Have you ever timed how long you spend scrolling Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other social media sites? Do you play those fun games that let you space out and enjoy mindless entertainment that feels like a few minutes, but when you come back, you realize you’ve been online for hours?
There are many ways we occupy our time these days, and most of it is spent on social media each day. I have been trying to be more present in my life, and I realize it starts with limiting my time online.
I recently purchased Brick to help me limit my gaming and social media use. I set the parameters for the time I would like to spend on sites, and the Brick helps me limit my scrolling sensations. Currently, my social media sites shut off at 9:30 p.m. and tell me to “Go back to living,” even when I am in the midst of reading, scrolling, and responding to memes from my besties.
I realize that social media is helpful after a long day, when I want to see cats acting like jerks or kids dancing to the oldies. However, social media can also be a place where people pile on to negative news about other folks. The recent death of Cambridge University professor Jason Arday really exposed just how dangerous and toxic the internet can be.
Within a week of his demise, there were hundreds of stories and accusations and strangers adding their own brand of insults and speculation, which ultimately proved to be too much for one person to take. Social media has become a place where we can be swayed into being united or divided, depending on the topic.
Almost everyone I know uses social media differently. My niece essentially planned our entire amazing summer vacation based on research and recommendations from various social media accounts. However, just as an algorithm can provide information you’re looking for, it can also serve to reinforce already held opinions and create a calcified bubble of only similarly minded people for you to connect with.
It also serves up stories that can further create a “pile on,” and depending on the topic, could lead to truly devastating results. There are real people behind some of these stories, and just because we see them from behind a screen does not mean their lives are any less real or less valuable.
Let’s try this for a short spell: How about limiting your time on social media and accounting for what you do to fill the space in time? I, for one, am more aware of my surroundings and appreciate connecting with people … in real life.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is a professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.
