It’s Being Stolen From Us?

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What It’s About: Research informs us that we in North America touch our smartphones over 2,000 times a day, and our sleep has decreased by 20 percent over the past century. More than half of Americans, in one study, reported that they don’t read a single book a year. Hmmm.

I recently asked my MBA class to read Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Why? The author deeply believes we are collectively losing our capacity for sustained concentration, and the problem is getting worse on a daily basis. He points out how we’re not present in our lives for each other, and we’re not only losing our focus, it’s actively being stolen by social media platforms that primarily care about our increased screen time.

So What?: Perhaps our biggest challenge (even more than climate change etc.) these days is to reconnect with greater care for each other as humans, family, friends, co-workers, neighbors? If we aren’t in service to each other, then why are we really here on earth? Surely it can’t be for more screen time so that advertisement can get us to buy more stuff? But that’s all “so called free” social media platforms are built to do: TikTok, Meta/Facebook, Twitter , YouTube, Instagram, Google, SnapChat, etc. Even worse, their algorithms have proven that negativity and rage increases screen time!

Now What?: We need to reinvest in a People First commitment and to connect with each other before we jump into content. This means putting our phones down and taking more time listening and caring for people, both in person and virtually. The more we isolate ourselves, put up inauthentic posts of our perfect lives, and become polarized in echo chambers of negativity, the deeper the dark hole becomes. We also need some help from legislators and regulators. The social media companies CANNOT, by themselves, stop the downward spiral related to increased screen time. Their profit driven algorithm almost makes it impossible. We also need smart phone sabbaths AND protective legislation from our own weakness.

When we truly see each other and embrace our unique contributions, we are actively listening and engaged. Modern technology, including social platforms, can make our lives even richer. However, we must be in service to each other and focused on all that is required. Why would we let our souls be stolen?

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: This will be a long one from me, however as a social media content operator, I’ve had some time to think about this: A lot of people, especially content creators that have active and popular followings, are starting to say “uh oh, we’ve spiraled into a big ‘oopsie’ here.” They know best how gross (and in many cases, not even real) social media, especially Twitter, TikTok and Instagram have become. Some would argue Twitter has devolved into a toxic landfill for the Internet’s worst and bitterest anonymous voices, mainly fighting over politics and sports.

Even seasoned public figures, who know to disconnect, and especially ignore comments, have a psychological struggle to refrain. It’s electronic heroin. The negative always outshines the positive, even when the majority of comments are complimentary. It’s also my, and millions of other people’s jobs to constantly use and monitor it! How do you think I’ll be pushing this blog, and everything else we do? Not to mention the dopamine, serotonin, and all that other brain science I barely understand. Who even knows the lasting effects of this? Whoops! We all might need to go to Internet rehab, however no one wants to believe they have a problem.

A resolution might be a small fee for these services, which could weed out bots and people that realize it’s not worth spending money to spew vitriol. The deep, dirty, dark elephant in the room is that we’ve likely gone too far to turn around, and we also (in contrasting, collective kindness) don’t want to cast the stones/harsh judgment suggesting every single person in the world probably should not have such easy access to a public voice/opinion. After all, why should I be able to publish this, and someone else shouldn’t? The ugly truth is most of us (me included) DO have thoughts/opinions that are not meant for, and have no earned merit for the virtual consumption of thousands. That is also coupled with the lack of time/patience/grace for due diligence, fact checking, research, and analyzing context. We’ve seen people gain and lose real life friends, money, jobs, etc. And unlike that Photoshopped Instagram post, that’s where the virtual and real world can brutally cross lines.

We talk about leadership/culture on these blogs, podcasts, and social media, because it happens to have 45+ years of experience attached to it, and it’s aimed to help. We don’t have opinions on cars, because we don’t know much about cars.

Needless to say, thank you all for participating with us on social media, we’ll try our best to never let our content steal any souls. However, this is a good reminder, just be careful where you click out there, and consume as much real life away from your screen as you can.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

It’s Being Stolen From Us?

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