While I definitely think it's a form of surveillance, Spotify Friend Activity is a really funny way to poach your friends music tastes and potentially find something you fw lmao
i love following people on spotify (linked!) and watching them like an ant farm on my friend activity whenever i'm doing laptop work. i also have last.fm if people still use that but i prefer to make/poke around on peoples' playlists
There's been a handful of zine-making events in my area and it's helped me 1) explore my art styles & other mediums of creativity, and 2) meet some really cool zine authors!! Highly recommend <3
My steps:
1. Shut my phone down, hide it in my room, and lock the door so it's a pain in the ass to get to.
2. Be bored, and sit in the boredom for like 7-10 minutes (MINIMUM)-- once you're bored see what your brain gravitates to beyond The Screen (is it doodling? is it playing guitar? is it writing?)
3. Find the little thing your brain latches on to, and start doing it! Even if it's something goofy like "Just Dance youtube videos" to dance to LOL this is you, deliberately following your brain's natural curiosity & interest And then rinse and repeat however you like <3 Once you get accustomed to the smaller, more gratifying feel good activities, social media starts to feel too overwhelming to even pick back up again-- you'll be reaching for it less and less
(a final aside: I am of the major belief that creativity & imagination is critical to creating a better reality to live in, because it shows that you're capable of leaning into what "doesn't exist", and are courageous enough to imagine and build a reality that defies the status quo. but that's just me LOL)
