Navigating Social Media: Finding Balance in a Digital World

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the demands of maintaining an online presence? Join me as I share my personal journey of growing disillusionment with social media. Once a tool for reconnecting with loved ones, it now seems like a vortex of negativity and noise. This episode is an honest reflection on the changing landscape of social media, complete with do's and don'ts on etiquette, the importance of fact-checking, and being genuine. I also invite you to share your own experiences and thoughts, fostering a space for constructive dialogue and mutual support.

If ever there was a time for a digital detox, it is now. The time for discovering real connections has never been more important than they are in this hour. My biggest questions are can I do this without losing the podcast and our listenership and how can I tow the line without making this crazy media world a larger part of my life than I want it to be.

As an introvert, the pressure to stay constantly connected online has been particularly taxing. Together, we'll explore the impact of social media on mental health and our ability to find true rest. Is it possible to thrive both personally and professionally without it? In contemplating my future social media engagement, I seek your wisdom and support. Let's evaluate what truly matters and whether we can find balance in our digital lives. Your engagement means the world to me, so don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel for more heartfelt discussions. 

Hope you enjoyed today's episode! You can find and subscribe to our show on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Theycallmemistayu

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Chapters

• 0:31 Reflecting on Social Media Use
• 13:14 Navigating the Impact of Social Media
• 21:16 Rethinking Social Media Engagement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:31

Thank you. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the All Purpose Pod for an all-purpose life. Wherever you are and however you're listening to the Call Me, mr U the Podcast, we thank you again for making us a part of your week. We are loving the support coming from you guys. We're very excited about it. Thank you again. I know I am for all your comments and questions for our show and just for your liking and sharing us and chiming in and just being supportive, and even though that finance financially support us, we definitely appreciate that as well. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with this show. We're going over a little bit over four seasons now and I know that it's not.

Speaker 1: 1:11

It hasn't been an easy road. If you listen to any bit of our shows from the first three seasons, you know how transparent I've been about my life and you've gotten to hear stories that when you and I are face-to-face you probably would never hear. For some reason I felt compelled to share a lot of it here. So wink, wink inside scoop If you want to know more about Mr U. The first three seasons of our show tell you a lot. I'm okay with it. It just felt like the best form to share it as opposed to some face-to-face conversations. I'll share a lot at the dinner table, so if I'm eating at your house or you're at mine's, you might hear plenty there. But the first three seasons of our show they Call Me Mr you the podcast had definitely revealed a lot, but it's a good thing to know. I think it's instructional and a cautionary tale on things not to do. So I'm excited about how much you guys are growing from that and what I'm hearing back from you as far as response and feedback. Thank you for doing that.

Speaker 1: 2:18

I want to talk to you today, kind of be kind of candid. Today I feel like I always am, but today I don't have no agenda when it comes to teaching anything like that. I call this show the all-purpose pod for an all-purpose life for a reason specifically because I feel like this is a forum to talk about most anything and do it constructively, positively, instructionally, and they're not turning into the kind of mess you see on social media, for example. So this is one of those episodes. I just got something on my heart. I'm going to just spit it out and hopefully it lands well. But what I want to talk about was social media. But what I want to talk about was social media Now. I've discussed it a few times before, but I guess this is a little different, a lot more personal.

Speaker 1: 3:12

I'm going to just start off with a statement, just to put it out there and just be honest about it. Some of you guys are already there. Some of you guys have no idea what I'm talking about and you're wondering what's wrong with me Once you hear what I'm getting ready to say. Let me know what side you land on, by the way I'm talking about, and you're wondering what's wrong with me once you hear what I'm getting ready to say. Let me know what side you land on. By the way, I'm okay with either one, but I am at the point now where I'm just really tired of social media. Now, a lot of you guys already been there. You've been there long before me. You've graduated from that. You're doing different things. I respect you so much.

Speaker 1: 3:45

I wasn't there when you were there, but I'm at a place right now, in this moment, and it's not momentarily. I've been feeling this for a little while now. I'm just completely tired of it. I'm struggling to find the value in social media. On the whole, I'm struggling to find it. I'm struggling to see I might go into a social media therapist and a counselor. I don't need that kind of service. It is what it is, but I'm at the place now where I don't even see the point of it.

Speaker 1: 4:18

Now, originally, from what I understood the way it was presented to us, it was for reconnecting with family and catching up with old classmates, and that kind of stuff Sounds great on the surface. Call me bro, text me, fam. It's better because we get into a lot more of the why and the things that I'm seeing and I might even ask you guys some questions about this and see what you think. Have you chime in? Drop some comments? Let me know what you think, cause I definitely want to hear you guys' opinions. And again, I thank you if you guys feel this podcast is valuable to you. Period overall and you've been blessed by the things that we talk about. Man, I can't ask for more. I appreciate it so much. Thank you for continuing to support us and standing up with us and sharing us and subscribing to our show. I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 5:15

When it comes to social media, I got a lot of questions and a lot of them are not getting the answers that I want. But there are a lot of do's and don'ts to social media. You know stuff like accurate spelling I mean, that's what spammers do so you got to make sure you spell stuff right. Don't automate, you know. Share stuff without fact checking. Don't do that kind of stuff. Don't post the same content everywhere. Don't be needy and and guilt trip folks on social media. I see it all the time, especially on Twitter. Guess you guys don't like me, no more, I'm deactivating forever and they're back there 30 minutes later. It's weird stuff, man. Don't spam. There's a whole lot of do's and don'ts. I don't even know what the do's are at this point.

Speaker 1: 6:00

I guess just be honest and authentic and don't take stuff personal, especially when it comes to stuff you have no control over. I get all of that stuff, but for myself. Mr U is kind of just getting tired of the whole scene and I have several social media platforms that I routinely post on. I'm not even hanging out in a lot of these places. I'm posting stuff regarding the podcast, just trying to promote, make people aware of what I'm doing, without being a burden, without being annoying. That's all I'm trying to accomplish. I'm not trying to hang out in these places and do what people are trying to do and get these large numbers. Honestly, I don't even care About how many followers I have in these places. I'm really over it If I can't have meaningful conversations and productive conversations and actually help people and receive help.

Speaker 1: 6:51

I'm asking myself what are we doing out here on social media? I mean, just to be honest. It is a world that you have to simply learn how to navigate. There's no getting around that. You got to learn how to navigate this world. It's a different space. It's different than my space back in the day. It's different now TikTok and Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, linkedin, even it's different. If you got Snapchat and Twitch, it's a whole different level. It's just different.

Speaker 1: 7:19

Ask yourself what your purpose is for using it. Now, that sounds pretty simple, but I caution you to think about it before you answer that question. What's your purpose for using social media? Why do you do it? If you have a list, even better, I suggest you write it out. What's your purpose for using social media? Why do you? I don't care what your friends are doing or your old coworkers or your old classmates from high school. I'm asking you why do you use it? Because, whatever that reason is, it needs to be strong. That why is to be strong? Because when it hits the fan and it's all kind of junk and toxicity and vitriol on social media, that why is going to be the only thing that keeps you from deactivating or going on mute for weeks, months or whatever it is. Ask yourself why you use it. My question is this among all the questions that I have for you guys today Is social media an escape for you from your life, from your reality?

Speaker 1: 8:29

Do you go to social media to escape your life? Is it a hiding place from your responsibilities? Is it a way to not have to do certain things that you're responsible for doing? Does it give you an alibi to avoid that stuff? Is social media the only place that you have been able to find or locate friendships that are authentic? Is social media the only place you can find that? I mean we talk about friends and followers, but it doesn't really mean friends. In a lot of cases In Facebook, perhaps, because you're actually Connecting with people who are actually your friends, who you have Some kind of prior relationship with. I get it, but is that the only place that you can locate friendship authentically.

Speaker 1: 9:19

Is social media the only place that you feel accepted the comments and the posts and tweets that I see? They're almost Mind-blowing to me. People are saying things like If I don't Get somebody to talk to me right now, I'm going to kill myself. I've seen this kind of stuff On social media. Now I'm not even sure if it's true, if it's legitimate or not. I see people say you know what? I got a sickness? Showing them in beds with tubes, in hospital beds, with tubes in their arms and in their nose, saying please send some money my way and go fund me. And I'm like who's sending the picture? I mean, I'm just wondering what's going on out here in social media. There's a lot of things to be hesitant about. But my question is is that the only picture you feel accepted? I hear the kind of comments that sound like cries for help, like for real. I'm like and you're trying to find it in a stranger on social media. Really, what do you think is going to happen here? These are just things to be thinking about.

Speaker 1: 10:23

For me, my feelings are pretty clear on it. For me, my feelings are pretty clear on social media. There's not really anything hidden If we're talking face-to-face, if you know me, and we've been talking recently, as in within the last month or so. My feelings on it are pretty clear. I'm pretty much tired of it. At this point I'm not going to say I know how to disconnect. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you guys do. How do you disconnect from social media permanently for a portion of time? How do you portion your time out when it comes to social media? Do you go on once at a particular time of the day? Do you go on once a week? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please share those with me.

Speaker 1: 11:11

I'd love the encouragement because, for me, I have a trash bag mentality when it comes to getting rid of old stuff. My wife will tell you that when I first got saved and I first received Jesus Christ as Lord, I was on fire. I got baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit All of that stuff within four days and I got all the trash bags that I can find and I put everything in it. Almost that I owned, everything that represented my whole life, went into a trash bag. If it was a shirt that an old girlfriend bought for me, it went into the trash bag. If it was a trinket that I bought from a trip out of town. It went in the trash bag, even furniture. I couldn't put it in the trash bag, too big for that, but it went to the trash nonetheless. I trash bagged everything and what I'm trying to do is not be impetuous or hasty in this situation and trash social media altogether, even though I feel like it sometimes.

Speaker 1: 12:10

I want to just say deactivate, delete the app. Mr U ain't never coming back. That's where I'm at, sometimes a lot of the time, but I don't want to do that. So I want to hear you guys' thoughts. Let me know how you deal with social media, how you put the time in, if you're involved in it at all and, if you are, how much, how often? How do you handle not getting caught in a rabbit hole and losing hours of your day checking for messages and scrolling and listening to reels and things like in funny videos and that kind of stuff? Show me how you avoid the rabbit hole. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Sincerely, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please send those to me via the comments section of this show, or you can send it to me personally, or however you can reach me. I'd love to hear that from you, please. I'd love to hear your help.

Speaker 1: 12:58

Some questions I've been having about this is can I do a podcast without it? I believe this podcast situation is God-ordained. I believe it is of Him. Even how I got the equipment. I shared the story many times in the past. It was almost practically free. How I shared the story. Many times in the past it was almost practically free.

Speaker 1: 13:14

How I got the equipment, the last thing I wanted to do as a self-professed introvert was to have my voice on the air, so to speak, on radio. It feels like, you know, for people to see it, much less a video of me on YouTube. People could see my face and my background. That's the last thing I wanted. Introverts don't want that, despite popular belief, they don't want that at all. They want the opposite Peace, freedom and leave me aloneness. That's what they want. So to do this podcasting thing it wasn't about me at all. There's no agenda. I didn't have some massive plan to get rich and famous off of you guys. This was something I felt led to do and I'm only doing it because of that, and there's a lot of things that I shouldn't be doing. I'm making changes in those areas. I have made changes in those areas and I'm streamlining the whole process of what I do On the Call Me MrU and what I'm doing going forward.

Speaker 1: 14:08

But I have some questions, like can I do podcasting without it? Can I podcast without social media? There's some good resources out there, some people who have experience in this realm and they're podcasting without social media. I don't know how they're doing it, but they're doing it. I have a question If they call me Mr, you Can Survive without all these platforms? I don't know. Will you listen if I'm not on TikTok anymore? Will you listen if I'm not posting on Facebook every episode? Will you listen if I'm not tweeting what we got coming up as a preview for our show? Will you still listen if I'm not on Instagram posting pictures of the show? Will you still listen? Can this show survive without it? I don't know. Here's my question for you.

Speaker 1: 14:55

While we're asking all these questions, here's another question Can you survive without social media? That's a question to think about, right. Can you survive without social media? Can you make it without habitually scrolling and checking your messages every day? Can you make it? Can you do your job, your eight-hour job or whatever it is, without having to peek in to see if somebody responded to your tweet?

Speaker 1: 15:22

Does your time of rest include scrolling and answering messages? Is that how you rest? Is that your idea of rest and relaxation when you go on vacation with your spouse and your family? Do you have to have your Instagram on high alert? Do you have to check things and check messages? Do you have to shoot a video Just to show you all your friends on social media where you're at and what you're doing?

Speaker 1: 15:50

Man, this is crazy. When you step back and look at it, it's like this is insane. This is. I know we're evolving into this and it's considered progress by a lot of people, but I'm like is it? Are we progressing or are we regressing? I'm just asking People getting stressed out about having these online fights and disputes about a team they don't even play for, attacking each other, calling each other out their name, even death threats, or people threatening not to be your friend no more, all because of a team you don't even play for.

Speaker 1: 16:32

But we keep going back to it. And for what? My question to you? I've asked many questions for you. I'd love for you to answer those because I think you might help myself and you might help others who are listening to this show. I'd love to hear your thoughts about social media as a whole and why you're involved with it, why you're doing what you're doing and are you finding it to be worth it? I know I'm asking you a lot of questions. I'd love to get all the answers, if it's possible. I know it's a lot of your time to answer all these questions, but I got plenty of them and I'm just asking because I need to know myself, Because for me excuse me I'm at a point where I feel like social media has outlived its usefulness in my life.

Speaker 1: 17:16

Now I recognize that that could severely impact what I do from a media standpoint. I totally understand that. I understand that perhaps I may be, in some people's minds, biting the hand that feeds me. I hear all of that in the hand that feeds me. I hear all of that. I could spend days and weeks asking for 10 YouTube subscribers and it would take me months to get there. So I wonder if anybody that I'm connected with is even listening or even engaged in social media enough to even see my messages and help us out with the goals that we have.

Speaker 1: 17:56

Social media is a funny thing. It's a funny world social media is. If you don't post a lot Because of how the algorithm is set, your posts will just drop to the bottom sink like a stone. Basically, you gotta ask yourself what's the motive here. I have to post every day, throughout the day, in order to be relevant. Who decided this? Who's making the algorithm? These are the kind of stuff that we got to ask the question until we get an answer who actually developed the algorithm and why? What was the purpose of them doing it? For you to be engaged on social media literally all day long.

Speaker 1: 18:39

There are people amongst us I'm not one of them anymore, but there are people amongst us who are on social media as early as 5, 6 in the morning and they don't get off until 12 at night. Hear me, that is insanity, but it's happening all around us. The people who can't even lay down and rest. Take a breather from the hard day and rest. They can decide. It happened to me. That's how I know. This is true me. How I know because I did it. I did it before. I was so exalted for my day, I was going to go to bed at 7 o'clock in the evening. That's unheard of for me, I would get into bed at 6.30, 7 o'clock and you know what would happen. You know what time I would go to sleep At 1,. You know why? Because the phone's in my hands and I'm scrolling, answering messages, posting stuff, answering questions, responding to stuff, and before you know it, you see a reel, another funny reel, and you're laughing and then you're sharing it with somebody. See another funny one, and before you know it it's 1 o'clock in the morning, right before my early rest that I had planned for. It's gone.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Social media is a wild place. You got to learn how to navigate it if you're going to do it. But my question to you is why do you use it? Is it an escape? Is it a hiding place from your responsibilities in life? Is it the only place that you feel accepted? Is it the only place that you can find real friendship, even though when they say friends and followers, they're not really your friends. Most of the time they don't even know who you are. They don't even share their real names with you. You got these friends that you don't even know their real names. I got friends that text me. I don't even know what they look like. This is the crazy world, but I'm asking you to share with me. How do you do it? How do you navigate social media every day? How often do you look at it? How often do you go into it? Do you go into it at all? Have you totally deactivated? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please share them with me as we go forward and step out into this new era.

Speaker 1: 20:55

This is, I'm not quite sure, what the direction of the show is going to be going forward as it pertains to social media. I know we got to share things via social and I get that, but we're going to keep on doing this show. We're going to keep on putting out power pack episodes, episodes that are substance. The all purpose pod for an allpurpose life ain't going nowhere.

Speaker 1: 21:16

But when it comes to social media, I really question how much activity and how much you're going to see of my face on social media and my comments and my timelines being full of recent posts and tweets.

Speaker 1: 21:29

I question that and that's to be continued. We'll see how it goes, but for right now, it's not looking like it's going to be A long-term future for me to be Actively involved in social media the way that I have been, but we'll see what happens, be praying for your boy and send those questions Well, the answers to those questions for me, so I can see how you've been doing things and how perhaps, maybe, I can make an adjustment through the hidden wisdom that you guys have learned through all this. I'm open to learn, but wherever you are and however you're listening today, call me Mr Uther Podcast. Thanks again for making us a part of your morning, your day and your week with your weekly mirror check baby, before you go change the world. Thank you again for subscribing on Apple Podcasts and on our YouTube channel if you like, but please do like share and subscribe. Have a great day. Enjoy the music. I'm out.