“I’ll Ask 21 Questions…And They All About Us”
The One Where We Ruined Humanity With Social Media Friends
I’m creeping up on 2 decades as a (relatively) high-level community professional in social media 👴 . That means that:
A) I have seen it all. In every incarnation/generation of the medium. This includes the stuff I’ve been tasked with keeping you and your children from ever seeing. The good, the bad and the very, very, very f*cking evil.
B) I was an adult in the time before social media. And looking back, I think, as hard as most of us have tried, our industry’s impact has proven net negative.
I’m thinking of some questions that might help us regularly test both our social networks and ourselves as we build responsible products in a world that is post-peak social. And I need your help. There are some very good scholarly articles on this subject, but the real insights come from the trenches. What else would you ask?
1. Does your use of social media help you improve in the areas that you care about most?
2. Does social media use make you feel a sense of belonging to a greater community?
3. Does social media improve your self confidence?
4. Has social media helped you to become more focused and more accomplished in your work, the things that you are passionate about, or the areas in which you excel?
5. Do you feel that your social media use has streamlined communication and given you more time to focus on your goals?
6. Does the support of your social media community help you in difficult times?
7. Does your social media use enhance your real life activities?
8. Does the inclusion of social media help you engage and be more present when you are with friends or family?
9. Does social media reliably and consistently give you honest and accurate information?
10. Has social media made your daily life easier and less complex?
11. Are the accounts you focus on or engage with the most run by people who you know and care about?
12. Are the accounts you focus on or engage with the most run by people who know and care about you?
13. Are the majority of your engagements on social media positive or neutral, rather than negative?
14. Do you regularly solve problems or make positive life changes based on your social media interactions?
15. Do you feel equanimous with regards to the amount of attention and interaction that you do or don’t receive on social media?
16. Are your more intimate or supportive interactions on social media typically reciprocated?
17. Do you only scroll social media with a purpose, rather than in times of boredom, or as force of habit?
18. Do you always prioritize important activities, work, learning, etc. over social media scrolling?
19. Do you effortlessly limit your responses/reactions to social media posts, particularly during times of rest?
20. Do you only share to social media, or engage with posts as a way to enhance your real relationships?
21. Do you only engage in activities that you are comfortable with on social media?
