Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to use social media as a way station,
Speaker 1: not a destination. Facebook and other platforms can be great
Speaker 1: for helping you feel more connected to others, as long
Speaker 1: as you use them as a means to an end,
Speaker 1: rather than as an end in and of themselves. Today's
Speaker 1: tip comes from behavioral neuroscientist Stephanie Kecopo. In a recent
Speaker 1: New York Times article, she noted that social media can
Speaker 1: be a source of disconnection as people compare their actual
Speaker 1: experiences to other people's social media posts. Now, that is
Speaker 1: probably not news to anyone listening to this, but social
Speaker 1: media isn't all bad, as she explains, if people can
Speaker 1: use social media as a way station rather than as
Speaker 1: the destination, that could really help. She goes on to
Speaker 1: say social media can be a great tool to form connection.
Speaker 1: It all depends on how you use it. When we
Speaker 1: use social media as the destination, we may focus our
Speaker 1: attention there, spending hours scrolling around and feeling lonely as
Speaker 1: a result. But when we use it as a way station,
Speaker 1: we embrace the power of the tool. To help us
Speaker 1: connect to people in real life. I think you can
Speaker 1: see how this would play out. Maybe you've moved to
Speaker 1: a new town. Sites like meet up could help you
Speaker 1: find new friends. I've seen friendships form among people in
Speaker 1: the Patreon group for my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds,
Speaker 1: as people post on the forum that they live in,
Speaker 1: say Boston, and decide to meet up with others who
Speaker 1: live there too. If you are doing something out of
Speaker 1: the ordinary, like raising triplets, there might not be that
Speaker 1: many people in your town experiencing the same thing, but
Speaker 1: you could meet someone in a Facebook group for parents
Speaker 1: of multiples and gather at a playground an hour from
Speaker 1: each of you where your broods can play and you
Speaker 1: can bond. You meet like minded people online and then
Speaker 1: use that ability to find people to establish real life connections.
Speaker 1: Social media can also be a way station, not a destination,
Speaker 1: when it helps you keep up with what's going on
Speaker 1: with the people in your life. The key is to
Speaker 1: do more than just like a post about say someone
Speaker 1: finishing up a busy season at work. Engage with their news,
Speaker 1: perhaps by suggesting a get together with the friends to
Speaker 1: schedule has just eased up. Another way social media can
Speaker 1: be a waystation is if you use it to rally
Speaker 1: friends to participate in an in person activity you are planning,
Speaker 1: whether it's a one off experience like going to an
Speaker 1: art fair, or maybe an ongoing activity like a book club.
Speaker 1: Mention that it looks interesting and see who else is
Speaker 1: up for it. It takes a lot of effort to
Speaker 1: email or call fifty people who might potentially be interested,
Speaker 1: but it takes almost zero effort to mention that to
Speaker 1: close friends online if you have been reasonably careful about
Speaker 1: who you've friended and how much information you share. When
Speaker 1: we treat social media as a destination where we focus
Speaker 1: all our social energy, we can feel disconnected from life.
Speaker 1: But when we think about social media as a way station,
Speaker 1: a stop on the road to live connection, can make
Speaker 1: the most of the opportunities it presents. How do you
Speaker 1: use social media to pave the way for real connection?
Speaker 1: You can let me know at Laura at Laura vandercam
Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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