How to do social media
As a digital minimalist
Hi there,
Today, Matt Jennings is taking over the newsletter. Matt is a Sales professional and Musician, and enjoys writing about nutrition, digital minimalism, productivity and sales. Without further ado...
Hi, Matt here.
Five ideas to share:
I've just finished a guest post on how to 'do social media' as a digital minimalist. Social media can be a great tool, especially for networking and marketing. Unfortunately, its appeal sucks far too many of us in, far too often. The result is an underlying anxiety, a feeling of 'being busy' when in reality we're just scrolling through our social feeds. In this post, I explore using social media with an intentionality behind the activity. I'm pleased to report, it can be done. :)
I'm considering making the most expensive (and perhaps overpriced) purchase I would have made since becoming a digital minimalist, and that is the Remarkable 2. The Remarkable 2 is an expensive digital writing tablet, but those who use it rave about it. The ability to write freely, without distraction but with the organizational appeal of a digital platform, is highly attractive to me. My future self feels like it will improve my life and make me less reliant on computer apps, but we shall see.
Vishan Lakhiani of Mindvalley talks of a concept called the culturescape. It's where the world around us shapes us and ultimately influences who we are. The culturescape is not us, but unfortunately it becomes us. It's buying the newest, most expensive iPhone even though the one we have is completely suitable for our needs. It's getting a ‘real job’ when all we want to be is an artist, because society expects us to do so. It's not realizing we are addicted to coffee, because drinking coffee is the norm. Leaving the culturescape is like Neo swallowing the red pill in the Matrix. It's questioning why we do what we do, and asking the question whether if our day to day lives are true to us, or just a result of the culturescape that influences us. Digital minimalism is the first step in disconnecting from the Matrix and leaving the culturescape of the digital space.
A quote I'm pondering at the moment is from Robin Sharma "Concentrate monomaniacally on creating great days—and they’ll stack into a gorgeous life." It's the little daily habits that ultimately create the life of your dreams.
Since I downgraded from my smart iPhone 10 to my dumb Nokia 225, I've realized the apps I thought I needed, I really didn't. If you really want to curb that incessant need to check your smartphone every 5 mins, I can highly recommend the change. This post, A year without a smartphone by Lisa Dunbar, sums up my experience quite nicely. I don't think I'll be going back.
Thank you so much, Matt! You can find Matt at matjen.com.
That’s all for this week!
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Until next time,
Mehret
I've thought about this, trying to do social media with a "digital minimalist" mentality, and something I don't really understand is: why post without spending time interacting? To me, if you're out there spreading ideas, I understand that. But inherent in websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, is the back and forth. At least that's how I see it. But of course, subjecting yourself to that back and forth is where you get hooked. So to simply post without any return engagement seems... Just something seems off.
I don't know—I just can't wrap my head around doing it this way. I've been happier being off these sites. Even Substack feels more productive, as it lines up with the idea of "Slow writing." We need more friction.
As a proud owner or the Remarkable 2, I can tell you it does wonders for me. If you write a lot I think it's a great investment.