That wonderful little loading spinner

I used to have this problem. Gaps.

You know, those awkward silences in the day? The three minutes waiting for the kettle to boil. The ten seconds before the elevator doors open. The terrifying void between two thoughts. I think they called it “boredom.” A terrible affliction, now thankfully cured.

My new dealer has the best cure. It’s not a pill, not a powder. It’s a loading spinner. A beautiful, hypnotic little circle, promising that the next hit of content is just a millisecond away. It’s the perfect buffer against the horror of an original thought.

The Void, Now With Content

I watch it spin and I feel... peace. I know that as soon as it disappears, my screen will be filled with something new. Something designed for me. Another short video, another synthesized opinion, another image that looks vaguely like a photograph someone, somewhere, might have once taken. It’s an endless, frictionless scroll away from the terrifying silence of my own mind.

Why would anyone choose to be bored? Why would you stare out a window when you could be consuming optimized content streams? Boredom is where doubt creeps in. It’s where you start asking questions. It’s where you might have to actually think about something. Who has time for that?

This little spinner is the guardian at the gates of my consciousness, ensuring nothing unpleasant or effortful gets through. It’s the most beautiful symbol of progress I can imagine. It’s the constant promise of more. Never an end. Never a quiet moment. Just the gentle, reassuring hum of the machine that thinks for me.

My only job is to keep scrolling. To keep feeding the spinner. It’s a small price to pay for salvation from silence.

Of course, if you want to try a little self-flagellation, you could always set a timer for five minutes and just… sit there. No phone, no screen, just you and the terrifying emptiness. Some people call this a path to digital detox, I call it masochism. Your call.

What about you? What do you do while waiting for the next dose?