Doom scrolling is out and being present with friends is in, Victoria residents say as they ring in the new year.
Karly Atkey, who was providing moral support to friends taking a New Year’s Day polar plunge at Willows Beach, plans to leave behind doom scrolling and other people’s expectations in 2024.
“When I open social media, I’m basically choosing to be advertised to. And kind of like choosing to waste my time. And it seems like sometimes just an hour or two goes past and I haven’t moved or had an original thought,” she said.
She wants to dedicate that time to activities that are more nourishing, fulfilling and creative.
Atkey is making it a priority to plan quality time with friends, instead of just hoping it will happen, and dancing, because she feels “so good and free,” when she dances.
Overthinking is getting left behind in 2024 for Emily Besler-Dean. “I just worry a lot about various things, and most of those things never happen. So it’s a lot of just trusting in this moment, or just trusting myself,” she said.
In the new year, she’s embracing an attitude of “Why not me? Why shouldn’t I apply for this job or why not say yes to something I wouldn’t normally say yes to?”
Rebecca Drapack said the polar bear dip reminded her of how important connecting with her community is to her.
“I was very invested in work last year and just kind of lost sight of things that are meaningful,” she said.
A recent ADHD diagnosis has helped Kaitlyn Michaelis understand her brain better and she’s leaving procrastination behind in 2024.
A medical sonographer, she wants to carry more optimism about the state of health care and spend more time with her friends.
“I don’t think we put enough value on friendship,” she said, as her group of friends surrounded one friend in a tight huddle to help her warm up after a dip in the ocean.
After a year of turmoil and change — the end of a relationship, a career switch and buying a condo — Alex Pym is embracing stability and being present in 2025.
“I want to have just less time on my phone, less time distracted by technology of all sorts, and more time with my friends and family, connected really, really closely, without that kind of pull away into the internet,” he said after jumping in the water at Banfield Park and before a second plunge at Willows Beach.
Pym also plans to learn how to sail, because he has always had an interest in wind sports and “if I don’t start now, I’ll just never get into it.”
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
