Flabbergasted that this newsletter has actually gotten subscribers that I didn’t ask (read: beg). Thank you for reading and I hope you like this issue where I sh*t on social media.

I’ve talked about how I’m staying away from social media. The “doom scroll” vying for my attention is too terrifying for me to toy with.

It’s like having a pet venomous snake. Maybe some psycho can work with it and come out OK, but yeah, not me, I’ll pass.

I remember even from a young age of getting “sucked in” to any TV that was on, to the point that my older sister would make me switch seats at dinner so I wouldn’t zone out. I’ve never understood how people can sleep with the TV on. I am not sure I’ve ever fallen asleep with a TV on. I just can’t help but pay attention to it. This happens with other things too - I love when I see a “daily streak” on a game I’m playing and try to keep it going as long as possible. I get sucked in fast and have seemingly little control over my attention.

I don’t know why I do this. Maybe it’s my version of an addictive personality or something or just some serious & bizarre FOMO. Maybe it’s just normal? (Sounds like something I’d ask a therapist - instead I’ll ask my newsletter with thousands, a dozen or so subscribers)

Whatever the reason, as you can imagine, this shortcoming directly applies to social media. It’s overwhelming to me. Even though I’ve been off the major platforms for years, I’ll catch myself doom-scrolling LinkedIn to procrastinate. How on earth is it even possible to doom-scroll LinkedIn? I have to be completely logged out on my phone to ensure I only actually use it for work on my laptop.

(The LinkedIn games are fun though, do not @ me)

(Are people still @’ing people?)

I liked Instagram a lot. I loved keeping up with my friends and even random acquaintances. But it wasn’t worth it - it was taking up too much of my time because I can’t be responsible with it. So I deleted everything. Weirdly, it was kind of a sad decision in hindsight, because most of my friends aren’t local so I miss a lot of what they are up to, but I felt I had to do it.

I’m not saying this like I’m some kind of hero or something. I watch a ton of TV and am definitely not a screen time minimalist.

My point is that I am officially crowning social media a certified bad thing, through and through, for anyone, not just someone like me who seems extra susceptible to the pitfalls. And it’s sad - social media used to be such a great tool to express your thoughts, keep up with your friends, and connect with people. There are no longer enough positive things left about social media to outshine all the darkness.

The bad has consumed the good entirely. Pun intended.

I can’t get into this too deeply because I’m obviously a bit out of the loop. I realize I’m probably missing nuance and context. But I still want to illustrate my point by painting a picture of the current state of social media versus the original invention’s intention.

Posting yourself, especially according to Gen Z, is cringe aura farming (the latter is my new fav slang term). So the entire point of why social media was created - to keep up with your friends - is dead now?

If that’s true, the only things that can be left on social media are ads, news, memes, and influencers. None of which are good.

Swiping the infinite slot machine until you find something you like, just to swipe it again, one more time. And now, that machine is nobody you actually know (just ads, news, memes, and influencers) and full of AI slop, wasting your time - usually to the tune of hours per day. 10% or more of your life.

Certified bad thing!

Just wanted to reiterate that before we moved forward. I’m a normal guy, just like you.

Just a normal guy, who’s way better than you, because he doesn’t have a TikTok account.

This is hardly breaking news. But I think it’s time for us all to break social media addictions once and for all. I think it might be the main adversary of society. It is time to take this very seriously for our lives.

We’ve never been more capable of doing things - literally anything. I expand on this in next week’s issue (I’m writing in advance, y’all), but our new bottleneck is focus, consistency, and, a third thing I’ll throw in here, mental strength/fortitude/health (whatever you want to call it).

I think social media is the official nemesis of achievement. It’s the ultimate substitute for doing something - like literally just doing any thing other than that. There’s nothing that will sap your focus, consistency, and mental health like social media. Even if it is a sufficient or satisfying way for you to spend your time, there are plenty of ways to enjoy content without those negative side effects.

Maybe this is irrelevant or obvious to you. Maybe you’re a mental mountain that can be on Instagram for 3+ hours a day, keep up with 8+ hours of focused work, be present with your friends & family, stay fit, and pursue meaningful, enjoyable hobbies & activities. If so - that is sick and if you could bottle that and sell it, you’d be rich.

Maybe you’re like me though, get way too sucked in, and want to protect your time. Here are things I’ve found that work and how I curate content. I’m curious on everyone else’s too.

Please share your thoughts here and any tips you have to limit / curate your content consumption.

Let’s take back our lives and attention from the Silicon Valley social media overlords. It is long overdue.

I’ve read some very thought-provoking blogs / essays lately. Here are a handful:

Not exactly the soundtrack to my week - I just want you to share in the misery of these catchy tunes getting locked into your brain for the foreseeable future

Not a song this week, just the greatest video of all time

Sincerely,

Zander Barth