hey everyone and welcome to top thing
today we're going to learn about how
social media is destroying our brains
now let's begin number one editing our
lives life is full of important moments
think on your favorite vacations on
holiday dinners with your family on the
biggest stepping stones in your career
these are the kinds of moments that you
want to remember forever right but for
many people just remembering isn't good
enough they want a physical reminder of
what those moments felt like is so they
take pictures they record videos and
they keep souvenirs these reminders
transport them back in time letting them
relive the joy beauty or surprise of a
single moment from their past but when
you start posting those photos on social
media something strange happens you stop
focusing on the moment itself you stop
remembering what really happened and you
start thinking about what you can change
you start cutting photos you don't look
your best in even if that photo makes
you laugh or cry
you start doctoring how your experiences
looked or felt why is that because you
want other people to see how perfect and
powerful your life is many people on
social media are so focused on
displaying perfection that their real
life gets lost in the mix the person on
their profile may resemble an idealized
version of themselves they've changed
their whole life just to impress a bunch
of people on the internet if you start
editing your life you stop appreciating
how imperfect it can be if you look at a
sunset you might focus on taking the
perfect picture brightening the colors
or creating the right mood instead of
actually enjoying the sunset in real
time you pay less and less attention to
the powerful moments as they happen and
you stop appreciating experiences for
what they are each one just feels like
another opportunity to brag on social
media
number two dependence on reinforcement
views likes and comments are all
different kinds of positive
reinforcement positive reinforcement is
when someone gives you a reward for
doing something good imagine a parent
who gives their kid ice cream for
behaving at the doctor they're
reinforcing their child's good behavior
with a positive reward hence the name
positive reinforcement now on social
media virtual compliments are no
different than someone handing you an
ice cream each one makes you feel good
about yourself it tells you that someone
in the world likes you
admires you or even envies you it gives
you a boost of self-worth which
motivates you to keep going you might
feel special after posting a picture
online so you post another and then
another until you're posting on social
media every single day and just like
that you've become dependent on positive
reinforcement you started relying on
these platforms to make you feel good
and that can be dangerous if you don't
practice appreciating yourself it gets
harder and harder to do it on your own
you forget how to value yourself so
don't let social media take that away
from you the occasional boost never hurt
anybody but if you're fishing for
compliments online it can really mess
with your brain
number 3 wasting our time social media
is a notorious time waster without even
realizing it you might spend hours every
single day browsing through different
platforms some people lie awake in bed
scrolling through page after page until
it's suddenly 2:00 in the morning others
use social media in small bursts they
might spend only five minutes at a time
on their phone but they do this
every single hour of the day it seems
like they're barely ever on social media
but those five minute increments really
add up by the evening time you've lost
an hour or more of your time which you
could have spent on work hobbies or with
your family time is one area where
social media becomes especially
destructive
it twists the way you think it distracts
you with all those buttons pictures and
videos and your brain loses track of
time number four the motivation killer
social media and motivation are natural
enemies in fact social media is one of
the most common ways that people
procrastinate when you're feeling
stressed or insecure social media offers
you the chance to get lost in other
people's lives and leave behind the
stress of your own but there are plenty
of other time wasters that do the same
thing
take watching TV or playing video games
both of these activities distract your
mind from whatever it's supposed to be
doing but social media hurts your
motivation in a way that no other bad
habit does it destroys your productivity
and your self-esteem each time you
browse through social media you see
people doing amazing things maybe
they're traveling the world or chasing
their dreams now on the surface these
kinds of profiles seem inspiring right
but deep down they make you feel worse
about yourself you can't help but
compare your life to theirs so you hone
in on all the ways you wish your life
were different these comparisons tear
your motivation apart not just because
you're procrastinating with social media
but because you don't feel as satisfied
with the life you're living and that
makes you lazy so do yourself a favor
cut down on social media so this bad
habit doesn't ruin your motivation
number 5 blocking our happiness the
social media change your mood - most
social media seems harmless it's just
something you do when you're waiting in
line or trying to fall asleep but social
media isn't just a way to pass the time
it can actually stop you from being
happy a 2013 study from the journal PLoS
ONE discovered that avid Facebook users
feel less satisfied and not just with
their jobs or social circles but with
their lives in general people who
frequently used Facebook we're lonelier
had lower self-esteem and they felt less
supported
now on the other hand people who rarely
used their accounts were more fulfilled
and confident oh but it's not just
Facebook no no another study from 2017
published in the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine tested this on 11
different media platforms they tried
everything from Instagram to Reddit they
even collected data from career oriented
platforms like LinkedIn but no matter
where they looked the results were
always the same social media had a
negative effect on people's happiness
and avid users had higher perceived
isolation in other words even if you
have a lot of friends you'll still feel
lonely and less satisfied I know social
might seem like a fun way to pass the
time but the truth is it can stand in
the way of your happiness number 6 the
cycle of jealousy every time you log on
to your account you participate in a
jealous cycle in fact many social media
users try to create that jealousy in
other people the cycle of jealousy
starts when you browse through the
profile of someone you admire now in
your eyes they're doing something
amazing and you respect or you envy them
for it so you try to make your profile
look amazing too but that just means
someone else is gonna look at your
pictures and think wow I wish I was
doing that and they're going to carry
that feeling into their own virtual
lives and just like that a chain of
jealousy can span across dozens or even
hundreds of people so how does that
jealousy impact your brain suddenly
you're not thinking about the life you
want you're not living for you anymore
you're living to make other people
jealous you only feel satisfied when
people envy you and you get bitter when
they don't
my point is social media pulls you into
this vicious cycle if you're not careful
you'll lose sight of what really matters
number seven forecasting errors many
people make a basic cognitive error
every time they log on to social media
they expect social media to have a
positive impact
on their lives they expected to be fun
helpful and satisfying them but it
rarely ever is when you expect to feel
one thing and then end up feeling
another you're making something called a
forecasting error in this case your
forecast said you're gonna have fun but
reality had something different in store
forecasting errors are incredibly common
in combination with bad habits you
convince yourself this time is going to
be different and then end up regretting
your decision doing this once or twice
as natural but what happens if you make
the same forecasting errors over and
over again well not surprisingly it's
gonna make you feel worse and it'll take
its toll on your self-discipline so be
realistic with yourself just because
something seems like a good idea in the
moment it doesn't mean it actually is
number eighths rifts in our
relationships social media impacts more
than just your thoughts and your move it
also damages your relationships it pulls
you away from your friends it creates a
whole bunch of unnecessary tension and
it weakens the bond that the two of you
share okay just imagine you're grabbing
lunch with your friend you're excited to
see them and tell them what's been going
on in your life but they spend the whole
time taking pictures of their food and
updating their story they smile when
other people like their post but they're
barely paying attention to you now
wouldn't that drive a wedge in your
relationship this happens all the time
for people who overuse social media
their friends feel neglected and social
media changes their priorities they
start to value virtual connections more
than real ones and before they know it
they're actual friends start to fade
away hey thank you for watching Top
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