[A little practice] Which messages the social platforms are delivering to you? And are they compatible with your own view of the world?

One of the most thought-provoking points in “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari, for me, is when the author discusses about how important it is to assess each channel you are using to get information in this modern world, because:

With that, he aims to articulate the main messages each of the social platforms has suggested and delivered to us. And this, I believe, is even more valuable than the pure academic research and analyses about the topic, as it relies more on the thinking and self-reflection of his own experiences using them.

3 examples the author discusses are: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

_ First, for Twitter, he believes there are 3 main messages it delivers to us: (1) you shouldn’t focus on any one thing for long; (2) The world can and should be understood in short, simple statements of 140 characters. In other words, it should be interpreted and confidently understood very quickly; and (3) what matters most is whether people immediately agree with and applaud your short, simple, speedy statements. A successful post on Twitter is one that lots of people immediately applaud; while an unsuccessful one is when people ignore or condemn it.

_ Similarly, for Facebook, the author states its 3 messages as: (1) your life exists to be displayed to other people, and you should be aiming to show your friends edited highlights of your life every day; (2) what matters is whether people immediately like these edited and carefully selective highlights that you spend your life crafting; and (3) somebody is your “friend” if you regularly look at their edited highlight reels, and they look at yours – this is what friendship means.

_ But the most interesting (and hilarious) one is Instagram, with its 4 main messages: (1) what matters is how you look on the outside; (2) what matters is how you look on the outside; (3) what matters is how you look on the outside; and (4) what matters is whether people like how you look on the outside.

Now, the main value of this little practice is actually when he compares these values with his own view of the world, which he states as:

And, isn't it astonishing when he states that in fact, he realizes the times when he’s been most successful on Twitter – in terms of followers and retweets – are the times when he has been least useful as a human being: when he’s been attention-deprived, simplistic, vituperative.

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After that, he would return to the printed books and do the same for them. So what are the messages we can get from the printed books?

_ First, life is complex, and if you want to comprehend it, you have to set aside a fair amount of time to think deeply and thoroughly about it. You need to slow down.

_ Second, there is a value in leaving behind your other interests, worries, and concerns, and narrowing down your attention to one thing, line after line, page after page.

_ And third, it is worth putting yourself in other’s shoes, to learn how others live and how their minds work. Because they also have complex inner lives, just like you.

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Now, I believe most of us will tend to agree with these points, however with raising eyebrows and a little grain of salt. Because at the end of the day, social media have become so familiar and overused that no matter how much we know about their conflicting core values and potentially detrimental effects, it’s still very hard to even imagine that we'll have to stop using them.

But, hopefully, after reading (and maybe doing it again yourself) this little practice, at least you have a better view on these platforms.

Because, I believe, it’s truly the first step to take back your control and focus, which will definitely lead to a better life.