“I really want to spend more time scrolling through Facebook today,” said no one ever.
Or here’s another one. “My goal for 2021 is to check Instagram at least 50 times a day.”
It sounds ridiculous, because no one would consciously do those things. The keyword here is consciously, because it’s so easy to fall into the world of distractions.
Social media is so new to us in terms of the spectrum of evolutionary history. But the feelings it evokes are primordial. It touches on some of our deepest drives as humans; connection, acceptance, sharing, self-expression, creativity, curiosity, etc.
Yet it’s supernormal stimuli. Our brains can’t handle endless feeds of information. Our nervous system can’t handle the collective traumas of the whole world at once. Our egos can’t handle the temptation of getting dopamine hits from likes every few minutes. This is how social media hijacks our attention, if we’re not mindful.
On top of that, when a public company makes money from ads, it’s a sticky situation. To keep the company profitable and shareholders happy, they need to maximize ad revenue. And how do you maximize ad revenue? By keeping more people on the platform longer.
With that, you get a situation where the algorithm optimizes for time on-site. So you’ll be shown anything that most effectively hijacks your attention, in order to increase your time on-site and boost ad revenue for the company.
In the context of social media, we can add to the maxim “Know thyself” with this: “Know thyself, better than the algorithm knows thee.” Really rolls off the tongue, right?
Anyway, that’s why mindfulness and intentionality are paramount here, and leads me to my personal experiment…
6 Months Without Social Media
Earlier in 2020, I took a six month hiatus from social media. I found myself getting distracted and drained by the constant stimuli, so I let go of it all.
To say I’ve felt more at peace, centered and productive is an understatement. It was definitely a positive overall experience.
Recently though, I’ve had a lot of inspiration coming through. It’s profound stuff, that will help people in many ways and on deep levels. With that, I realized it would be a disservice to not share this love far and wide. However, it’s important to not get caught up in the distractions or the ego games that we all fall into sometimes.
That’s why I developed a conscious, intentional approach to social media that I call #Social30. It allows you to reap the benefits of social media, while avoiding the sneaky traps.
Introducing: #Social30
Here’s what #Social30 looks like:
- One check of all social media accounts per day
- Limit it all to one 30 minute window (or less)
- Focus on intentional sharing and interaction (not scrolling)
Let’s say you’re a content creator. When you have your content ready, go on each social media platform that you’re active on, post your content and leave. You can respond to comments or direct messages in this time if you like too. Just be focused and intentional about why you’re on there.
The key here is to not compulsively check notifications or mindlessly scroll. That’s when social media quickly becomes unhealthy.
Also, don’t forget to have fun with it! You can turn #Social30 into a game you play with yourself, which is what I’ve been doing.
#Social30 FAQ’s
Q: What about YouTube? Does that count?
A: YouTube may or may not be considered social media, according to different people. I recommend including YouTube as a part of your 30 minute window, because this will help you avoid time-sucking rabbit holes.
However, if there’s a documentary or a long video you want to watch, you can set it aside to watch later. Then, just watch that, nothing else. Use your own discretion and be honest with yourself.
Q: What if part of my job is on social media?
A: If your job responsibilities include social media, that doesn’t have to be a part of #Social30. However, you can try it there if you want too. Just be sure to not use “work” as an excuse to scroll and distract yourself.
Q: What if I don’t have enough time to do all of my posts in 30 minutes?
A: I recommend having your posts ready-to-go beforehand. This way, all you need to do is copy/paste and post.
Plus, especially if you’re writing anything, it will help you write without distraction. Then you can just copy/paste what you wrote.
You can also use a post scheduling tool if you want.
I don’t want to give you hard and fast rules here. Use the basics as a starting point (one check per day, one 30 minute window, intentional use) and navigate the details according to your own discretion.
#Social30 Challenge
If you’re interested in implementing #Social30, I invite you to do a five day challenge with me.
To make this as easy as possible, I created an email reminder series to help you stay on track for the five days, which you can get here.
At the end, you’ll have an opportunity to share your experiences, lessons learned and your own wisdom regarding this.
Let’s co-create a conscious, productive social media movement together.
Ready to reclaim your attention and focus? Here’s a good place to start: #Social30 5 Day Challenge
We can leverage all of the amazing benefits of social media, while transcending the disadvantages.
Here we flow.
With Infinite Love,
~ Stephen Parato
PS – Please share this if the idea of conscious social media usage resonates with you. Let’s co-create and inspire a more mindful, intentional world.
PPS – Use the hashtag #social30 when you do post, to embody this practice while spreading awareness.
