“I don’t believe you can build a multibillion dollar corporation unless you are clear on which instinct or organ you are targeting.” — Scott Galloway, Professor at NYU
Like most of us, I am trying to spend far less time on social media — specifically Facebook. There’s something about Facebook that’s both so alluring and so designed to make you feel crappy.
“I wonder what’s going on in the world and with my friends?” I wonder. Oh, that’s what. More school shootings, an outlandishly terrible president, shitty things happening personally to people I like and love. As a mom of twin toddlers already heavily prone to anxiety, my worry level is bad enough as it is. I probably don’t need to amplify it with The Feed.
But I can’t stay away. I took the app off my phone, so I can’t look at Facebook unless I’m in front of my computer. The problem is, I’m in front of my computer a good 8 hours a day on weekdays, and lately, I’ve been having to play catch-up with work on weekends, too. So I downloaded an app for my Mac that allows me to block my own access to Facebook on Chrome, but then sometimes I have to sneak over to Safari to load it, because I often take care of Facebook tasks for clients. And while I’m in there, I peek at my feed.
Blah blah blah.
We all have our Facebook struggles. I do have a few smart friends who just don’t do it. They’re part of the elite minority, the less than a third of American adults who are not on social media. They do seem mildly less stressed than me… and vastly more mature.
The truth is, I’m afraid to tune out. I don’t want to lose my angry edge. I don’t want to become numb to what’s going down. I don’t want to lose my motivation to work really hard so I can keep my kids out of public school, where I have to worry about them getting shot. Frankly, I don’t want to ignore the fact that some people in my life enthusiastically support the gun industry with their votes, their dollars, and their voices. Instead of dealing with the legislative crisis in our country that’s killing children, they talk about arming teachers and putting armed guards in schools. I want to know exactly who these people are.
When I try to picture my kids—my beautiful, innocent, full-of-joy kids—heading off to school every day, hoping that today won’t be the day it happens to their school, I am filled with sorrow and rage. I am not alone in this. Every mom I know is furious. And I see this on Facebook, too. I see all the feelings… and all the opinions.
Facebook is great for opinions, but it isn’t really a valid place to get news (despite the fact that more and more, people do—according to Pew, nearly half of US adults), nor is it a place to take care of our hearts and minds. It’s a place to complain (about how much we hate Facebook, sometimes, and touché), and occasionally, it’s also a place to be earnest. I love this man today:
Inspiration: This TED Talk
