Networks like Facebook and Instagram have increasingly oriented their services around their own, internal (mostly economic) goals, which as a result has made the experience of using them sub-par for those of us who aren’t super-keen on the idea of engaging in outrage spirals or being fed endless streams of AI slop.
There’s still sometimes value in these things, but for me at least, there’s less and less of it every day.
Many of us have long-trained habits related to these networks, though, and I’m no different. So I’ve been using a filter of sorts to help me figure out which of my (social media-related) behaviors are healthful, and which probably aren’t.
Before opening the app, I ask myself: “Is this productive?”
The answer is almost always “No.”
This same question can be asked of other sorts of things, as well. But however we ask it, the benefits derived will be tied to the nature of our priorities, how recently we’ve updated them, and the degree to which said priorities actually line up with our desires and ambitions.
I might tell myself that I really, really want to get more followers because (insert some kind of legit-sounding excuse that sounds better than “social validation” here), for instance.
If I filter my actions and investments based on that, there’s a chance that effort will serve me (if I have a real-deal reason for wanting more followers on whatever network). But if I never interrogate that desire, there’s a good chance a positive outcome (successfully attaining more followers) won’t result in a happier, more fulfilled me—despite my assiduous filtering.
If I decide that I really need more human contact throughout my day, though, and I make decisions based on that (opting to meet up with friends for coffee or to join strangers for a game of kickball rather than scrolling on my phone or going home to watch yet another Netflix procedural), that might help me achieve otherwise out-of-reach-seeming goals.
A lot of small decisions can add up to big outcomes, and regularly questioning what’s productive and what’s not can make it more likely we’ll opt for the proper path more of the time, despite the myriad forces nudging us in the other direction.
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