Blog #5 Has Social Media Hijacked My Hobbies

It seems like all we do nowdays is scroll, swipe double tap and like. Social media is so addictive and has become the biggest drain on our attention. A quick google search will tell you that people spend an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day on social media.

Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook and even Twitter can be great and certainly have their pros. These platforms have allowed us to spread and share information so easily and Is a driving reason behind how progressive my generation is which is a positive. Social media however, is also highly addictive and can easily force us into comparing ourselves to others.

I'm not sure about you but I've recently been realising how much of my free time social media has eaten up over the years. I remember years ago finding it easier to put social media down and pick up some actual hobbies but it's gotten more addictive not less.

I remember enjoying picking up a guitar, a book, diving into a good show or video game but now its easier just to keep scrolling. When researching this week's blog I came across a study that stated that average social media use has increased by 20% since the pandemic.

Whilst we all do hold a level of responsibility for our phone and social media use these platforms do not make it easy for us to put them down. In the past 5 years I'm sure you've noticed a lot more content on your social media feed.

Previously you could log onto instagram, scroll down for 5-10 minutes and be completely caught up on your feed. Try log onto instagram today and scroll to the end of your feed. You can't, after the app runs out of posts from accounts you follow they just keep reccomending random content. Whether it's some aesthetic living room, some meme, a reposted tiktok or an advert instagram will keep feeding you content non stop.

Tiktok, it's powerful algorithm and never ending explore page are to blame for the current era of content saturation. As much as I love the app I can waste minutes, hours, days easily scrolling. This winning formula has caused the entire industry to follow and now each platform has a way to feed you endless content.

I never feel any better about myself after a social media binge. In fact I'm usually judging myself for not being productive or not living up to the "standards" set by "others" on social media. This is all so silly when these would not be problems if there was no social media.

As a part of a greater effort to live more authentically and to do what's best for my mental health I've gotten into some hobbies both new and old.

As I'm sure you can tell I've recently launched this blog and website. I've started reading like crazy, I'm dabbling with DAWs and learning guitar again. All of these hobbies are fantastic additions to my life. I may not be an expert or leader in any of these practises or fields but I'm having a great time.

Reconnecting with old hobbies and picking up new ones has led me to realise just how much time I was spending scrolling. I hate to admit it but up until recently my only hobby was scrolling. I'm now proud to admit I'm practising some better hobbies and I reccomend the same to you.

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