Had my first brush with “oh no, my kid is getting old!” yesterday when my 8 year old came up and asked, “Dad, can you take a video of me and put it on Instagram at least?”
What kind of question is that? Why “at least”?
I obliged, because he actually does a pretty good worm, but then had a short convo about social media.
Here’s the thing – for 99% of us social media has no value compared to what the companies are getting from us. Social media wasn’t invented to make us better. These apps turn an idea into a company into an IPO. They exist to make people money.
If the app has an infinite amount of content (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, youtube, etc.), it exists to extract as much time and attention from you as possible. Because the more time you spend the more ad revenue they extract from you.
If the app is free, it’s because you are the product.
If you, like me, have questioned at times whether it’s worth it, I can say with authority that it’s not. Remove the apps from your phone, you’ll immediately feel better and can free up an hour or more of your day.
For a deeper dive check out Cal Newport’s latest book Digital Minimalism.
But at very least, think about how and why and how much you use social media. What is the return on that investment of your time and energy is, and make adjustments.
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