what if There was a bank that will pay you for all the time you spend on social media.
In 2022 research shows that the average time spent on social media was 2 1/2 hours a day. That comes out to be 18 hours a week and 936 hours a year. 936 hours comes out to 36 days (about 1 month 5 and a half days) a year. Let us focus on the 18 hours a week. Think of all the things you can do by adding a day to your week.
I often hear people say I am too busy or there is not enough time in the day. 2 1/2 hours a day if used wisely can go a long way. The key here is to use it wisely. If you give up social media and let us, say trade it in for binge watching TV that is like giving up diet Pepsi and substituting it with Diet Coke. That is why I say use the time wisely. I am not saying quit social media all together use it as a reward and following people that are positive. Try not to follow the ones that are complaining about politics, constantly putting down others or taking a picture of litter on their street with a caption that reads “I wonder how long this will sit here.” FYI that last one is a true post.
If I owned a bank let us call it MS Bank in this bank you bring in your tablet or phone. We check your log and see how many total hours logged on social media and you can trade those hours in for money, 6 pack abs, vacation with family, a promotion, degree, or time spent with a loved one that is no longer here would you trade in that time spent on social media? Wait, I can trade in the time spent last year for some of those things you mentioned? The line for MS bank would be huge, longer than any concert, or Super Bowl.
YET if I said going forward starting today you could work on all those things with those 18 hours a week you would call me crazy, and no one would trade in their precious time on social media for effort. I get it social media is easy, it is instant gratification, and it keeps you safe.
ONE of the main goals of our brains is to keep us safe.
What do I mean by keep you safe? For hundreds of years our ancestors were living in caves constantly in fight or flight mode. All their brains did was focus on survival, reproduction and keeping you out of harm's way. What does getting attacked by a lion have to do with spending time on social media vs working on yourself?
If you want to become an artist and paint pictures, or an author and publish a book, or go out on your own and start a business, that is scary. Scary and danger could be in the form of others laughter or posting comments, or WORSE you may fail. Everything you put out there is an extension of you and the animals will not attack but people will and that is not safe.
So instead, you keep all your dreams up in your head and just sit on social media, the BRAIN’s job is to protect you and any extension of you.
What could you do with 2 extra hours a day, 18 extra hours a week or 1 month and 5 and half days a year? Stop dreaming about it and take tiny steps towards your dreams.
Stay genuine!