If you’re between the ages of 9 and 100, it’s more than likely you have at least 1 social media profile.
Social media used to be so cool and a great way to stay connected to people in different chapters of your life. However, many platforms have evolved so much over the years that that isn’t really the case anymore. Facebook became political and polarizing, Instagram became strangers, LinkedIn became fake job postings, Pinterest became TikTok, and TikTok somehow became the most controversial platform in the world.
Working in marketing has made it really challenging to separate myself from social media. With Meta owning paid ads through Facebook and Instagram, with brands wanting relevant content based on whatever is trending, and influencer marketing taking the world by storm, I had to stay plugged in. I was very excited when I was finally able to step away from any ad space and could permanently delete my Facebook account – something I had wanted to do for years. In the last few months, I have also deleted the Instagram and TikTok apps from my phone. While I’m not ready to delete it entirely, with my various hobby accounts, I’m finally able to take a huge step away from it.
Here’s what I’ve learned since.
The Sense of Community
All social media platforms create an algorithm catered to your interests and activity. So, the more you interact with certain content, the more you’ll see of it. For certain things, this can be really helpful. Maybe you want to learn a new skill, or you’re looking for inspiration. In many cases, however, this creates an endless feedback loop.
Before the digital age, communities were made up of like-minded people. In college, I learned about a diversity study where the researcher only focused on small communities because they were far more diverse than large cities. Because when everyone shares the exact same experiences, they all think alike. And when everyone thinks alike, confirmation bias constantly reinforces those thoughts into beliefs. When everyone has strong beliefs, people will typically act on them, resulting in certain ways of life.
Now, the world is flat. We have access to everything at any given moment. At first, this was great when challenging the feedback loop, when you could start communicating with people who shared entirely different upbringings than you. Now, the content is swayed to feed you what it already knows you to believe, and, to me, the feedback loop and confirmation bias seem worse than ever.
The Relevance
I recently mentioned how I struggled with distancing myself from social media due to staying relevant for work. But it’s so much deeper than that. The number of conversations around trending sounds, clips, and memes is actually insane. Similar to how people used to discuss what’s in the paper, now it’s what you saw on socials. I was recently having a discussion where we brought up how often you start a conversation with “I saw this on – ” and while it’s happening in the world, somewhere, and may feel very relatable, it’s also happening so many degrees away from you.
Which brings me to my next point.
Looking Around
I already mentioned how this compares to the days of the newspaper. But now everyone is always on their phone. What happens when you step into the elevator with strangers? In a waiting room? Everyone is always glued to their phone.
It’s so sad because while you may know what’s happening across the pond, you have no idea what’s happening 10 feet in front of you. People don’t chat amongst themselves*. It has evolved from people meeting at bars and events to using dating apps and meetup groups solely to find opportunities to meet new people.
*This is a crucial point. I think the confirmation bias and feedback loop have made it so challenging to talk to people in real life because they don’t want to be challenged. When you’re so convinced that what you’re hearing is right, because you’re hearing it all the time, it’s so hard to hear an opposing thought. Again, not specific to social media, surely you’ve seen two idiots who only rely on FOX/CNN go at it because they don’t know how to consider opposing thoughts, but a greater feedback loop has made this much harder.
In summary, it really is these damn phones.
Consuming vs Creating
This is the most challenging part for me.
Social media has always been a way for me to express myself and showcase my interests. I love creating content. Whether it’s taking pictures of food and doing write-ups of my favorite local hubs, or the obvious, pictures of my beloved Phoebe… I love having a platform for me to share my favorite memories. Yes, the early content keeps me humble, but it’s always enjoyable to revisit.
That being said, the short-form videos are dangerously captivating. Logging in to see if your friend posted pictures from their recent trip turns into 2 hours of scrolling without you even realizing. I can honestly feel myself losing intelligence. While it feels like I’m learning (because I technically am), my brain is also learning that it needs constant stimulation, my attention span is the worst it’s ever been, and there are times I don’t really even know what’s real based on the content I’ve consumed.
Obviously, these platforms were created with this in mind, to keep people engaged. Watch the Social Dilemma – it’s so so so good and breaks this down beautifully. It makes it really challenging to find the balance of creating vs consuming (and consuming at insane volumes).
Removing the apps from my phone has been incredible at keeping me from scrolling, but it’s forced me to take a big step back on creating content, which is a bummer. I hope to someday find a balance, but the longer I stay off, the weirder it seems to get back on. Let’s be honest, though – I always go back. That’s the real social dilemma.
Shut Up Madi 