BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Beliefs 08

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST DAMAGING MODERN INDUSTRY AND WHY?

Social Media.

Shocking, I know, since I’m often on Facebook or Instagram and have been for years.

I love participating in social media. It’s a place for me to interact on my own terms. I’ve carefully curated my feeds to be informative and as agenda-free as possible. I can travel the world without leaving my home, I can see all the great works in museums and galleries on my screen, I can participate in the lives of my friends without feeling like I’m intruding. I share the reality of my life - the messy as well as the pretty - not the curated reality of my life. I follow accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that share a similar philosophy.

I’m not wired to be envious or desire what others have but I’ve witnessed how social media encourages that FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) behaviour, especially with young people. The whole idea of “influencers” is disturbing to me. The whole economy of social media is weird and preys on the weaknesses of human nature.

This thought leads me to a quote I read recently by Marie Forleo: “you CANNOT build your business on rented property” - so all of those courses and classes that use “free” media are taking a huge risk. Who knows when they will shut down, or be shut down, as we all witnessed earlier this month when FB and its other platforms were unavailable. I felt terrible for those who suffered from the lack of access. Me? I read a book.

I believe that social media is the most damaging modern industry as it destroys from within both the human condition and provides a false platform economically as well.