I Might Be Spending Too Much Time Here

I have a complicated relationship with social media these days. Lately, I see the dwindling pros and the increasing cons of the networks. Fortunately, they keep me connected to a lot of good people. There’s a high chance you found this article through social media. That’s the conundrum. I don’t want to lose this lifeline to people in my life, especially those who live far away, or the chance to connect with new like-minded people. I have many “we should go for coffee sometime” friends. We mean well, but the coffee usually never happens. It’s nice to know we're “in touch.” I believe many of us are noticing social media is deteriorating into a more commercial space, full of advertising and inauthentic clickbait, and less wholesome family vacation photos and passive aggressive quotes that are clearly about exes. Ah, the good old days... Now, I regularly feel more repelled than captivated.

And it’s not just a personal feeling. Recently, companies like Meta have been facing lawsuits over the addictive design of their platforms, particularly how they affect younger users. Some courts are starting to take these claims seriously. At the same time, countries like Australia have introduced age restrictions on social media, recognizing that these platforms can be difficult to regulate once someone is pulled in and hooked.

I correlate peak social media usage and engagement with the transit of the planet Neptune, associated with illusion, imagination, and imagery, through the mystical, dreamy, romantic sign of Pisces. Neptune entered Pisces firmly in 2012 and made its final exit this time around in early 2026. Although both Facebook and Instagram were in existence prior to 2012, and the first iPhone was released in 2007, like any new technology, it takes a while to reach a fever pitch and start morphing from innocent connection into a strategic marketing tool. From “this is neat” to “I might be spending too much time here.” It shifts from something that seems more reality based to something much more illusory, almost without you noticing.

Recently, Artemis II returned from its mission around the Moon. The astronauts, as usual, were asked to describe what it’s like to view Earth from space. Certainly, this is a uniquely grand perspective, one that’s tough to put into words. That’s Neptune. It’s that feeling you get when you suddenly realize the scale of something, and that you are part of something bigger than you, yet still connected to it. Similar to the astronauts, it’s like looking down on an entire city in lights from an airplane window. If you’ve experimented with hallucinogenic drugs, they can sometimes provide Neptunian moments. There’s a spiritual hall of mirrors quality to it that’s kaleidoscopic and awe inspiring. Though, it can also be illusory, intoxicating, and nebulous. Pictures, lenses, mind-altering substances, and illusions are all Neptunian tools.

All the conspiracy theories about Moon missions? That’s also Neptune vibes. Things can get as fuzzy as a heavily filtered photo on Facebook when Neptune’s involved. It becomes hard to discern reality from illusion, like posting a completely aspirational, totally curated lifestyle on social media. These addicting, captivating images are something you may have gotten sucked into in the recent Neptune in Pisces years, “#Neptune #goals.”

So here we find ourselves in a stint of Neptune in Aries, a very different flavor than Pisces. Aries energy is about a lot of things, but it is more certain, more decisive, and initiation oriented than the swirling waters of Pisces. Many of us might be asking ourselves: What should I really be doing here? What is real and needs my immediate action? What do I most want? What do I want to do now? Not what everyone tells me I should aspire to, and not being lost in other people’s lives on a screen.

I recently fell ill around my birthday. It was probably some kind of Covid-19 spinoff. I was weak and feverish, and it took a lot out of me, but I’m grateful in a way because it reiterated for me how valuable vitality is, and reminded me not to take my health for granted. So now that I’m well, and as I’m writing this, a bunch of planets are in the sign of Aries (Mars, Saturn, Neptune, and the Sun), I am feeling motivated, energetic, and inspired to cut some time-wasting activities out of my life.

I don’t think social media is going away. Though I am certain many of us will not be as mesmerized or labyrinthed in as we may have been during the Neptune in Pisces years, we will not have time. We will have more pressing things to do, and less patience for distraction. Some of us may feel more compelled to act on our individual dreams and live our own lives with fewer fucks about social media. Don’t get me wrong, inspiration is great. Connection is great. But there is a difference between being inspired and being absorbed, between staying connected and losing yourself in the projection.

Maybe this next chapter is about focus and cutting through the BS. About choosing what is real for you instead of what is presented to you. About engaging with social media as a tool rather than a mystical pond we become hypnotized by, and remembering we can always look away. And sometimes clarity begins the moment we choose to look away.