177: Social Media is a Dumpster Fire

Quick, answer the following questions:

1. when was the last time you made an actual post on your socials?
2. when was the last time you shared a post that you cared about to your newsfeed?
3. when was the last time you doom scrolled?
4. when was the last time you saw anger and hatred in a meme or in someone's comment section?
5. when was the last time you felt happy after being on social media?

A couple of months ago I was in a conversation with my friend and client, Lindsy, and we were both talking about how draining it felt to participate in social media. So I had a realization: if I want a better experience when I'm on social media, I have to take action and be part of the solution. This means doing more creating, purging the accounts and people that drain me, being active and interactive, and practicing Social Leadership. Let's commit to listening to this episode and afterward, becoming social leaders, owning the power that we have over our algorithms and experiences online and using it for the good of us all. Quick Tips for Improving Your Social Media Experience:

1. You get more of what you click on. So stop clicking into click-baity, dumb shit.
2. Unfollow. Accounts, people, trends, platforms. Follow: what brings you joy.
3. Make something. Creating brings more joy than consuming.
4. Be a human. Engage, look for humanity, uplift, educate.
5. Implement time limits. Apps, bricks, lockboxes.
6. Think critically.
7. Connect. with others IRL and with yourself. Ask: why do these little digital boxes have such a hold on me?

Next: practice social leadership:

• 30-day posting my favorite photos to make Facebook suck less initiative. Encourage others to join in.
• Have productive conversations, and encourage connection offline.
• Put your phones away when you're in a gathering next time.
• Critically ask yourself, how am I contributing to the dumpster fire I'm being served? This is especially important if you are using social to market your business. If you are annoyed/aggrieved and generally questioning your presence on socials, be sure your content you release on behalf of your business meets these standards too.
• Give people something to care about, not something to scroll past.
• Support my friend Nicole's Hurricane Helene recovery Amazon wish list. I met her through social media, and I'm using social media to connect her cause with more people who can help.

Connect with Molly:

• Submit your Q&A here and get your questions answered on an upcoming episode of the podcast: https://bit.ly/thefoundpodcastquestions
• Book a discovery call here to see how Molly can help your business thrive through intentional, strategic marketing: https://bit.ly/30minuteswithmkm