Featured
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Social media is breaking us. What can we do about it?
“It amazes me that we are all on X and Facebook. By “we” I mean adults. We’re adults, right? But emotionally we’re a culture of seven-year-olds. Have you ever had that moment when are you updating your status and you realize that every status update is just a variation on a single request: “Would someone please acknowledge me?” ~Marc Mason, Attempting Normal Last week’s tragic events — including several shootings that didn’t get much news coverage — are finally sparking serious dialogue about social media abuse and how it’s poisoning our country. This conversation is long overdue. Social media has changed our lives, and not always for the better. Over…
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Why life is better without Facebook
“The biggest problem is that Facebook and Google are these giant feedback loops that give people what they want to hear. And when you use them in a world where your biases are constantly confirmed, you become susceptible to fake news, propaganda, and demagoguery.” ~ Franklin Foer This year I’m celebrating nine happy years of Facebook sobriety. Once I quit, my emotional wellbeing, social life, family relationships, and productivity all improved. I started reading more, writing more, spending more time with friends and neighbors, and enjoying the simple pleasures I had overlooked while I was scrolling for social media updates. Though I wrote this Oakland Press column a couple of…
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Registration open for Self-Help Book Club
Earlier this month, I announced the Self-Help Book Club, a new fall program I’ve created for the Blair Memorial Library in Clawson. Registration is now open for our September book discussion: How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, by David Brooks. The discussion will be held on Monday, September 22, 6:00PM to 7:30PM. This highly acclaimed best-seller will help you improve your relationships and deepen your understanding of how other people think. Author David Brooks borrows from the fields of psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, history, and education to help us discover what drives human relationships. To read my review of this title, click here. Enrollment…
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The beauty of “letting them”
“When you say Let them, you make a conscious decision not to allow other people’s behavior to bother you. When you say Let me, you take responsibility for what YOU do next.” ~Mel Robbins, The Let Them Theory As Mel Robbins sees it, some things in life are beyond our control — and that can feel painful at times. In her best-selling guide, The Let Them Theory, Robbins shares a simple philosophy that will free you from the stress of trying to manage other people’s opinions and actions. The need to be in control is often our biggest roadblock to healthy relationships and true contentment, Robbins believes. We can’t micro-manage the weather or change the…
