My New Year's Social Media Resolutions

Like any tool, social media is as good as the use to which it is put. It can enrich a life, but it can also destroy it. I myself have something of a “love-hate” relationship with social media: on the one hand, it has enormously enriched my worldview, opening up a whole community of deep and careful thinkers, most of whom barely get a mention on mainstream media. On the other hand, I cannot deny that the “click bait” and “dopamine” effect of social media platforms has made them more addictive and enslaving than I would like to admit.

So I thought I’d take advantage of the new year to formulate a few resolutions to improve my social media use. Some social media users, I presume, have little or no need for these resolutions. Their battles lie elsewhere. But others, like me, do struggle to remain free on the inside while they exercise their outer freedom navigating Twitter, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, and/or Facebook.

Being free on the inside means having some mastery over one’s emotional …