Tip# 7 – Part 1 – Block Out Social Media to Save Your Brain

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In the last 20 years the internet has allowed social media businesses like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snap-chat become really popular.

Even though the intention was GOOD to connect people together the outcome was some what ambiguous. Ambiguous? Social media did connect people as it should but it also increased ANXIETY, WORRY & DEPRESSION due to social comparison.

While going around Facebook groups I have stumbled upon one comment from a person who was really affected by social comparison. This person wrote:

“When I had my other account there were may be a thousand people I knew or peers and I would look and wonder why my life wasn’t as exciting as theirs and it would get me so down. Then I’ve realized I was running my own race and I should not compare myself to anyone else. I deleted the other Facebook account and have not looked back.”

What is Social Comparison anyway?

As Ajit Nawalkha said on an Impact Theory interview:

“Social comparison has always existed in our lives when we would meet people we would instantaneously compare ourselves to them. What can I take from that person? Am I better or worse then them? That was our measuring stick for the longest time and that is just human nature and it is okay until it becomes an addiction. Previously social comparison was I met a person, I compared myself, I went back home, I forgot about the person. Now you remember the person every second because they are in your feed on Instagram it causes anxiety, it causes more stress and most of the time it gets people to DO MORE THINGS. Doing more does not necessarily mean MORE SUCCESS.”

If they seem to be BETTER, then I must be WORSE is our brain's projection.

However, this may not be the case at all, if you actually found out about their lives then you might discover that they may be worse off then you are. In real life we usually would see people less and that would paint a different perceptual picture in our brains so that our social comparison is minimal. But on social media it is MEGA COMPARISON and it is NONE STOP the second you open one of your social media accounts.

SOLUTIONS 

Things you want to STOP doing:

1. Reduce checking all of your social media accounts by minimum 50% 

2. Stop watching TV news + listening to Radio by minimum 50 %

Things you want to START doing:

1. Check all of the social media accounts combined for 10 min maximum per week

2. Install these apps on all of your computers:

          - Blocksite - https://blocksite.co/

          - Kill News Feed - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/kill-news-feed/hjobfcedfgohjkaieocljfcppjbkglfd

          - F.lux - https://justgetflux.com/

          - Dayboard - https://dayboard.co/ 

3. Find 1-2 people you can hang out with on regular basis or do something similar

4. Remove all SOCIAL MEDIA apps from your cellphone

(note: the desire to reinstall them will be INSANE and you will install them again, but don’t worry just remove them again and continue removing until your addiction has been reduced to 80-90% and the urge does not appear anymore).

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