Our attentions span are diminishing by the second. We’re struggling to focus. We find ourselves mid-task, yet we simply cannot resist a 50th poke at our phones.

Even though the chance of new any new notifications in the past 30 seconds is pretty darn small. But still, we go for it. As ridiculous as it is. We’re simply glued. 

It’s been a little over a decade since social media creeped into my life (before I flushed most of it away!) but for the kids of today, social media will have been around since they were 0 years old.

And what’s worse is the earlier they’re on it, the harder it is to get off it. And the more they’re on it, the less they’ll be able to focus on stuff they really need to be focusing on. Ahem, school. But then again who really needs school now with ChatGPT kids will practically get their very own personalised teachers in no time!

Ironically, all this social media is crushing kids’ social skills (and the rest of us), that’s if they weren’t already squeezed thanks to covid and the lack of proper, face-to-face interaction. IRL.

Too many parents are shoving iPads and all sorts of other screens to their kids to get them out of their hair. Well, that’s a schmooze for another day! 

The illusion that fools us all 

Social media is like a candy store, no matter if you’re 4 or 40. It gives us that rush of dopamine we know and love but too much of it and it starts to get a little dangerous. 

All this immediate, super-instant gratification makes it harder and harder for us to say no to things now that will lead to something far greater down the road.

And investing is the perfect example. We could either splash out like it’s ’99 and have next to nothing later down the line. SCARY.

Or we could tone down our spending, delay the instant feeling of fun and excitement & make the decision to invest our money and enjoy the fruits of our sacrifices later down the line. Learn how to master these 7 money moves to never have regrets with money ever again.

Easy choices = hard life, hard choices = easy life. You choose

The easy choices now (like ticking on Tik-Tok for hours on end) will lead to a harder life later down the line. There’s no denying that. So have the strength to make the hard choices now i.e. less fake socials and more reals! Got my sneaky pun?

Don’t fall into doing things simply because literally everyone is doing them. After all, they’re called Big Tech for a reason! 

And there’s nothing more dopamine-inducing than Tik-Tok. What could be better than 15-second funny vids? And who would’ve thought that short clips could be so screen hugging. Back in lockdown (the OG one in March ’20), I downloaded Tik-Tok and joined in the online-lockdown-fun.

If I’m honest, clips were hysterical sending me into fits of laughter for at least 10mins but things became a lot less amusing when I realised 3 hours, 3 precious hours that can never be bought back, had vanished before my eyes.

I soon said bye-bye to the ticking tease. Though 80% of the Gen Z and Millennials actually get their financial advice from social media! Here’s how to make it work for you NOT against you. Maybe it’s not all that bad?

Don’t give your most precious asset away for free

Attention is our most precious asset and companies have cottoned on to that. They’ve realised that to sell us stuff, they need to get us hooked.

Their #1 goal is to make sure we’re on their apps for as long as possible. Hence those stupid refresh things (swipe down again and again and again) at the top of social media pages.

It keeps us hungry for more. For better, more interesting and engaging content than the previous ones.

With all these ‘free’ social media sites, we’re tricked into thinking that we’re getting something for nothing. But that’s never the case. And companies certainly aren’t charities!

Little do we realise when something’s free, there’s a hidden cost to it and someone, somewhere always pays.

When these things (from insta to Snapchat) are shown to us as free, we’ve gotta think why it’s free to begin with. And what companies are after is our moola.

And how do they get us to spend more of it? By showing us exactly what we want before we even know ourselves. And how do they know what we want? By using, sorry – by nicking our data. 

In exchange for our scrolling, we’re giving away our personal data. Let’s face it, we’re hooked. And it’s not us that win; it’s Big Tech. We’re becoming more insular.

We’re finding it harder to build mental resilience. And all for what? To see some beach babe’s bod on insta? We feel rubbish about ourselves when all we see are someone’s perfectly curated best life pics. All the time. Psst: practice this 1 habit every day and you’ll be happier + richer.

One big fat lie

Social media. Lol. The name itself stinks of one big fat paradox. Social? Really? C’mon, it’s the most un-social thing ever. ‘Interacting’ behind a screen with our online persona (aka the fake you) is anything but social.

It’s tearing us away from our family & friends – the ones we should really be spending time with, in real-time btw, not over our phones.

And media? I’m not sure I call 15-second vids or 2-second snaps media. Though maybe that’s just how things have evolved. And this is the new kind.

Whichever lens you look at it from, social media is a drug we’re given so that companies can make more money from advertisers through selling our very own personal data. Cracking business model if you ask me!

Back when I had social media, I wasn’t really fully present. I was forever making stupid poses and fake smiles all for some 5 second story. And it was draining since I’m not exactly photogenic.

Whenever I’d go to a restaurant or take a vacay, I’d snap it all. Snap, snap, snap. I got that rush of dopamine when I’d get loads of (yes, very pointless) story views and tons of replies. It honestly sounds so lame looking back at it now, but it felt so normal then. 

But it was all for nothing really and I missed out on many moments because I was too glued to my silly screen. Thankfully I snapped out of it and deleted the yellow app before high school was over. Phew.

And it’s not just our data these guys are stealing from us. It’s our time, too. Time is something you can never get back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone I’m afraid. Time is our biggest and best asset.

There’s a reason people want more money and, no, it’s not to buy a third island. It’s to buy back time. To be able to do more of the things you love and less of the things you don’t.

Time is finite. And it’s precisely that that we’re after. And social media tears us away from that could-be reality. It makes us addicted to the here and now. We can’t help ourselves.

So it’s time we start being more intentional with our time. We’ll feel healthier, happier and richer.

It’s time to get off your phone and see the world around you. Through your eyes; not a phone camera lens! 

You won’t regret it. I promise you that.

Disclaimer: This blog is not investment or financial advice. It is my opinion only. This blog is not a personal recommendation to buy/sell any security, or to adopt any such investment strategy. Always do your own research before you commit to any investment.