Scrolling my day away

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Confession: I scroll too much of my day away too often on social media. Every day I tell myself, "I'll just watch one more video" or "I'll scroll for 15 minutes after work" or "I'll check updates for 5 minutes before bed"... but that never happens. I do watch YouTube, scroll TikTok and Pinterest, and check for updates on Goodreads, but the idea of "one more video" or those short time crunches is preposterous. Part of the problem is my desire for quick distractions from stress and life obligations between home, work, and school. Scrolling social media feels like less of a time commitment than reading part a novel I'm very into, because I know me. When reading any book that I'm invested in, one chapter can quickly become ten chapters. The social media I use typically consists of short form content, though, which is easy to consume and (on the surface) involves little time commitment. However, short form content in all its forms - YouTube shorts, Twitter/X posts, Instagram reels, TikTok videos, Goodreads updates, Pinterests pins, etc. - is addictive. On the creator side, my resistance to close out of social media apps and websites due to short form content is wonderful. Its addictive nature is golden for the marketing of brands and influencers, as shown in Medium's article about the rise of short form content.

My concern about wasting my days scrolling away on social media is not centered on brands and influencers; that concern is about better valuing and spending my own time. Best-selling young adult novelist John Green revealed in a video on his shared YouTube account with his brother, novelist John Green, what happened when he took a year off social media. If I limited my time on social media, I dream of what I could find more time for. I could read more books, even during school semesters when I hold the mindset of simply not having much time to read. I could start book journaling in this beautiful leather journal that sits on my nightstand. I could learn from podcasts or educational magazines like National Geographic and Smithsonian. I could even watch tv shows I pushed to the side with claims of not having the time to watch. Of course, I could spend more time with friends and family, including playing with my cats. Excitingly, I could continue my genealogical research that recently taught me I could join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution)! Maybe I could even try some book related crafts or creating an art journal. The possibilities are endless! My time is valuable, yet I continue allocating too much of it towards social media. A great, convenient way I could better manage my time for how I value it would be utilizing the digital wellbeing function on my phone. Setting social media limits could only benefit me, which sounds amazing after thinking of all the alternative activities I could do with that reclaimed time.

What could you do with your regained time, if you limited time spent on social media? How could you make that possible?

Comments

  1. Ellen DooleyOctober 31, 2023 at 9:26 AM

    Yikes -from the Medium article that you posted: "Children as young as eight regularly watch two videos at once to feed their entertainment needs". At least you are harvesting some useful, often intellectually healthy information, like that of the Green brothers' experiences, and I hope some younger people are too. We all know that most of them are social creatures just trying to make their way in the world, but a big concern for me is the time that many younger people I know spend tracking peers on the ol' SnapMap or similar platforms trying to keep up with each other for this or that. I often compare some social media following behaviors to that of wasted time watching tv (I would watch a soap opera in between sports seasons in school years, for example, and never did get to my grandmother's DAR application for me), but the stats for the high number of hours spent on social media, especially given the short attention span data (how much of that can one consume in a day?) are shocking for sure. Your post is vivid, concise picture that would appeal to many -maybe you should put it on TikTok!?

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    1. Samantha MatherneOctober 31, 2023 at 8:50 PM

      I find pointing out ON social media about the insanity of wasting too much of my spare time on social media ironic, to say the least. On various social media I do check out a variety of content, randomly educational stuff, but usually book related. (You can expand your mind on a lot by watching the Green brothers' content!)

      Thus far, while I am on TikTok, I have not posted anything there of my own. Discussing this issue is a great idea for when I possibly eventually do post, though. Thanks for the thought!

      Delete
  2. Natalie StansburyOctober 31, 2023 at 1:45 PM

    I hate that I have to admit this to anyone but myself, but I so often think "What am I doing? I could be doing...." I would be reading, organizing something in my life, working on the creative pieces I have always wanted to write, or even taking a nap! (yes, I too am starting some genealogical work - if I can ever get away from my social media feed!) Sometimes I give myself a little credit though. I am connecting with people in some way still. Or I am reading about something historical I came across, or finding a new recipe to try. But am I kidding myself here? And would I like myself more like Hank Green? I dread the day of the week (Sundays for me) that my screentime alert for the week shows up. He said his went down 80%! I do appreciate that he shares that it is ok for "wondersouly empty distraction." We do deserve a little of that!

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    1. Samantha MatherneOctober 31, 2023 at 8:56 PM

      Oh my gosh, in my tired state while writing the post I did not even realize that I credited the video to the wrong Green brother! Edited my post to reflect JOHN Green did the year without social media.

      I always push the weekly screentime report off my screen. I do not want to see it. No thanks, phone, I do not need that reminder of how long I spent starting at you when I long to read the books on my shelves. Writing this post to admit to the world (or our little group?) how much time I waste on social media and what better I could be doing with my time to some honest introspection.

      Delete
  3. Anna V.October 31, 2023 at 4:02 PM

    I'm so glad you shared this. It's exciting to think about all the things we can spend our time on instead of scrolling through social media. I like the idea of making a list! Maybe just seeing it written out would make dividing the time up between social media and other projects easier. I know I need to see things written out. I have a planner I write everything in, and I don't know what I would do if I lost it, my whole life is pretty much in there!

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    1. Samantha MatherneOctober 31, 2023 at 9:03 PM

      The longer I thought about alternative activities to social media, the more ideas I came up with of how I could better spend my time. Most frustrating about that is all the alternatives I came up with are things that I really want to do. Maybe I'll actually start season 3 of You soon. Let me just update my Goodreads first and oooh.... there's some notifications.

      Delete

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