from universal. So, while I do want to discuss these challenges, their impact, how well the work, and so on, I want to try and look at them from different angles, so it’s not just my one weird take. No, instead you get to read various weird takes from me, as I attempt to imitate Garnet’s ability to see multiple outcomes of any one situation with these challenges based on how they might apply to different people.

“But what viewpoints will those be?” you ask, in all your hubris. Well, (1) first, I want to go over it from the viewpoint of someone who already basically lives according to these challenges because they’re outdoorsy and not terribly phone-addicted. That one is basically just me. Then, (2) I want to switch it around and look at it from the viewpoint of someone who’s easily distracted by their phone, perhaps even who relies on it for more emotional reasons. Speaking of emotional reasons, I also want to view it from the point of someone who is (3) relatively medium in phone usage, and then a variant (3.5) of that person, who would usually use their phone a medium amount but is currently falling apart in quarantine and grasping at human connection. There are, of course, countless variations--perhaps everyone is a little bit different, and there are as many ways to experience these challenges as there are people on this earth. However, those three and a half viewpoints might encompass many variations, so I’m just going to focus on those. My sources for gauging other reactions is that I am a student with friend circles, and the people I know and learn with all have their own amount of phone-usage.

Let’s begin with the “take a break from social media for a while” challenge, because that seems like the most on-the-nose one of challenges I participated in. The instructions were vague—they said it could go on for an hour or a day, or any amount of tie the challenge-taker saw fit. So I did an hour, and because just “don’t look at social media” seemed too easy for that amount of time and the instructions were slightly vague, I upped the ante to “just put your phone on do-not-disturb mode and ignore it completely for an hour,” so that’s the version of this challenge we’ll be looking at here. Through viewpoint 1, this is nothing. You already ignore your phone a lot, and your friends might secretly resent you for this. You read a book. Take a walk. The time has passed and then some before you’ve even realized it. Looking at this from viewpoint 2, however, we might see a sort of paranoia begin to take form. What if something happened without me? What if I missed a major piece of news? What if something bad happened and a friend needs my help? What if I just seem really rude by ignoring everything for so long? In viewpoint 3, we’d probably see boredom. They might occasionally reach for their phone and catch themselves. They’d like to check their Insta feed, but they’re not worried about it, and do small things to pass the time, perhaps even get some homework done, until they can text again. In 3.5, However, there’s a little bit more of that worry, perhaps. And that homework probably isn’t getting done either—it’s too hard to think about when you’re quarantined and struggling to stave off anxiety.

Next, there was the “don’t take any pictures for a day” challenge. Those instructions were pretty clear-cut, so I didn’t tamper with them. Back in viewpoint 1, this is potentially a little bit harder depending on the day. Viewpoint 1 is outdoorsy, so they love getting little snapshots of anything cool, so they can show it to their family and friends, and stare at it even indoors. So, if this is a day when the first viewpoint sees cool things outside, then this is difficult. If not, it’s easy. The second viewpoint probably has a considerably easier time with this. Perhaps taking pictures is a difficult habit to break for a day, but they can still check their phone to their heart’s content, and the communication isn’t broken. And if they’re hanging out with a friend and want a picture of them together, then the friend can always take it and send it to them. Viewpoint 3 would likely be similar to viewpoint 1 in some ways. If they’re enjoying a fancy drink or an aesthetic meal, then it will be hard for them. Otherwise, they’re probably fine. Viewpoint 3.5 is definitely not fine, but that’s for reasons unrelated to photography. You think they’re thinking about pictures? At a time like this? What is there to take a picture of, the sad slice of generic bread with sloppily sliced apple chunks, cheese, and mustard on it that they’re eating because they’re running out of food and afraid to face the gauntlet of madness that local stores have become? You think they want to show the world pictures of their fear, their desperation, their sorrow?!

Yeah, but anyway, the last challenge we’ll be looking at is the “go and observe a cool nature thing like a rock or whatever in a public place,” one. Viewpoint 1 does this constantly, all the time, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. Quarantine makes the “public place” part of that challenge void, but someone with this viewpoint just steps outside and sees a mushroom and gets really excited and might attempt to identify it. The snail sliding along the outside of their window makes them beam, even if being cooped up doesn’t. This could be valuable or a blow-off through the viewpoint 2 perspective. On one hand, they might earnestly observe something that they otherwise would have taken for granted, and this could even start a trend of paying attention to how beautiful nature is. Or, they could look a rock for four seconds and say, “okay I can check that off the list and get to my essay or whatever now.” Viewpoint 3 is the same as viewpoint 2, but is more likely to go the earnest route, and after that, may start to become a viewpoint 1. Viewpoint 3.5 will either give this their absolute all because they’re breaking down or completely ignore it and just pretend that they did it because they’re breaking down.

All in all, the impact these activities have on a partaker, if any, varies a lot between individuals and circumstances. In fact, I think that it’s less important to think about the challenge itself and what it’s trying to turn you into, so much as what your reaction to it says about who you already are, and if that’s who you want to be. If it’s not, try it again while looking through a new viewpoint.