Social media ignorance is one of the things I am occasionally but mindfully practicing every day.
As they say, you can't stress over something you don't know, and that's why people would say ignorance is bliss. It is also why many people avoid the news and dive into gossip and entertainment instead.
It's important not to be too active on social media to the point that we are updated on almost everything happening to every person we know. I even wrote an article about unfollowing most of my Facebook friends and how it positively affected me.
In this post, I'll share why sometimes being unaware of what's happening to everyone can be good.
Table of Contents
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Social Media
Social media has many faces, and how we look at it and understand how it works will determine how much we are willing to be the "product" instead of the other way around.
The Good. Social media is a great place to connect and communicate with friends and families, gather news and information, learn new stuff, and relax.
The Bad. Social media encourages doomscrolling because that's their business model, causing people to waste their time and spend money carelessly.
The Ugly. Social Media controls the perception and narratives about many things, especially health, wealth, and politics. It's almost hard to identify what percentage of what we see on social media is true.
These faces of social media also affect relationships and how we view the world. So, implementing social media ignorance can be helpful.
The Genuine "How are you?"
How often have you seen an old friend or colleague and asked them how they've been, even if you already know some of the things they've been up to because of social media?
I realized that social media caused irreparable damage to the Filipinos' "Kumustahan" culture and made it harder to ask for something new.
So, when I unfollow my Facebook friends and bump into them somewhere, I can genuinely ask them how life has been for them instead of asking just to be polite or to "small talk."
The element of not knowing brought back the surprise to many of my interactions and having a genuine delight in hearing their recent stories.
Remove the Suit of Armor
Everyone has a suit of armor that we use as a façade. It can be a degree, a title, a business, or a social media personality. And frankly, we love using them to a fault.
But have you realized that talking with some of your old friends and not knowing what they're doing through social media can be a blessing? It even feels like nothing has changed.
We all experienced interactions with an old friend or acquaintance where we had nothing to discuss but their work because we saw it on their social media feeds.
Remember that social media is a curated highlight reel of many people's lives. They seldom include struggles and trials in their timeline because failure is not sexy.
However, I personally love talking about trials and failures because they keep us human. Hopefully, the younger generations of social media natives will learn to be more personal.
More time to think
It would be hypocritical to condemn people who are always active on social media because I also use it for this website's online presence, especially through Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
However, I want to emphasize the importance of being careful with social media and not oversharing everything.
Spending less time on social media and its many trappings gives me more time to think.
We Don't Have To Know Everything
Social media is a highlight reel curator. We don't have to be updated on the latest trends, news, and friend updates.
And like what I said about digital minimalism, important and urgent information will always find you.
Trying to know what's happening from people from your circle will always cause comparisons.
What's Next?
It would help if you also considered limiting your social media consumption.
- Install Appblocker on your phone.
- Install the News Feed Eradicator extension to your browser.
- Uninstall your social media applications so you can limit your exposure.
