Is Social Media Fast Food or a Marketing Tool?
I’ve struggled with my relationship to social media for the better part of a decade now. I’ve taken classes on the amazing benefits of social media and also found myself staring at my phone when I should be engaged with the world around me. I find myself asking the question, “Is this a quick dopamine rush distraction or a valuable tool in building the life I want?”
The answer for me comes down to being a creator versus consumer of content. When I’m on social media, am I creating content and providing information, or am I scrolling through and seeing the endless supply of content that is already there? Most of the time I’m scrolling through.
I’ve found scrolling to have a negative impact on my day to day well being. Studies have shown that social media can make people unhappy because they compare their lives to what they see on social media. That isn’t the reason for me, in fact, compared to what I see, my life is pretty good.
For me, it is the constant distraction and time waste that social media becomes. The media consumed is often empty calories with no real substance that takes time away from other activities or books ( healthy calories) I could be consuming instead.
Not only is most of the information consumed worse than worthless, the constant checking fragments an already chaotic day. Instead of sitting and working or reading, the phone comes out every 30 minutes to an hour for a quick check. This breaks up the rhythm of whatever work I’m doing and makes the quality of work suffer. There is no flow, only choppy work in short bursts.
Social media also has amazing benefits that cannot be understated. It allows me to keep in touch with people I would never have known anything about if social platforms didn’t exist. The different platforms allow for a message to be spread across the world with a push of a button. Social media gives access to millions of potential customers instantly.
The leverage social media provides for creators in mind boggling. The key is to be a producer not a consumer. The more I think about social media the more I realize that each site should be its own microblog. Each page should be posted to and then forgotten. Maybe, early, it should be checked for feedback and conversation but, only on the content I’ve created.
It’s difficult finding the middle ground. Social media can be a great resource for building but it can also be a distraction. I don’t believe social media is inherently good or evil; it comes down to how it’s used.
Let me know how you use social media. Do you have a schedule or only use it for creation? Do you find you’re ok with it on your phone? What works best for you and your creativity/productivity?
