That is the question I was left with after watching a Ted Talk about a person who does not have social media. We are talking no Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter and god knows what else is out there for us to online socialize over. Now my personal relationship with social media is one of hate and love however I do have accounts on some of them. I just do not use them as frequently as would be judged as ‘’normal’’ for my age.
What do you achieve being occupied with what others are doing?
Everything he says in the video makes perfect sense. While super occupied with what others are doing, you are not busy with your own stuff. You know those things that you had planned to do? Those that now have to be done at a much later hour? Exactly those activities I mean.
But on the other hand you are actively watching people live. Hopefully for them this also means getting things done. Their things. Now unless you are a professional social media watcher, so you are getting effectively paid or get something else actually useful out of it, what are you getting out of it? There is one thing he says that is strikingly true and has gotten tattooed on my brain and I think you should get this tattoo as well. Not just so we can match but because it can help you save your days.
‘’I am usually done with my work by 5.00 PM.’’
– Dr. Cal Newport.
My natural response would be to say that you then have lots of time left to work on other things. You always keep going, always try to outwork yourself. However that has all the potential to leave you not well rested for the next super productive day.
On the other hand his planning skills must be out of this world, no? Or could there be another reason he gets so much done at can relax from 5PM?
Recommended: How To Plan Your Day Effectively Using A To-Do Book
Social Media Is Robbing Your Time
That brings me to the question stated many times in the video.
‘’What do you do all day?’’
Better said;
”How much time do you spend aimlessly scrolling through your feeds?
Is scrolling endlessly helping you with your goals and dreams?
Do you feel better after having been all ”updated”?”
To continue on the point above the first question, it could very well be that he has so much more time because he just doesn’t waste anytime at all on his socials. He might have other distractions but how high is the chance that one of them is literally set up to be as addictive as possible? There have been research backing this up as well as some some leaks from the platform that in a way confirms this. This hasn’t been officially confirmed by the social media platforms though.
Let’s go back to the the last two questions if they were answered with a no, then I have another question for you. This is a recurring question actually. ‘’Why do you do it?’’ If the question ‘’Is it helping with your goals and dreams?’’ was answered with a yes then I have some things that have helped me that might help you. These social media tips can also be used to moderate your intake if you have answered in high numbers on the first question of ”How much time do you spend aimlessly scrolling through your feeds?” and/or the last question ”Do you feel better after having been all ”updated”?”.
Social Media Management Tips & Tricks:
- Post whatever it is you need to post and log off. Having the extra task of having to log back in makes an extra hurdle which will hopefully make you not go for a ‘’quick’’ scroll.
- Having interactions with others? I plan the hours when I respond. Which is approximately three times a day. Morning 9 AM, Midday 12.00/13.00 PM and at night around 19.00 PM.
- Just using it for fun? Again plan hours where you go for a little scroll. Perhaps use the hours above. Logging off is also a good one for the same reasons stated above.
- Turn off notifications. I have almost all notifications turned off on my phone. The thing bleeping, buzzing or ringing for every little thing drives me crazy. Not knowing means you basically have no reason to go check. There is nothing there to distract you from doing what needs to be done.
- Start paying attention to which media you actually use the most, perhaps that is the one you like the most? When you don’t know for sure which medias you use the most you can let your phone tell you. With iPhones go to your settings and then search for ”Battery” and in the middle of the screen to the left above the table you’ll see ”show activity” which will tell you exactly how many hours you used what app for either the last 24 hours or 10 days. With Android you also go to settings and search for ”battery usage” which will tell you the same information. If you do find that there are socials that you have but are barely using start considering to delete them. What you don’t have also can’t risk cluttering your life.
Update 16-February-2021: I actually spent the better part of 2020 without using my social media, you can read here about the tremendous effect it had on me.
I myself use social media off and on but there is one thing that never changes, the notifications are turned off. It sure has helped me make sure that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.
Love,
DCPR.
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