Is Social Media Worth It?

Welcome to the Anturas newsletter, where I share my thoughts, learnings, and failures to help you think, learn, and grow. If you enjoy it, please feel free to forward along to friends.

Quotes I Am Thinking About: 

• "I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good." - Elon Musk

• “My kids get limited computer time… Just because you’re the daughter of Bill Gates does not mean you get to play on your computer all day long.”- Bill Gates

• “We don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them in effect" - Steve Jobs

Things I Am Thinking About:

As I continue to craft and live my happy life, I find myself critically thinking about things I took as commonplace in the past. For example, I'll ask, "if I zoomed out, would this activity be a net negative or positive in my life?" This was the driver behind my year of no alcohol. It was also the driver behind not going out on Sundays.  Another "is this worth it" activity I've been contemplating is social media. The benefits of social media, especially for my business, are clear. More reach, more engagement, more leads, and if I curate my feed right, more learning. These are pretty great benefits but the costs are also high.

The three killers of social media:

1. Boredom

2. Comparison

3. Expectations

Social media takes away our boredom. That might actually seem like a positive, but unfortunately, our brains need boredom. Boredom leads to creativity, increased problem solving, and better mental health.

"Comparison is the root of all evil." Well if that's true, then social media is definitely evil. Have you ever come home from a great night and then scrolled your newsfeed and saw something that made you want more? Someone else had a nicer dinner, or a bigger present, or a cooler show?

Finally, it leads to unrealistic expectations. Most things on our feed are crafted to look perfect, which then raises the expectations we have of our own lives. When reality does not match those expectations, we are disappointed.

Is all this worth the benefits? I've tried to find a middle ground. I've downloaded apps like, Clearspace, which help prevent my scrolling, but is it enough?

Questions I'm Asking Myself: 

Am I doing enough to limit social media and screen time?

Favorite Photo From the Week:

My mom and Jurg are out visiting!! Living 2000 miles away from family is the hardest part of living in Montana, so when they visit, it always puts a huge smile on my face.

Till next week, be kind, be curious and work hard. 

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