The Rabbit Hole of Social Media
I sit here wondering how many hours of my life have I wasted since the invention of social media. Too many to admit.
I am good at social media. I get rewarded for using social media. I get paid to do social media for others. I get a jolt of dopamine every time someone likes, loves, comments on or shares a post.
So what?
I also get triggered by social media.
I get anxiety from social media.
I get frustrated with myself for not being more productive. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media I could be doing a million other more productive and healthy things right now!
For me, social media is an addiction and a distraction. I know I struggle with the addiction by the sheer amount of times I pick up my phone each day. I also use social media for a distraction. When there is an emotion or situation I do not want to deal with I turn to social media and tune out everything else. When I am feeling lonely, I turn to social media and end up feeling more disconnected and disappointed in my fellow humans when all I see them doing is spreading negativity.
I use social media as my photo album. I post photos of events and friends justifying in my mind that if I don’t post I won’t remember this occasion. How about living in the moment? Right here, right now. Why do I put a priority on future memories over the current situation?
I log on to Twitter and all I see are people ranting about politicians or trying hard to convince me and others to think they way they think. It feels like most people have developed a passionate belief of “you are either with me or against me, period!”. If you don’t think the way I do or believe what I do you are bad. There doesn’t seem to be much room left for discussion and I am seeing it from both sides of the political arena.
I admire people who have been able to just stop using social media. I don’t think social media is inherently bad, it is a great tool for communicating, what is bad is the mindless use of it.
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I think it is time I take a little break from social media.
What about you? What are your reasons for mindlessly scrolling?