Billions of neurones are constantly making and pruning connections with other neurones in your brain. Acts of thinking and perception can be detected at the neuronal level as a complex movement electro-chemical signals. So it’ll come as no surprise that stories have a significant impact of the neurochemistry of our brain/mind/body complex.
DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Project Agency) has been studying how stories impact people and elicit certain behaviours. The DARPA research suggests that certain kinds of stories give rise to changes in neurotransmitters/hormones such as cortisol, associated with focused states of attention. Certain story formulas were even found to bring about changes in behaviour.
So given that stories impact mood states, emotion, drive and behaviours, what do you think the impact of your media diet has on the way you feel and think? What kind of stories do you expose yourself to? How do you feel after hearing the stories and what do you feel like doing?
If history is the story of bad things, as someone once told, it can be said that we’re living in history now. Most of the stories that are pushed by the media aren’t good news stories at all. Instead, they are more in the realm of #fearporn, pending or just happening economic collapse, war, crime, disease, animal die offs, pollution, celebrities etc. etc.. It’s an apocalyptic time and simply reading or listening to these stories will certainly impact behaviour, mood and your expectation of the future.
When everyone feels grim, when confidence falters, when hope is dwindling away, you need to seriously think about your media choices and where you’re getting your stories from. In fact, you need to check your RDA of media.
Media RDA can be seen, like food, in terms of quantity or quality. Someone who’s been bingeing on food or alcohol will often be advised to give it a rest. The body will confirm this. A detox or maybe a fast or “dry spell” might be tried. But sadly, once they’re feeling better, the old friends and diversions will begin calling and then it’s back into the cycle of media overconsumption.
So here’s the idea for the media fast. Try it if you can – it just takes 24 hours:
- PREPARATION : Remove at lest 5 social media friends who regularly post stuff that irritates, frustrates, angers or annoys you
- THE MEDIA FAST: No social media for 24 hours – no twitter, facebook or anything like that. No TV or youtube. Take a walk outside in the fresh air – as far as you dare without your smartphone. Try not to think of what you’ve been missing – because it won’t be much.
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