Beyond Social Media.

In this world of social media, where anyone can easily comment on any subject or individual without necessarily having the knowledge or understanding of them, the spread of venom and mockery is growing day by day. The increasing percentage of negative thoughts over positive ones is clearly visible. Prioritising mental peace over getting angry at something irrelevant just because it landed on our social media feed is the need of the hour.

Social media, which was once meant to connect with friends, has now turned into a marketing platform where millions run behind viral hooks and shrinking attention spans, while influencers attempt out-of-the-world acts to sell what they were paid to promote.

When I realised that my mental health was being influenced by social media accounts, I deactivated all of them. I can now proudly say that I use zero social media. My mobile is occupied only with essential apps for calling, messaging family, friends & business contacts, email and medium for reading and writing. Nothing else.

Sometimes, I miss following good people whom I admired in the business world, but that is a minimal sacrifice compared to the tragic impact on my mental health.

I am listing down the benefits I have experienced while staying away from social media.

Benefits of Zero Social Media:

1. Not all problems are my problems: Why should I fill my head with information that is not meant for me and that negatively affects my thinking process. It is useless to get angry at some random person just because someone posted about their wrongdoing and it triggered my emotions.

2. Prioritising mental hygiene: Staying away from nonsensical hook videos, viral posts, and toxic content is important while prioritising mental health. Entertainment has slowly turned into endless junk scrolling.

3. No fake news: With the added ignition of AI in an already chaotic social media environment, distinguishing between authentic and fake content has become extremely difficult. Practically, we cannot fact-check everything. It is better to stay away from social media news and ignore the fear of missing out on something important firsthand. There is nothing wrong with hearing world news a little late rather than believing fake news first.

4. Keeping my spending in a safe zone: Social media has ultimately turned into a core marketing platform, with influencers coming up with highly creative advertisements for big brands. Attractive offers often tempt people into buying things that are unnecessary or worthless. Even when we try to resist impulse purchases, the probability of buying increases because of the marketing tactics used by influencers. The icing on the cake is the questionable durability or genuineness of many products. Most of the time, the actual product looks entirely different from what was advertised, and we realise we were misled.

5. No overnight millionaire business proposals: As this is an era dominated by marketing and influencers, the financial sector is also heavily in the spotlight. Creative promotions for financial products and “get-rich-quick” rhetoric are everywhere. Ultimately, the authenticity of many such products is questionable, and it is safer to stay away from them.

6. No fake friends: It is enough to stay in touch with five to six people whom we personally know rather than trying to reach thousands of people we have never met and may never meet in our lifetime. I do not ignore the fact that everyone we come across is fake and there are good souls out in the world. But realistically, think about the ratio. They are probably one in a thousand.

7. My privacy is protected: The importance of privacy is realised only when our identity is put at risk by some random guy hiding behind social media walls. Prevention is always better than cure.

8. Staying away from scammers: Needless to say, it is better to avoid messages claiming that Elon Musk or Bill Gates has selected us for a lottery prize or a free moon trip. It is easier to stay away from scams when we are not constantly exposed to them via social media.

9. Saving ample time: My time is now truly my own. I spend it on my own terms rather than reacting endlessly to random posts, reels, and scrolls.

10. Staying away from distractions: One important thing in this fast-moving and noisy world is maintaining focus on what truly matters in our work and life, instead of constantly being distracted by notifications about useless memes or sensational celebrity gossip from the other side of the world.

I am not arguing that social media is entirely bad, but its purpose has gradually shifted from being truly social to becoming trap media. The chances of it genuinely doing good for you are probably decreasing over time. Let us try keeping it away and instead prefer a lifestyle that is truly enjoyable.

Beyond social media, I prefer spending time reading books that give me what I actually need in life. Mental support, financial advice, health & fitness guidance, personal growth lessons, business management insights, and, quite literally, a functional framework for leading my life better forward.

So, go beyond social media. Try reading books of your choice, and they will truly create a positive impact on your thoughts and life. They will change the way you look at the world.

Srikarthik Vasudevan