What are you feeding to your mind?

There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

We live in the information era. Gone are the days when an individual could get limited information or input to their mind from finite sources. It used to be optional, and easy to resist the information if not needed.

Now we are getting bombarded with information and getting addicted too. We get messages, forwarded posts, and social media feeds from thousands of people, known, unknown, and in any corner of the world. Although, it’s great that we can connect to anyone across the globe, the concept is quite ironic considering that social media makes us less social in real life.

More and more people are falling prey to FOMO, the fear of missing out. It has been leading to people going online on different websites and apps constantly. Some people are into 24/7 news on online news channels, online news that gets updated now and then, Facebook and Instagram feeds, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter debates, Discord servers, and so on. We do not want to miss out on something others may already know about. When we had to use computers, that would have been better. Having everything in our palms with cell phones increases our anxiety to know whatever is happening around us around the clock.

We get all kinds of information, world news, local news, politics, true crime, scandals, memes, informative words, pleasant and obscene content, places to visit, foods to eat, cook, shop, and many more. When an individual is engaged in a virtual network, they might not find time to talk to the person next to them, at home, at work or travel.

Our mind gets muddled with issues between unknown people with who we will never meet or talk. We become distracted about matters that may not be relevant. Worry about unrelated things, and allow fear to seep into our mind by reading/watching/hearing. One might feel lonely even while people are around as it is tough to connect with real people.

Do we need all these things to get scrambled in our minds and trouble us gradually? Do you go out and eat all the random food available on the streets, in supermarkets, and in restaurants? I am sure, you know what to feed your body and take care of it.

But when it comes to mind, why do we forget to put a filter or say no? For the overflowing information, our mind is the consumer. Out of habit, we consume any information from our eyes and ears. What are you feeding to your mind? Do you think before consuming information? Do you take a pause and decide before you watch a web series, a talk show, or a news debate? Did you think about how it could impact your thoughts and feelings?

—Anitha KC

Photo by MART PRODUCTION @ https://www.pexels.com