Social Media is Closer to Cocaine Than Anything
A friend of mine was off of social media for three years. He decided that it didn’t add value to his life, so he deleted the apps, logged out, and lived his life. Then, recently, he launched a new app that he designed, so he’s back on social media to promote it.
That same week, he experienced more stress than he had in years.
We sat at a dinner table together, weighing the pros and cons of him being on social media to promote his app. I don’t envy the position my friend is in.
Last week, I launched my newsletter What I Really Think. I drove traffic from my Instagram, and got about 100 people to sign up for it. But that same day, I got caught up in responding to messages, comments, and scrolling the feed. It slowed down my productivity immensely.
I advised my friend to get a second device, and keep social media on there. Then, each day, he could bring out the device, post for the app, spend time interacting online, then put the second device away. He wouldn’t be temped to just check a message real quick when he opened his main phone.
That’s the solution that has worked for me. I know others who set time limits, delete the app until they know they need it, or limit the days the allow themselves to be on it. I also know other who aren’t that bothered by spending a lot of time online. And that’s ok too.
I encourage everyone to test out solutions for themselves. But while you’re doing that, keep two things in mind. First, social media apps are designed by the smartest people in the world to be addictive. And second, social media is closer to cocaine than it is to a photo album. Much closer.
