On Social Media
I’ve had a lot of posts coming up in my RSS feed about social media, most of them offering different takes on how bad it is. I have lots of Thoughts about social media, and I agree in general that it doesn’t do us a whole lot of good. I won’t digress, but here are two podcasts that I found particularly interesting to listen to in tandem.
First, a secular take from Freakonomics: Are you caught in a social media trap? I think that the research cited here is very helpful – we don’t really like social media, but we also have major fear of missing out. I think that there is a logical action on the end of this: take care to build spaces where social media is not required to participate.
Second, a Christian take from Mere Fidelity: Quit Social Media. The notes for this one aren’t up on their website yet, but you will find the episode in your podcast app. There were a lot of points I really appreciated here, especially about ‘default attention’ (when you aren’t using social media, where does your attention naturally go? If it’s about something you read or plan to share on social media…that’s not a great thing). I also liked Alistair’s point about filling up your time with so many other good things that social media only gets the dregs. One of my hopes in homeschooling my kids is that they would develop so many interests and joys that they will have very little time for things like social media when they are older.
What ideas/thinkers/experiences are shaping your thoughts around social media lately?
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