This is based on an answer offered on Episode 12 of Hustleburg.
Question: With everything that’s going on recently, sometimes I need a little break from seeing the constant news cycle, especially about COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. What do you recommend for when you just want to unplug and think of happy or educational or fun things? I love using Facebook to promote my business, I just need a break. I feel bad, and like I’m not putting my business first by taking that break.
Take a Break
If you find that you need a break from social media’s onslaught of news and posts about COVID-19, the 2020 election, or whatever has you feeling this way, push back your laptop, close the platforms or the apps on your phone that you’re using. Take a literal break, by going for a walk around the block, calling to check in on your mom (she says you don’t do that enough anyway), playing or snuggling with your dog, cat, or whatever pet is in your home (they are also saying that you don’t do that enough).
Then, just turn off notifications on your phone and shut your laptop for a while. Only enable the ones that you absolutely must have on for the phone. If you’re an iPhone user, you can enable Bedtime, which is a feature in your settings to take a break in the clock app. Many Android phones have something called Zen mode, where you can’t do anything on the phone except to receive calls for a specified time so that you can disconnect. Use this “unplugged” opportunity to pick up that book or your Kindle to read for fun for an hour.
Focus on Something Else
Personally, I’ve taken to trying to meditate more, using an app on my phone to do so. By doing so, I get to relax while I ignore the world around me for 5, 10, or 20 minutes, by focusing inward, on happiness, or my relationships with other people.
You likely have some “extra” time right now due to a lack of commute, and you can use it for some self-care or to develop yourself. Think of that time as an opportunity, because no one is expecting that you’re going to be “on” all the time, that you’re going to be online all the time, and that it isn’t going to be something that does kind of drive you away.
Now that you’ve taken that break for yourself, I have some great news for you. When it comes to your online experience, you actually find what you seek online. The platform’s algorithms are designed to give you what they calculate that you want to see. If you interact with political posts, they’ll show you more politics. That also means that if you engage with stories about kindness, you’re going to see more kindness. Who couldn’t use seeing more about kindness and the good in the world?
The Good News – You’re in Control
I recently listened to an interview with the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, who designed the newsfeed for Facebook before moving over to Instagram. During that interview, he confirmed that they really try to tailor what you see online with the type of things that you engage with. So, the good news is that you truly hold the keys to design your own online experience.
Ready for the even better news?
Your most recent activity holds greater weight for the algorithms than your older activity. That means that the best time to change your online behavior, in an effort to change what you see, is NOW. Start engaging with the people, groups, and pages that bring you joy by making you the happiest. Disengage with those that are dragging you down by blocking them, unfollowing them, and just scrolling by. If you make your focus to comment on, click on, and like the posts that give you something of value, while disengaging with the people, pages, and groups that don’t, you’re going to see a huge change in what’s in your feed. By taking control over what you see online and who you interact with, you’re actually going to see a complete shift in what’s presented to you in your feed, no matter which social media platform that’s got you down.
Here’s How It Will Change
I remember a period of time when I worked in the non-profit political world, where everything in my feed was political stuff. Today, that’s really not the case, because I unfollowed many pages, I left a lot of groups, and I’m no longer connected with many of the people I was. I no longer interact with many of the same people that I did in that world, and it has completely changed the way social media is presented to me. It’s very rare that I see a political post that isn’t just the news of the day. There’s hardly ever political opinion within them, so I know from experience that you really can switch this on and off, almost like a light switch or a really fast dimmer.
If you are discouraged about what you’re seeing, whether it’s the upcoming 2020 elections, coronavirus, or whatever it is that just has you down, know that you can change what’s in your feed just by fine-tuning who you even allow to put things in your feed, and who you engage with among those that do have that permission.