The beginning of this post is an email from exactly 2 years ago, the summer of 2018. Since then, I have spent far less time on social media, with intermittent periods of Instagram-Fasting (like right now). As time moves on, I am compelled to spend less and less time on social media, and some of the relevant reasons can be found recounted by 2018 Gary. I will start by sharing that email, and then add some additional notes regarding some of the
lessons learned over the last 2 years...
I wanted to email you to share some thoughts I have wanted to share on social media (ironically), as I think they are so incredibly important. Recently, you may have noticed that both Paddy and I post very little on social media. It took me far longer than Paddy to wake up to the reality of what a waste of time social media actually is. I have always justified my time on social media with the fact that we run an
online business, the majority of my time is spent putting out informative content and I have always gotten good feedback on my content.
I was playing myself.....
For me, there were a few things that made me realise I needed to back away from social media:
1. When I woke in the morning, the first thing I would do is check my phone. I would flick through Instagram, respond to all of the DMs I had received and maybe even make a post to start the day.
2. When on holidays, I began to think about what photos would make for a good Instagram post, rather than simply taking photos to capture a moment I enjoyed.
3. I would spend at least an hour of my day typing out a post (or posts) for Instagram, along with Instagram stories. Not to mention another hour or so responding to people's DMs.
4. When I was spending time working on a task that required a lot of focus, I would check my phone every 10-15 minutes, even without having any notification or reason to do so, other than the thought of "oh, I wonder did that person respond again to our DM conversation".
5. IT IS A F*^KING ECHO-CHAMBER. This is probably one of the things that frustrates me the most. Nobody actually thinks for themselves. This may just be within the health and fitness sphere, but what I began to notice was that every 2-3 months, everyone would suddenly begin talking about something new. The things that people would say would be pretty much the same as what the "influencers" were saying. For example, in the past
couple of months, "gut health" has been trendy, along with exercise mechanics, cardio and sleep. This isn't a bad thing at all, but what is clear is that people just relay on the thoughts of others and have little to no understanding of what they are talking about. The science behind some of these things is very difficult to really understand, so trust me, it's very obvious when people are just plagiarising others.
AND REMEMBER, all of this is coming from someone who runs an internet/social media dependent business. So, trust me, if there is anyone who is biased toward social media, it's me. If Triage Method wasn't an online business, I would honestly delete all of my social media right now. Social media platforms are designed to interrupt your attention, something that is already a dying art. The economy does not
value the echoes of the echo-chamber, it values what is rare and valuable. In order to foster something that is rare and valuable, you are going to need to spend as much of your limited attention as possible on things beyond the realm of social media.
So yeah, they are just some of my thoughts. I think there are far more discussion points that could be brought up, especially surrounding mental health. That's quite the minefield, but man, if you are unhappy with your life right now, the last thing you want to be doing is spending time on Instagram watching people sensationalise their life which is probably just as boring as yours.
So, 2 years on, have I maintained these views?
Yes. They have been strengthened. In the last ~9 months, I have spent over half of that time with my Instagram account deactivated.
One of the things that has really stood out is that the clarity of my thinking has improved significantly, but I have also learned to derive my reward from the pleasure of "going deep" on a task/topic of study for solely its own sake. I have read more books with each successive year, and as those hours of social media use are transferred to studying, there is a measurable improvement in the metrics I actually care about.
There is absolutely no way I would have maintained the standard achieved in my studies this year, nor would I have been able to commit to the extra-curricular training that I did, double the amount of time I spend physical training vs the previous year (after taking up BJJ), or keep up coaching/recording the podcast each week/preparing these emails etc. with Triage, if I had not taken a step back from spending time on social media (even though there
is some benefit to social media for me from a business perspective).
At the end of the day, time is a limited resource. People often ask "how do you fit it all in?" and, for me, it's really just a case of treating that limited resource with the respect it deserves. If I know a particular time of day tends to lead to greater work/study efficiency, I make sure that time of day gets its fair share of that limited resource (for me, that's the morning). If I have lectures that are less likely to be of benefit, I simply don't attend.
I very rarely watch movies, TV, etc., nor do I spend time single-tasking where multi-tasking is just as effective (e.g. walk + podcast/audiobook, or commute + study). Do not mistake this for me suggesting this is a desirable or admirable way of living, absolutely not, that's not the point; the point is to say that time is a limited resource, the delegation of which many of us give little thought, especially when it comes to mindless
scrolling.
So, in summary, for me, cutting social media use has had a very clear, measurable improvement on my life. That doesn't mean it will for you, but I would be very surprised if it didn't. I find it hard to believe that spending more time training, studying, engaging in meaningful work or simply fostering your relationships will not be of more benefit than scrolling through Instagram stories of people you don't even know...
