The Problems with Social Media

As many of you know, I take a month off social media every year.

I think an internet/social media detox is always a good idea, even if it’s only for a week! The way we consume information is often quite damaging to our brains, and inevitably whatever we take in is warped- for instance algorithms promote rage and despair far more than anything else which can be quite depressing for our li’l ole brains!! Many videos and posts do not cite sources, and fact-checking is easily forgotten. We are not designed to take on the world’s problems, and if you’re anything like me it is hard to compartmentalise and to avoid being self critical, especially when it comes to acknowledging how little power we have to help horrendous circumstances.

This Kurtzgesart video sums up why the internet can be such a distressing place, and I hope you’ll take the time to let me know what you think of it!

I also really recommend The Carl Saga by Hank Green if you’d enjoy a (maybe-not-so!) fictional take on the future of social media.

In re-evaluating how I use social media, I have decided I don’t want to go back. At least, not in the same way. At the moment I think I will have a day or two each month where I use social media. I want to be more intentional with my time, especially after watching this TED talk, but I have realised the all or nothing mindset isn’t necessarily a solution.

I can enjoy the good parts- connecting with new people, seeing what friends are up to, and posting helpful resources, without having to use the apps every day and wasting hours of my life. I want to feel like I have visited a friend, not like I am living in a hell-scape.