Toxic Social Media

By Boston Gilbert

       Social media is not inherently evil, obviously.

       Social media, by itself, is not bad. Although, as with most things, how and why you use it is key. Social media does a lot of good. I am encouraged by posts that are worthwhile, and am amazed at social media's ability to allow people to stay connected - especially at long distances. Seeing motivational or encouraging posts from old buddies, or relationships with people who live in a different state or country, are both solid reasons to have it. How else would I see pictures of a buddy of mine who's balling out in the Västra Götaland - the 4th tier of the Swedish soccer ladder? Or stay updated on my childhood friend's journey to become a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force? Seeing pictures or posts on social media are quick and easy ways to instantly stay up to date with what is going on in the world - whether it's with friends, or just general news. In addition to knowing what's up with friends, and staying in the know of current happenings, it's also a killer way to encourage and celebrate people, and share things that you're amped about.

       This is my question though...how often do I use social media for the reasons above? I am the first to admit that, usually, the time that I spend on social media is wasted time. Whether it's spent thumbing through countless GoPro pictures (which are sick), checking the same scores and watching the same highlights over and over again, or, God forbid, scrolling through the Instagram Explore Page, these hours of looking down at my phone have prohibited me from other, more intentional, experiences. For me, that's gotta be the aspect of social media that is most dangerous, along with the problem of comparison...which I will get to. The amount of people (myself included) that I see strolling around campus with their heads buried in their phones is unreal. It's abnormal when a stranger says hello in passing, or asks you how you're doing. We've even gotten to the point where we aimlessly swipe through our phone to purposefully avoid people. For the most part, social media is distracting. It detaches the viewer from reality, and slowly draws me from being present, to being distant.

       Comparison. It's an epidemic. I can never be satisfied with where I'm at or what I have because I am always comparing myself with someone else. I lose sight of the good things in my life, as I am in a constant state of unrest. I need what I don't have. I lose gratitude of what I have been given. I always need more. That's the kind of beast that I feed when I spend too much time and energy on social media. As a result of me being dissatisfied with where I am at in life, because of the incessant comparison issues that social media creates, it promotes negativity, or a sense of "I'm not good enough, and I don't have enough." It tells me that I am somehow not living up to a standard - a fictional standard. Because of this, I am so busy focusing on what I'm not that I have a hard time stepping into what I can be.

       Think about the alternatives to social media. For practicality's sake, if I replaced a fraction of the time I spend flipping through Facebook with reading books, or listening to sermons or podcasts...I'd be educating myself, and would learn more than whatever small portion of information that I may retain while skimming through Instagram. Or, what if I replaced a portion of my social media time with taking care of my physical well-being? Something as simple as foam-rolling, stretching, or rolling on the lacrosse ball while listening to music, would all be more beneficial than seeing Patagonia or Major League Soccer's billionth Instagram post of the day.

       Ultimately, what it comes down to, at least in my life, is my ability to assess my own social media habits and honestly ask myself, "what is healthy for me?" If you're one of those weird people who are able to perfectly balance the attention that you give social media (I'll include general time spent on your iPhone here as well), with other areas of your life - doing school work, working out, or being present in conversation, then I tip my hat to you. You are a special, even rare breed in today's society - a culture that is obsessed with being in the know, and has a major fear of missing out. The purpose of this article is to encourage you to assess social media'g grip on your life, whether that is a healthy or unhealthy one, and make a change or tweak those habits in order to create better balance. Creating balance in your life will open up more opportunity for growth and development in areas that you want to refine or improve. One of my good friends has an awesome routine that he's implemented in his life that relates to social media - he deletes his social media apps during the week, then re-downloads them on the weekends. For him, that's a good system. It works. He's not distracted by it during the week when school work and training take up a majority of his time, which are prioritized over social media. Although, he is able to keep up with what is going on during the weekends, where he has more free-time to do so.

       The use of social media is a highly personal and individualistic matter. Where one person gets distracted and becomes ineffective in what they're participating in during "real life," another person is able to balance that same amount of social media activity and still be efficient and intentional with their time. Lately, I have slowly figured out that social media normally leaves me empty. It always gives me a healthy dose of false validation, a decent amount of entertainment, and then a whole lot of emptiness and wasted time. All of the scrolling, swiping and tapping...frankly, it gets repetitive and old when I overuse it. Personally, evaluating my time on social media and how I can best balance that with the other aspects of my life are massive to living Boundlessly.