How do we put this lightly? All that time you spend in the black hole of scrolling and liking, you’re going to regret it. Hear us out.
We’re not here to chastise you for engaging with your online community. Hardly. Successful social media growth comes from authentic engagement. But we all know the difference between good business practices and a two hour black out. And it's time you take stock of your social media habits.
MAKE SPACE FOR CREATIVITY TO HAPPEN
It’s one thing to be inspired by someone else’s content. It’s quite another to copy it all together. And WE KNOW. The content creation burden is real and sometimes it feels like you can’t come up with anything new. Sometimes when we’re stuck, we scroll. We turn to social media to get inspired. This is often counter-productive.
If you spend too long “getting inspired” it can hurt more than it helps on multiple fronts. First, you spend a whole lot of time looking at what other people are doing, instead of working on your own grind. You need to give yourself time and space in IRL to experience the world. Take in air. Those tiny boxes on IG have a lot of power, but they shouldn’t have power over you.
Second, no matter how strong your resolve, you start to play the comparison game. The more you compare, the less you create. The harder you are on yourself, the less productive you are. We’re not blaming the medium for the message. Rather it’s on you to power down your phone and power up your brain.
“The more you compare, the less you create.”
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SORRY, BUT WHEN DID BINGEING BECOME A GOOD THING?
We joke about binge-watching. We happily share with our co-workers that we watched all of Handmaid’s Tale in one sitting. But is it really a laughing matter? (In the case of Gilead, no def not.)
But sorry guys, bingeing is bad news. On anything. WE KNOW THIS. So why do we keep romanticizing it? We’ve been a little hoodwinked by the marketing of it all.
"Bingeing is bad news. Why do we keep romanticizing it?"
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While, admittedly, there has been limited research on the effects of binge-watching or binge-scrolling, reported feelings include: loneliness, worthlessness, and depression. These are not the conditions in which creativity thrives or business grows. Acknowledging that the behavior is addicting is an important step.
Still, a 2013 survey by Netflix showed that 73% of the respondents viewed binge-watching as a socially acceptable behavior. Socially acceptable or not, as this Business Insider piece points out, building positive alternative activities is vital. We say not only for your mental health, but for your career as well.
Spend one week tracking how much time you actually spend on social media. The results will surprise you and likely challenge you to change your behavior. Once you adjust your social media habits, see if your world sparks up a bit-- if you're a tad more creative. If your ideas get outside of the box. We'll bet you a like they do.
