Platforms in Their Place

This trial started out as less of an issue than I expected. I found myself seeing some interesting posts from friends and family. As time went on, I found myself constantly wasting time on various platforms, especially Twitter. Admittedly, the experience wasn’t as bad as I really expected, but after diving in the deep end, I think it can be easier to use some of the tools and practices I mentioned a few weeks ago to have a healthier participation with these platforms.

The Good

After a lot of time isolated, these platforms offer an easy way to catch up with family and friends. Even after things settle into what we previously called normal, social media offers updates on a variety of people from my life, and I think it’s a nice opportunity to see how things are going for those people.

This trial was also the nudge I needed to finally watch the documentary The Social Dilemma. It was interesting and offered a lot to learn. There are insights from industry insiders that have left me thinking, especially the resources available on the Center for Humane Technology.

The Bad

A lot of the challenges I find with social media involve the flood of information, possibly more so when it’s the truth. While disinformation and fake news are a serious problem, there are times when the overwhelming amount of news and updates available can be challenging. There is even a term for the endless abyss that platforms, especially Twitter, have for bad news – doom scrolling.

Even outside of doom scrolling, social media can become a terrible time sink. There’s always another post to see just a slide of the finger away. It might be a funny joke or insightful thought, and it’s just below the last one.

The Future

In an attempt to limit the negatives in social media, I hope to implement a number of ideas from my post a few weeks ago. In particular, I think the use of the chrome addon Newsfeed Eradicator to block the home pages of various social media sites will be extremely useful. That way I can still access the sites and look for specific people or updates when I’m interested.

I don’t necessarily plan to delete any accounts, though it has been something I’ve toyed with for the future. For the time being, I don’t see that my usage of these platforms has led to net negatives in my life.

With a path laid out for future social media use and this trial complete, it’s time for the next one. Something I started at the beginning of the month was bullet journaling. In typical fashion, I stopped keeping up with it after only a few days. I really liked the rough plan I made for the month of April, so with the new month around the corner, I’m hoping to do the same again with the addition of daily planning.