As I wrote in my previous newsletter, thanks to being caught up with Olympics drama, I had mental fatigue so bad that I couldn’t feel rested even doing all the right things. This was probably made worse by the fact that I had a tough 2 weeks at work where we were rushing for many things.
The mental fatigue left me unable to do anything beyond just mindlessly watching Youtube recommendations, one after another, like a drugged zombie. I’ve not read a book to completion for months, which is really alarming for someone who used to read 3-4 books a week. I couldn’t even enjoy a Chinese drama without reaching for the phone.
So, something has to change.
I’m currently re-evaluating the way I work – at least, in regards to compulsive context switching – and how I’m consuming information via social media.
Though when I think of it, compared to a lot of people, I’m a social media hermit. This is currently the social media I use:
| Social media | Actively updated? | Toxic interactions | How often do I access | Social benefits |
| ❌ | ❌ | Only chat with a friend about cat videos. | High | |
| Tik Tok | ❌ | ❌ | None. No account. | ? |
| ❌ | ❌ | Only when I see a funny cat video and just reshare it to my feed. | Low | |
| ❌ | High | Low. (Just check for Chinese drama updates) | ? | |
| Mastodon | ✅ | Medium | Medium, share thoughts/blog/Substack | ? |
| Substack | ✅ | Medium | Medium, share thoughts/blog/Substack | ? |
| ✅ | High | High, moderator | ? | |
| Youtube | ❌ | ❌ (barely comment, just watch videos) | Highest, anxiety-provoking content | ? |
| Whatsapp groups | ✅ | Very low | Low | High |
Thoughts
- Youtube – DEPRIORITISE while I barely interact on the platform, I tend to consume a lot of anxiety-provoking content that screams about some upcoming financial crisis or war. The social benefit I derive from it is very questionable – I don’t think I’m improving real-life social connections at all. And, on top of that, I’m slowly destroying my inner peace and provoking my inner cavewoman instincts to live. ☠️ The content is making me hate “the other”, whatever they may be – The West, the [insert group], those who like PARA over MOC in PKM (just j/k!).
- Instagram – MAINTAIN I’m only there to send cat videos with one friend, but I find the interaction socially enrichening enough to just hang around the DM section. Yes, we send each other cat videos and send quips about them to each other. Probably the most bonkers thing, but it’s very “us”. LOL.
- Whatsapp groups – PRIORITISE I feel that I’m ignoring the wrong social channel. I belong to a few friends’ groups and they are great groups, not the one that sends you good morning emojis that suck up your data or gossip endlessly about someone’s kids. I feel that I need to prioritise this more over the other channels.
- Mastodon – MAINTAIN but tweak what I post about. Although I resent the self-censorship, I feel that sharing my thoughts about politics or geopolitics is not beneficial for anybody. Or, perhaps, I need to make them unlisted or just for followers only so that I don’t attract toxic interactions. The good thing about Mastodon is that it has very robust filtering/security features that protect your mental health.
- Edit: Reddit – DEPRIORITISE forgot about this lol. I wouldn’t be on this platform not if not for my moderator duties. I feel invested in keeping the subreddit free of toxicity, but this results in being exposed to a lot of toxicity. I’m not sure what to do about this except to limit my time on it to just specific hours, and maybe an hour before I’m about to hit the gym so that I can work out the anger/anxiety of resulting interaction.
- Edit: Substack – MAINTAIN. Generally pretty happy with my use of it. I enjoy the interactions on each issue of the newsletter. I think of all social media platforms, Substack’s set up is one of the healthiest, or at least one of the easiest to maintain mental health. However, the introduction of Substack Notes can be problematic due to Twitter-like behaviours. I often see people “gossiping” about other people’s opinions on Notes. They would reshare someone’s newsletter only to say cutting things about them. I don’t think such behaviours should be encouraged. So, I tend to avoid Notes most of the time, and limit my time there. Substack has an ingenious system where I can share my comment underneath a newsletter as a Note, and I do that so that the newsletter gets shared to the ecosystem. I use Notes mostly to promote other opinions and newsletters.
As for the rest of the social media platforms, I’ve long weaned off my addiction for them. I am so turned off by the conversations on them that I no longer bother to be bothered about them. 😉
Elizabeth Tai 
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