I both hate social media yet use it constantly. Isn’t that an odd dilemma? 

It’s a contradiction. On one hand, I value being offline, being present & BUT wow do I hate the overload of content now. There’s an over abundance thats diluting the value. The quantity is at new heights thanks to this creator economy & of course the help of AI (personally guilty on that front too) 

It’s become so easy to make content, anyone can do it. So now everyone is a ‘Creator’. I’ve worked with some of the top creators ever. Hands down, they still are, they don’t compromise their content. 

I’ve actually only worked with those who not only have large audiences - it’s not about that at all. The millions of subscribers or followers was always an end result of their QUALITY of work. 

The creators I worked with, put everything into 1 piece of content that represented them. They are detail orientated, they start from the storyboard themselves, sometimes starting with drawing pen to paper before curating their concept into a production of high quality - this is hours of work. (Not the measely 2 seconds it takes for my AI tool to throw out a clip.)

I’m saying this because there’s just a difference in value of content these days. I have a problem with it because it’s all devalued and dare I say - crap. Everyone else is out to get more reach, out to gain more attention - and it’s exhausting as a user of any of these social media apps. 

It’s rare now, to see content that wows, or delights, it’s all trends & vitality pieces - and a battle for the most views. Is the creativity lost? 

As users to social are we burnt out by the overwhelm of content - where’s that initial purpose of connection gone? Or is it just me that feels like there’s less of finding great humans to link with and more just transactions of engagement?

I’m so not impressed by social media at the moment. But yet it’s part of my day - I mean how can it not be? Since its conception, it’s been part of my business. It’s changed so much and will continue to evolve. As a consumer of it too, the scrolling & the updates is how I somewhat stay connected with what’s going on in the world. 

A question I was asking myself lately is: how do we keep the intentionality behind social to serve us rather than to drain our energy?

That’s the only element of it I felt like I could control. I can’t ask the adjust the algorithms to my likings.

So what can I do myself to hate social media a little less. 

I have 3 solutions, maybe you might want to try them too:

1. I’m reducing the amount of use time, being proactive about noticing when I’m about to doom scroll. Or I actively associate the act with reminders how this is a waste of my time - and this is ‘useless’ lol. Harsh but I believe true right now. I literally have been catching myself in the act and feeling disgusted with how boring it all is and throwing my phone down into the couch. Haha add a bit of drama - why not. 

2. I’m trying to use more intelligence invoking apps - like Duolingo on a daily, learning Spanish & Italian and then Insight Timer for mediations & Downloaded way more financial learning apps. That way my phone down time can feel like I don’t have to just use the Instagram, TikTok, etc. 

3. I shifted this obligation to ‘showing up’ on social media to a personal internal goal of mine. Which I’ll explain in another post because thats part of a bigger intention. 

Do you remember when we first used social to actually stay in touch with old friends? There’s part of this that somewhat stays true to a certain degree, when I’ve got updates in stories, its the easiest way that someone can understand whats going on in my world - which is 100% dependent on what we’ve decided to share. 

It’s clearly a very limited perception of the highlights of what’s happening in life. So it’s become a format to celebrate, to share wins or moments yes. Barely a wide view on how life is actually going. But why would you - no one’s interested in what else you cooked that day. 

I kinda miss the connection part of its original purpose. 

I miss it since it was one of the only ways to have a sneak peak into my friends lives who lived half way across the globe, the only way I was able to stay in the know - but now that just gets lost or everyone’s feeling the same & not posting - staying in the offline. 

We have all (creator or not) become personal brands on social media that only even feel called to share certain moments - so it’s not an accurate representation at all. 

I partly wish that we could just be a little more real on it. 

What’s your take? Do you hate social media as much as I do currently, yet use it daily too? Let me know what you think.