February 16, 2024: Life without WhatsApp because it makes my life more difficult. Less advertising and Gesa the Pious
February 16, 2024. I woke up at 9 AM feeling an inner emptiness. It could have been due to the coffee of the past few days or from fapping. Found it odd to delete my profile picture and status on WhatsApp and to think that I won't have WhatsApp soon. The inner emptiness and the need for physical closeness can briefly be bridged by masturbating. Maybe I should go out partying and pick someone up? Went to the toilet and jerked off thinking about Jule. After that, the inner emptiness and the need for people and parties were gone. I felt good again right after. Of course, only briefly.
I listed my MacBook Pro for sale on eBay.
During breakfast, I watched an arte episode "Whatsapp | Addicted to Dopamine" to get rid of this WhatsApp withdrawal feeling. WhatsApp does everything to disinhibit people. All the things you do and say that you wouldn't dare in reality. Instant messengers use the following tricks to addict me (or as Vanessa would say: I can't live without WhatsApp because I have to stay in touch with others):
- Physical Invisibility (I'm not standing in front of the person saying it to their face).
- Asynchrony (send a hostile message and then run away, e.g., block the person or stop responding, ghosting).
- Solipsistic Introjection (e.g., imagining a good time with Jule while texting her, which didn't match reality at the end of our relationship).
- Disassociative Imagination (WhatsApp isn't real for the brain, it's like a video game).
- Minimization of Authority (texting the boss like a buddy).
WhatsApp messages are like a reward for the brain. The "read receipt" enhances the effect of going on WhatsApp more. You think more about why the person isn't replying even though they've read the message.
Either useless things are shared (some funny videos or grandma's sayings) or fake news (they use the restroff effect: when something deviates from the norm, you remember it more). The problem with fake news is that they spread six times faster than real news. They are shared more often without questioning whether the information could be true.
And then there are the groups that are supposed to keep me even longer on WhatsApp, coupled with the group polarization effect (in groups, one quickly falls into a filter bubble, just like on social media). WhatsApp essentially creates tunnel vision on the world.
Not to mention WhatsApp's data collection. WhatsApp doesn't need to know what you write, but the connection data I share with WhatsApp: phone number, when and how long I call, smartphone model, my IP address, my operating system and its version, web browser data, my battery level, my WhatsApp version, my mobile network, my language, my time zone, my cookies, my payment data, my location, and so on.
All these data points can be used for good business. Do I want to support that? Absolutely not! In general, I should avoid everything offered for free by profit-oriented companies that aim to trade with my data. Because to collect as much of my data as possible, the company must do everything to keep me in the app as long as possible.
After watching the video and taking a short break, I deleted my WhatsApp account and the app.
To Hildesheim by bus at 11:18 AM. Going to Hannover to pick up my food to prevent it from spoiling and maybe chill at HanoMacke for a bit. Perhaps approach a few women and this time give them my email address instead of my phone number.
While waiting for the bus at the stop, I noticed that the backpack with the new laptop and charger had noticeably lightened on my back.
Departed with the S4 train to Hildesheim at 2:19 PM. Bought cookies for coffee. Then flipped through a book about minimalism at the train station bookstore and got the idea to install an ad blocker when reading the chapter on "Avoiding Advertising."
Back in Borsum by 4 PM. Julien was briefly there. We had coffee together. It was boring, and the effect of this morning's masturbation had long faded. I felt like going out and hopefully meeting someone. Took the train to Hannover for the Dax at 7:47 PM.
During a walk, I met a brunette named Gesa at Kröpcke. She seemed innocent and shy but somehow also devout. I suspected she was involved with literature (all literature students I met were like Gesa, shy and reserved). I wasn't entirely wrong; she studies German literature and values and norms for teaching. I suggested going dancing together tonight. But she couldn't because she had plans with her parents who were visiting Gesa in Hannover today.
Afterwards, I treated myself to a falafel kebab and went to Dax. Unfortunately, I smoked a lot due to the atmosphere at Dax and the smoking guests always tempting me. Additionally, I had a conflict with two sisters and a guy accompanying them.
"Why are you showing my sister a heart?" the woman exclaimed, "she doesn't want that."
I had formed a heart with my hands towards her sister because she had been watching me and smiling while dancing. "If she doesn't want it, she can tell me herself, right?"
The aggressive sister wouldn't let it go. Neither did I: "Is it forbidden to show a heart? I'll make a heart with my hands whenever I want. And you can't stop me."
She really got on my nerves. I formed another heart and showed it around. Then her muscular companion came and let his testosterone out on me by pushing me.
"Pull yourself together, Alexander," I thought and felt adrenaline and anger rushing through my body. "I don't want any trouble," I said to him, probably glaring at him angrily because I was so mad. I would have liked to punch him in the face for pushing me.
I walked away from them. My mood was in the dumps. I just danced with my reflection in the Joy, where there were large mirrors on the wall.
Health Analysis:
- Food: 10:20 AM [one toast, three onion breads with vegan substitutes, pepper sticks and cucumber slices, one toast with jam], 4:40 PM [borscht with two slices of onion bread, three vegan coconut cookies, two toasts with jam], 10:00 PM [falafel kebab].
- Bowel Movement: 9:15 AM [thick, a lot].
- Body: 6.5/10 [dandruff, feeling rested].
- Mood: 7/10 [Morning: Inner emptiness, probably due to fasting and drinking coffee over the past two days].
Learning: The place where bad habits develop has a strong influence on whether one relapses or not. In my case, the Dax Club is a strong trigger for cigarette cravings.
Micro Changes:
- I deleted my instant messenger (WhatsApp account), reducing my daily cheap dopamine kicks, gaining time, and improving my privacy. I also hope to improve the quality of my relationships by no longer being able to quickly write something, but having to call instead.
- I installed an ad blocker for Safari to see less advertising that could tempt me to make purchases.