social media

Social media and quality of life do not get along. Social media plays a big part in human lives as a connection tool. However, it is similar to chocolate. Too much is a headache; taking a little bit: you want more of it. Do you like it? Can you see a difference between what you were a few decades ago and now?

How much time do you spend using social media?

The company I learned about Internet Marketing advises half an hour daily for social media. For die-hard fans of Facebook and Instagram, that is a big NO. Why? It is not easy to stay away from social media.

It is too much temptation, and I always feel unhappy when I see how much time I have wasted searching for various topics. It is like a swamp.

Do you remember the movie Lord of the Rings, where Frodo looked into the swamp water? He felt mesmerized, or maybe better would be hypnotized by images in the water.

Happily, Sam saved him from drowning in cold water with lurking creatures. Sometimes I feel the same way.

Additionally, the time spent on social media is similar to kissing through the glass. It looks fascinating, but you are lost and empty-handed in the end.

Of course, it is different when you use social media platforms to earn money or spread a piece of news about your activities, contacting your friends or team, or family.

Using social media to connect with friends at the busy time

Why does social media attract so many people?

Previously I thought that content and news feed keep constant excitement and enable me to return again and again.

Finally, I got the answer after reading Jaron Lanier’s book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts.

He described everything so perfectly because of being at the center of the creation of algorithms.

These ten arguments are:

People lose free will
Algorithms make it difficult for people to correct themselves
People easily become assholes using social media
The truth in social media is undermined
Nobody hears what you say on social media if you do not shout loudly and behave in a reckless way
The empathy evaporates using social media
People lose joy
Profits on social media do not occur in an honest way
Social media mixes up politics
Social media does not care about your soul

Does social media care about your emotional being and soul?

There are two different things: emotions and soul. Social media uses algorithms to explore human weaknesses and, later on, its uses for their excellent. You see ads after visiting a website and other similar topics jumping into your social media feed.

Do you think that somebody cares about your feelings? Yes, family or friends, but not random commenters and acquaintances who are attracted by algorithms.

Besides, social media is full of fake accounts that make a mess and can interfere with serious things such as forming opinions.

Knowing that machines regulate our emotions and influence us makes me unhappy about virtual friends and various topics.

The previous year and this one differ immensely. Social media did not add any easiness or explanation of what was going on. Thankfully, alternative press shows up. It does not push you in the direction picked by algorithms, at least for now.

Jaron Lanier was right that giving up on social media would free from misery, emptiness in the soul, and waste of time.

A good book can make a difference that will serve as a tool for human evolution, not degradation.

We live in a noisy environment that does not let us concentrate and think. However, loud noise does not add value to our lives. People buried in the noise of traffic, social media, and surroundings lose the ability to decide for themselves.

We are free to choose from. However, constant noise disrupts the balance. Why do you think monks and entrepreneurs such as Tim Ferriss meditate? They seek for solutions, peace, and stability.

If we would check after one hundred years the value created by social media, would we see something significant was built?

I wonder what kind of value noise brings to humanity.

Overall social media does a good job, especially when news and events are not compatible with individuals who use power against weaker human beings. However, you need to be a big shot in Hollywood to attract the attention of the majority. Otherwise, essential issues become buried with piles of fake and momentarily news.

You heard, read it, and forgot. It is not suitable for human evolution that noise created by newspapers, TV, and social media weakens our ability to think and decide what is right for us. I do not talk about the last model of the iPhone, but I think that we lost the ability to look forward and make the right choices.

Making choices

We make choices every day, starting from the morning and ending before it. Conscious people can control their dreams at night. It would be great if we could decide on big things, for example, how we would like to live and what we want to achieve.

Unfortunately, we did not learn at school or in college how to think. Earl Nightingale, the famous broadcaster, said that dressing up and going to shower do not count as thinking.

We must think diligently, knowing or searching and learning about ways to improve ourselves.

Obstacles to the right thinking

Most of us are born in families who live in the same way as parents and grandparents lived. Nothing is wrong about that; we can stay at the same level of evolution as our family is. I read that the student is terrible and cannot achieve better results as the teacher did.

I guess it is more difficult to overcome fears and stubbornness; however, after some time, things will change for the good.

The influence of social media, TV, newspapers, friends, family, and teachers is enormous. Being in an environment that does not push you to innovate, ask questions, and think for yourself, could leave you at the same level as you were before.

You will hear statements that this or this is best and will work just fine for you. However, these statements are from the other side. You have your mind too. You have tasks to accomplish on Earth and leave it a little better as it was before. It would seem like an overstatement; however, think about yourself.

Are you happy?

Sometimes I think that loud noise from the surrounding environment is a tool to divert our attention to directions where somebody wants us to be.

If you told me that kind of value loud noise adds, I would be happy to discuss it.

Why do I talk about loud noise?

People are not as relaxed as they were before. There are not so many serious and interesting but joyful ways to live and lead our lives.

The loud noise from everywhere silences our ability to create, think ahead, and make reasonable decisions. This loud noise does not add value. It throws out of the balance and leads to misery. There is no relaxation, joy, or meaning, just sound.

It is the reason why people climb mountains, fight with each other, and try various ways to escape the loud noise from the environment. They want to change their lives, but most of us do not know how to do it.

One of the answers is meditation. It saved the sanity of many lost souls, which now do just great.

Let’s wrap up

Most of us live in civilized societies. We have so many good things in our lives, but usually, we do not recognize them. Loud noise from the social environment, such as newspapers and various media, diverts our attention from serious issues and could put us in a sleeping mode. Loud noise does not add value to us. We could choose better directions for ourselves, our families, and our communities if we learned to reason intelligently and insightfully.