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I almost never sit down to record a podcast without an outline, almost ever. And that's because I have the tendency to sort of bounce around. It's kind of hard for me to just sit down and talk off the dome and have it feel concise and make perfect sense. Especially because I don't talk to anyone else. Right? I'm just talking to the wall. I am talking to you, but you're not here. So, you know, it's a bit bizarre. I'm sort of talking to the wall, but today I wanted to sit down and talk unfiltered. And to be honest, I'm a little bit nervous cause this is kind of out of my comfort zone. But I've had something heavy on my mind for probably years now, and I don't know if it's sort of out of touch for me to discuss. That's gonna get clipped. That's gonna get clipped and put on TikTok. Out of touch Influencer says before she starts talking. I wonder if this is gonna sound out of touch. Have a field day with that if you want. I'm not sure if this topic is out of touch or it's like too industry centric, but I'm gonna give it a try anyway. And worst case scenario, I throw this episode away into the virtual garbage bin that is on my desktop computer. You know, that's the worst case scenario. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. If you want a website that actually looks like you, not some boring template, Squarespace has these incredible AI powered design tools that make it super easy to create something unique. Plus, if you're offering services, you can manage bookings and payments all in one spot. It's simple, stylish, and totally doable. Go to squarespace.com emma for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use Code emma to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. This episode is brought to you by Activia. I don't know about you guys, but when my gut feels off, my whole day can feel off. That's why gut health can be such an important part of your overall wellness routine. So try Activia Probiotic Yogurts and Dailies, a quick, easy and tasty way to up your gut health game every day. They're deliciously smooth and creamy with billions of live and active probiotics and and are backed by 20 years of science. Your gut is where it all begins. So start with Activia. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as a part of A balanced diet and healthy lifestyle can help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort. The dilemma that I've had on my mind for the last few years in this career, that has honestly made this career challenging for me in ways that I never could have anticipated, is that I feel like I'm a hypocrite. Okay? I feel like I'm a hypocrite because over the years I've come to realize how toxic the Internet is. Social media is incredibly toxic. Not just for me as a public figure who gets hate comments, but also for everyone consuming it. Because even though, you know, I am technically someone who creates content for the Internet first, identity wise, like, I feel like that's as a person on the Internet, I feel like that is the dominant sort of Internet presence that I have. I also am a consumer of the Internet. Even though I've cut back significantly over the years due to how damaging it's been to my brain, I'm still a consumer of Internet content, right? And as both a public figure and a consumer, I have experienced immense psychological pain as a result of the Internet. And I've shared that with everyone. I've talked about that time and time again. I'm constantly encouraging those of you who listen to my words on this podcast or on YouTube or wherever to put the fucking phone down if you need to, to stop doom scrolling, to take a break, to mute people who make you feel like shit, like, get off the Internet if you have to. Get off the Internet even if you don't have to. The Internet is bad for the brain. And I'm not the only one saying this. Obviously there are psychologists talking about this. You can look up social media negatively impacting mental health into your search bar and find 1 trillion podcast episodes and 1 billion articles about it. This is a known fact at this point. But here's where my hypocrisy comes in. It is my job to to post content on the Internet. That is my job. But I have a challenging relationship with the Internet and I struggle to believe that the Internet can have a positive impact on people at times. But yet it's my job to feed the beast. It's my job to post content on the Internet for people to consume, thereby taking their time out of their day that they could be outside hanging out with their friends, planting rosemary in their garden. I'm taking time away from people that they could be using to do something that I know in my soul is better for them than watching my content, listening to my podcast, watching my YouTube videos, looking at my Instagram posts, and I really struggle with that. And I think this feeling of hypocrisy has led me to a lot of unforeseen challenges in this career that I wouldn't have expected. You know, in order to post on the Internet, you have to have a level of confidence, right? Because not only are you filming yourself, recording yourself and having to watch that back after you do it, it's a bit unnatural. And it requires a level of confidence to do that comfortably, but also it requires a level of confidence to post on the Internet because you get a lot of mixed responses, some good, some bad, some ugly. And. And in order to handle that and not get scared and run away, you have to have a level of confidence. An interesting thing that's happened is due to this feeling of hypocrisy about being a content creator on the Internet, my self esteem has taken a hit in a pretty significant way where I look at myself in the mirror and I feel this sense of guilt. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I feel like I'm adding to an industry that I'm not always confident is enhancing the world. Sometimes I think about what it would be like if there were no social media, if there was no Internet, and do I think it would be a shame? In some ways, yes, I think it would be a shame because I think the Internet does create community and support in a very important, special way. I think prior to the Internet, you know, if you had a niche challenge in your life, you couldn't like, I don't know, find somebody on the Internet who's talking about that thing in a YouTube video and find comfort in that. You know, you felt alone. I mean, there have been many instances in my life where someone telling a story on the Internet has made me feel less alone. And I think that would be a huge loss. I also think too that it's easier now than ever to find and discover art, you know, whether it's fashion designers or painters or musicians or whatever. Because of social media, I think we're able to discover and expose ourselves to more of that because it's all at our fingertips and it's all on one platform in a way. Whereas perhaps before the Internet, maybe there was sort of a. I don't know what the word would be like a gatekeeper. Whether it was music labels or art galleries or whatever. Now you can discover anything at any given moment through the Internet and through knowing what to look up, you know, or just the algorithm even giving you things that they think you'll like. I can't tell you how many amazing songs I've discovered through the Internet, whether it was through a TikTok back in the day when I was scrolling on TikTok all the time, someone using a song in a TikTok or you know, my Spotify algorithm giving me a song. Although I don't really look at Spotify as like a social media that's not really like a negative platform. I wouldn't say it's like the safest platform probably so I mean I'm aware of the value of social media, right? Community, storytelling, also entertainment. I didn't even mention that. But like entertainment is enjoyable, right? Mindless entertainment is enjoyable and I think at times it can cause a laugh. It can, it can be comforting in times of stress. You know, there is a lot of value to social media. However. However at times it feels like it's causing more harm than good and I don't even think I need to explain why. I think we've all experienced it before. Whether it's the overstimulation of consuming so much content that it sort of sends your brain into a state of chaos which leads to like a weird resting feeling of anxiety or if social media is overexposing you to information that's toxic for your brain. Whether it's drama, catastrophe, tragic stuff, or even just people that make you feel jealous or insecure, being exposed to that type of stuff constantly can impact your self esteem, can make you feel anxious, can make you feel kind of hopeless. We've all experienced that. But I think more than anything it's kind of a time suck and you're not really getting much out of it. The Internet a lot of times is a waste of time. I think this is particularly evident to me because I'm somebody who's very arguably like toxically obsessive and obsessed with how I use my time. I'm a control freak by nature and very focused on efficiency and productivity and you know, just using my time wisely. I think number one, because I like feeling in control, as I mentioned, I'm a control freak and when I feel in control of how I'm using my time, it gives me a sense of calmness because anytime I feel like I have control over something it gives me a sense of calmness. But also I think because I have a lot of shit I want to do, you know, I have a lot of shit to do and a lot of it is self inflicted, like I don't have to do it, you know, but I want to do it and I want to. There's so many things I want to get done that I'm just very particular about how I spend my time. And so I'm particularly aware of how consuming social media content can be. A waste of time. Now, do I always think it's a waste of time? No, I don't. Like at the end of the day, for example, I love laying down in bed and watching a YouTube video. I really do. And do I feel like that's a waste of my time? No, I'm unwinding. I'm gonna be laying in bed anyway. It's not a waste of time. I'm, I'm, you know, I'm watching something that's riveting or making me laugh or whatever. Sometimes I'm watching something that's toxic for me in my brain, you know, sometimes I'm watching a drama video, but even then it's like, I, that's how I unwind. I watch YouTube. I've been unwinding through watching YouTube since I was literally a child, like 7 years old. This has been a part of my life and my routine since, since I was a child. This is my YouTube. And social media in a way is sort of like my television, my movies. Cause I didn't grow up watching movies as much. I didn't grow up watching TV shows as much. I did watch TV and I did watch movies. But my favorite form of entertainment has always been Internet content, you know, YouTube and even Instagram and whatever. And so do I think it's a waste of time when I indulge in that experience at the end of the day? No, it's not a waste of time. But would I probably be a healthier, happier person if I didn't let myself indulge in those things? And instead, every single night I force myself to read a book, you know, or I even force myself to watch a thought provoking film, maybe. But then as I'm saying that, I'm wondering if that's just kind of pretentious. Like, is that just kind of pretentious? Like, are they any different? A lot of the content I watch on YouTube is really well done, you know, it's art in a way, or it can even be educational. There's a decent portion of the time that my entertainment consumption though, through social media, it's actually really well done. It's artfully done, you know, and it's inspiring in a way, or it's like funny or it's thought provoking. Like I have those experiences through Internet content. But There is a lot more junk on the Internet, a lot more addicting junk. Videos that serve no purpose. You know what I'm saying? But then I guess you could also argue that some movies and some TV shows are junk. What's the difference? Maybe there isn't one. But getting back on track. See, this is why I always write an outline. Because now I'm fucking all over the place. Where even am I right now? I don't even know where I am. Are you even following me? Like, I don't blame you if you're not, because I. I keep losing my train of thought. It's very hard for me to just talk off the cuff, but we're really trying it today. And honestly, it's shocking that I don't do this more often because I'm a podcaster who makes two podcast episodes a week. Like, I should be able to do this with ease. And it's been easy so far. But like, listening to it after the fact, I might be like, yeah, it was easy because you just kind of word vomited for like 30 minutes to 45 minutes. You know, anyhow, if this episode even gets that long. Back on track. Back on track. Another thing about social media and Internet content is that it's very addicting, as we all know. And the addiction element is another thing that is really disturbing to me. And I think that's what leads it to being such a dangerous way of spending time, because you can so easily get sucked into Internet content because the algorithm is genius and wants you to watch content all day long and next thing you know, it's been five hours and you haven't really accomplished anything. Like, I think Internet content consumption in moderation, as with all things that can be unhealthy, if over consumed is totally fine. But I think the problem is it's very hard to have a healthy balance. It's very hard to consume Internet content in moderation. And I know for a fact that, that most of us don't have a good handle on that. You know, most of us, I would say I, through necessity have had to create really strong boundaries in my life. And even I sometimes struggle to consume Internet content in moderation. You know, I'm somebody who like literally has to not scroll on the Internet because I fully will have a mental breakdown because it just, I'm already an anxious person. My brain is already kind of moving too quickly and if I'm consuming too much Internet, it literally, it like my brain starts doing somersaults and I have a mental breakdown. Also, if I'm on the Internet too much. I end up stumbling upon things about me that are potentially negative and that also can cause a mental breakdown. So I out of necessity have had to create limits. And even I struggle to maintain those limits. And for me, it, it, it's potentially even more intense in some ways because there's two dimensions to it. You know, I'm a consumer and a creator on the Internet who's getting hated on, you know, as everybody who creates Internet content is. All of this is a long winded way of saying that I often feel like Internet content does more harm than good. And that makes me feel like a hypocrite because this is my job, right? And it makes me feel icky. You know, I look at myself in the mirror and I feel dirty. I feel like it makes me feel like a bad person. And by saying all of this, I'm not saying that I'm right in it, because when I actually think about it, part of me thinks I'm wrong, that I'm not a bad person for posting on the Internet, that I'm not really feeding the beast like the beast is fed. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, the Internet's not going anywhere and it's up to people to decide what to do with their time on or off the Internet. And that's not really my responsibility. And my posting on the Internet, yes, it is adding content to the beast, but also, whether I create content or not, people are still going to be on the Internet consuming content. And so because I enjoy creating Internet content, which I haven't discussed yet, I do enjoy creating content for the Internet. I enjoy doing it, you know, I. I love telling stories. I love discussing things. I love making all types of visual entertainment. I love fashion and I love sharing the fashion. Like I love making Internet content. But as I've been saying this whole episode, I've struggled with the hypocrisy of it. And that's why it's been a bit weird. This episode is brought to you by HBO Max. Rachel Sennett's new HBO original comedy series, I Love L A is now streaming. The breakout star of Bottoms in Shiva Baby brings a new show about a young, ambitious friend group navigating life and love in Los Angeles. Sennett stars alongside Jordan Firstman, Josh Hutcherson, Odessa Azaian and True Whitaker. Don't miss all new episodes of I Love LA. Sundays at 10:30pm exclusively on HBO Max. Subscription required. Visit HBOMax.com for details. This is an ad by BetterHelp. 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Head to Walmart or Target to grab Degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. I find comfort in feeling like, you know what? People are gonna be watching Internet content anyway. I enjoy making Internet content. So I guess what I should focus on is just putting out content that will have a net positive effect on someone's day. And I skate by on that, you know, like reminding myself of that helps me continue, you know, and helps with those feelings of sort of self disgust, to be honest, because there is sort of this temptation to create Internet content that is ultimately A little bit toxic because that's actually what does the best on the Internet. Drama, taking people down. You know, sexual things. These are the types of things that rake in the most numbers on the Internet. Right. But I have no interest in participating in any of those types of things. I don't want to be involved in drama. I don't want to talk shit about people. I don't want to talk about gossip, even though I, I do love a little bit of gossip in my personal life. But I'm not going to be doing that on the Internet because I don't think that that has a net positive effect on the consumer's brain. I like, I really try my hardest to talk about things and share things that are going to be entertaining, hopefully to some, but also inspiring in one way or another. And inspiring doesn't always need to be in some sort of obvious TED talky sort of way. Even though sometimes I guess I do that. Like I can really go, go on a tangent that's like sort of TED Talk, like, but that's only when it feels organic to me. I mean, inspiring content can be far less obviously inspiring than we think. Like, I might see a video of someone being funny, like a comedy video, like a skit. And that's not necessarily obviously inspiring, right? Like maybe the, the skit didn't have like an inspiring storyline. It's not like, well, this person found a cat on the side of the road and then they saved it, and then they decided to make their life's mission to save all the cats that are strays and help them find homes. Like, that's like an obviously inspiring story. But I might watch like a funny comedy video that's really well done and get inspired by that creatively. It might like inspire my humor. It might inspire some sort of project I make. It might maybe randomly an outfit that someone's wearing in the video inspires me. Like we can get inspired by anything that has a net positive effect on us. I think we can also get inspired sometimes through like jealousy too. But I don't really like that type of inspiration as much. I don't yearn for that as much. You know, that's not as fun. I try to create content that's gonna be inspiring in some sort of positive way. And I make an effort to have my content be a net positive in people's lives, even if it doesn't perform as well, numbers wise. Even if, you know, some people find it boring because, because drama in, in, you know, like drama and stories that are like intense in graphic, like, shock value is what tends to do the best. Rage bait is what tends to do the best these days. I don't care. I don't want to be a part of that. So I'm not going to participate in it, even if that's what technically, from a numbers perspective, tends to do the best. Um, yeah, it's just like, not my journey. And so that's what keeps me going is, is maintaining the goal of constantly creating content that hopefully has a net positive effect on the people who view it, and also reminding myself that the Internet exists anyway. You know, it exists anyway. People are going to consume content anyway. Whether or not I'm posting doesn't matter. It doesn't make a difference. So if I enjoy doing it, I might as well do it, you know? But in a way, I feel like expressing this hypocrisy is sort of healing for me in a way, almost saying to you, like the listener of this podcast, hey, don't waste your time listening to me, looking at me. If it's not impacting your life in a positive way. I think social media and Internet content might just be a net negative. Even if I'm telling an inspiring story, even if I'm making you feel inspired, there's an argument that you might get even more inspired if you went outside and you talked to somebody in real life instead of listening to me talk. You know, there's something weirdly like. There's like. It's just a relief to say it out loud to you, because even though it should go without saying, it's like, okay, I've said my piece. We all know where I stand. And that makes me feel like less of a hypocrite. It's almost like I'm coming on here to confess this feeling that I've been feeling. And I'm somebody who has a really hard time not sharing what I'm feeling. More so in my personal life than on the Internet, but definitely in my personal life. The second something starts bugging me, I need to bring it up. I need to resolve it. And this has been bugging me for a long time. And I hope that by talking about it, maybe it'll sort of resolve the issue. But as I'm reflecting on everything I just said, I'm. I'm realizing how pessimistic of a lens I'm looking at the Internet through. But also, I think it is. I think it is a problem, though. I see I'm very conflicted on the whole thing. It's definitely a tricky one. You know, it's a tricky one. But then again, like kind of everything is, do you know what I mean? Everything has good and bad. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. But a lot of the times I kind of feel like a hypocrite, you know, And I don't necessarily have an answer or a solution or a conclusion. I didn't go into recording this episode, even really searching for that. I more just wanted to talk about it with sort of no, with no closing paragraph. You know what I mean? Like, I, I, I don't really have a conclusion. This episode is brought to you by Panda Express. There are a lot of ways to say I love you. You can write a song, recite a poem, or just, you know, verbally say I love you. Or you could say it with delicious wok fired food. So take your friends, family or hopeful romantic partner to Panda Express and say it with menu favorites like orange chicken, broccoli, beef or honey walnut shrimp. Or if they're vegetarian like me, the chow mein and super greens are great options too. Panda Express. Have you eaten yet? Order now or find your nearest store@pandaexpress.com Sparkle throughout the night with Born in Roma fragrances by Valentino Beauty. Each bottle holds the energy of Rome after dark. Donna Born in Roma blends luxurious jasmine with rich creamy vanilla, creating a sensual and vibrant signature scent. Uoma Born in Roma fuses aromatic sage and smoked vetiver, leaving a lasting impression that lingers well into the early hours. Shop Born in Roma by Valentino Beauty now at Ulta. Perhaps some of this is rooted in some of the psychological trauma I've experienced as a result of being a public figure on the Internet. I'm not saying woe is me. I'm not the victim. I'm just venting, or not even venting. I'm just, I'm honestly talking through it with you actively right now. I have definitely experienced some significant challenges as a result of being on the Internet. Whether it's being hated on. I mean, mainly that it's just like being perceived by that many people having such a volume of opinions about you at all times, constantly sort of being surveillanced in a way, like in public, you know, you never know if somebody's taking a photo of you or a video of you not being able to trust people. Because there can be sometimes sort of ulterior motives, you know, there's been a lot of challenges that have has come with me having a career on the Internet and I wouldn't take it Back for a second. I wouldn't take it back for a second. I have no regrets at all. However, unfortunately, those challenges have caused a lot of psychological challenges for me. Whether it's worsening anxiety, at times worsening depression, less so, but still, sometimes paranoia, ocd, a little bit of PTSD as well. And the list actually does go on. I'm almost ashamed to admit it because it's like, emma, how lucky are you to have a job on the Internet? Who cares if you have a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of. A few little panic attacks here and there, a few little depressive episodes here and there? Who cares if you've developed, like, pretty bad OCD and you have PTSD from certain, like, really rough times on the Internet? Like, who cares? Who cares? Like, you have a really great job, so shut the up. I agree. Like, I agree with that. However, I cannot. Like, this is just my experience, and it has caused me a lot, a lot, a lot of psychological pain that has sort of gone beyond what has happened on the Internet, right? It's like, yes, there have been challenging times on the Internet that in the moment have been really rough, you know, but then they've left sort of lasting psychological impacts. And I do think that even though I've had a very particular experience with the Internet as a public figure that has led me to sort of these intense psychological challenges, I also know that you don't have to be a public figure to experience those things from the Internet. Those things, like, whether it's getting hated on or it's online bullying, like, whatever the fuck, whatever it may be, like, it's all relative. So I know that this is happening to people who maybe aren't even signing up for this, right? Like, if you're a public figure, you're signing up for it, but it's happening to other people. But maybe just on a different scale or in a different way. But, like, I just want everyone to get off the Internet because I also know I sometimes wonder if I deleted every app, deleted everything, and went in, like, just existed in the world. I can't help but wonder if all of those psychological issues would go away. And I don't know if that's true because I. I also had a lot of psychological issues beforehand. I had anxiety beforehand. I used to experience depressive episodes. You know, the OCD is a new one, but I think because it's been so hard for me. And again, I'm not, like, I'm not victimizing myself. Please. I'm just. I, like, already can hear the comments. That's how this shit works. It's like I can hear it. I know what I. Oh, Emma's. Shh. I know, I know. I get it, okay? But I've struggled so much as a result of being on the Internet that I think that's why I feel this feeling of hypocrisy so strongly, because I've been hurt so bad by the Internet that I don't want to be the reason that somebody opens the app and then gets sucked in. Yeah, maybe my content is positive, but I don't want to be the reason that. That somebody opened the app and then got sucked into something toxic or who knows? Like, I don't know. I just. I don't want to feed the beast. Feeding the beast feels like it goes against my morals, which is that the real world is always going to be better than the Internet. But then it's an impossible dilemma. It's an impossible dilemma. I'm realizing. But this is not me. This is not me saying that I'm, like, quitting because I'm not. I don't want to quit. I love doing this. You know, going back to what I said earlier. Like, I grew up watching Internet content. I love Internet content. I love. I love making it. I love consuming it. When it has a net positive impact on my life and I don't get sucked into the point where I waste four hours and then feel depressed and anxious and then see hate comments about myself and then see a video about me that's mean. And then, like, you know what I mean? Like, when everything's going super well. I love consuming Internet content. When I stay on, like, one person's page that I know is safe for me. And I love the Internet. I'm gonna continue to create content on the Internet. This is not me saying that I'm quitting. I just thought I would try something different, sit down and tell you about how I've been feeling about something I don't really have all figured out, which is not usually what I tend to talk about. I usually tend to talk about something knowing that there's gonna be a conclusion in mind. I sometimes feel the. The pressure to sort of have a conclusion, like just turning on a microphone and just yapping with no takeaways, sort of like, well, what the fuck was that? And I never want to make something like that, but alas, I just did. That's all I. That's all I got for today. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, be honest. Honestly, like, you can be honest. If you hated this episode. And you're like, emma, you are so not concise. You are so all over the place. You were a fucking mess. I didn't understand a word you said. Like, you just were like word vomiting absolute garbage for, you know, however long. And I'm unsubscribing, like, to be honest with this episode, you can tell me because it's experimental and I can handle it. Listen, do I appreciate kind words with, with, you know, constructive criticism in the mix? Of course I do. But anytime you ask of something on the Internet, you have to, you know, you have to expect harshness because that's sort of the nature of the beast. Yeah. Let me know what you thought and let me know what you think about this topic. I mean, listen, I know it's kind of like it's very much like a niche dilemma, right? It's very much a hyper specific experience. But let me know what you think and yeah. Thank you all for listening and hanging out. I love you all. I appreciate you all. It is always a pleasure. And even though sometimes I feel a little bit of guilt about posting on the Internet, I'm going to keep doing it anyway. I'll talk to you in a few days. Okay, Love you all. Talk to you later and bye.