A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted a new shelf to house my stereo receiver and records, but didn’t want to spend any money procuring one. Being a fan of woodworking, I decided to round up what scraps were available in my dad’s garage, and put something together for myself. One of the boards I decided to use needed to be cut in half, as I wanted it to serve for two of the shelves. The easiest way to make a precise cut of this kind was on a table saw. So, I adjusted the blade to the proper depth for the wood I was working on, set the guard, laid the board down carefully, powered on the saw, and began pushing it through. When I finished the cut, I removed the side of the board that wasn’t held in between the blade and the guard, and then removed my hand from the other piece, while the saw was still on. At the same time that I stepped back, I realised my mistake. The blade caught the edge of the board still on the table, and threw it back at me, hitting me just below my ribcage, knocking the wind out of me and leaving a rectangular bruise on my abdomen. I stumbled forward and switched off the saw, then stood bent over with hands on knees as I struggled to catch my breath. The board had a violent curved cut in it, several inches long, and I chose to leave this facing outward on my shelf, where I could always see it, and remember my mistake.
From that moment onward, I have had a certain phobia about power tools, specifically saws. (I had an incident with a miter saw once as well, also totally my own fault, that hasn’t helped with this.) I say it’s a phobia, because a phobia is in particular an irrational fear. If these tools are used properly and with due caution, the chances of your being harmed while using them are very slim. If used improperly, and without a respect for what they’re capable of, tools can become very dangerous.
Social media is a tool that the vast majority of us use on a daily basis. Likely dozens of times a day, hundreds for some. It’s something that has a huge impact on the world that we live in, and though many would argue that this is a positive — that the difference it makes is largely producing a better world, and one with greater opportunity for more people — though many would take this stance, I would disagree, for this reason: for whatever the economical and technological effect of social media on the world, far greater is what it does beneath the surface, to the human psyche. For people such as myself, who already struggle a great deal with thoughts of inadequacy, doubt, and self-deprecation, services like Instagram and Facebook, which market themselves as outlets for creativity and communication, become holes of negativity and comparison, and keep you coming back by medicating your depression with endless distraction. This isn’t a fault of the tool itself, but an inevitable side effect of something with so much potential when put into the hands of creatures who have spent all of their history murdering one another in an effort to stay on the top wrung of the ladder. I’m not trying to be bleak, but reminding you of the power that people have over each other. Social media has the potential for great good, and I’ve seen and experienced for myself what that can look like. But you ought to ask yourself how much your life would suffer if you didn’t have it around.
With regard to specifics, I can speak only for myself. This discussion goes very deep, and each person has to answer for themselves the questions that arise in their hearts. I don’t know if Instagram hurts you more than it helps you. I couldn’t say whether you grow wiser of more foolish as a result of your time spent on Facebook. But I do think that you ought to be asking yourself these questions, and searching intently for the answers. I know that for myself, social media does much more harm than good.
For the month of October this year, I deleted Instagram from my phone. It may have been my most peaceful month of 2018. Beyond the simple fact that I spent much less time comparing myself to others, I was also somehow more peaceful. I don’t quite know how to quantify that, but when you live with stress, and uncertainty, and doubt, and then, suddenly, those thoughts are gone, not because you’ve become apathetic in life, but because you’re hopeful, and focused on the good rather than the negative, and you spend time being thankful rather than discontent — when that shift takes place, you become a much better version of yourself. If we were all able to be this way in our daily lives, the cumulative effect would, I believe, be something far stronger and more enlivening than the instant gratification that the phones in our pockets offer
Now, what I’m not saying is that ridding yourself of social media will instantly make you happy, healthy and wealthy. I’m not saying that Instagram is the cause of your depression, or that Facebook is making you ungrateful for the life you have. What I am saying is that these website have the potential to exacerbate problems that you may already have. I know they do so in my life. And frankly, taking a month-long break from social media isn’t enough for me. I need to do more than that. Because my health as a human is much more important that how popular my photos are on Instagram, and how engaged my audience is.
I will be taking active steps to get better in this area. I’ve already scheduled my Facebook account for permanent deletion (not simply deactivation). And an idea I’ve had for Instagram, is that I’ll delete the app, and only install it when I have something specific that I want to post. As I’ve said, I’ve experienced great things from that app, and I want to be able to use it for good in the future, rather than permanently and immediately removing myself from it. It is a useful tool, when used correctly. But when a tool isn’t helping you accomplish your goal, is it really worth using?
I challenge you to ask yourself what goal social media is helping you reach. What are you accomplishing through it that’s bettering you or those around you? If you can answer those questions and know that you’re making good use of the tools at your disposal, then you have something else to be thankful for. But if you can’t, then I think you should give serious thought to what role social media is playing in your life.
with love,
— Joel