I’m Not on Threads and I Don’t Need To Be

July is Social Wellness month (which I’m sure you have circled in red on your calendar.) I don’t know about you, but I could always be well-er. I’m not an expert on social wellness, but I do know a few things not to do. 

Why is social wellness important (and does it help with productivity in the workplace)?

Now that the origins of homo sapiens are even murkier (Science: Making things more confusing and interesting!), it’s less clear as to exactly how long the human brain has been in development. But it’s likely hundreds of thousands of years. Not in dispute is that humans survived by banding together.

Modern American CultureTM makes a big deal out of individuality and bootstrapping, but the fact is we wouldn't have survived as a species if everyone went it alone. Very successful entrepreneurs will tell you the same thing: that other people helped them achieve success; they didn’t do it on their own.

It’s hard to imagine now, with predators mostly confined to zoos, but when humans were developing we faced animals that were happy to kill and eat us. Animals that were stronger, faster (over short distances), bigger, heavier, with sharper teeth and claws, etc. So we buddied up with each other in our hunting and gathering and hanging out and eventually became the true king of the savannah.

That means that our brains are wired for being social. It’s a survival instinct because that’s how the ancestors survived. So it comes baked in us, too. Of course there are some differences between those who are energized by crowds and others of us who would really rather spend Friday nights in our jammies with the cats. But even introverts need some social time because it’s a fundamental need for the brain.

And (say it with me) if it’s good for the brain it’s good for productivity. If you want to have a productive workplace, then keeping your brain healthy and happy is key. You can make tweaks around the edges to productivity, for example, by using apps for many things instead of spreadsheets. However, fundamentally it’s your brain that drives productivity.

Being social to the extent that feels good for you also gives your thinky brain a rest from the hard work that all of us demand from our noggins: numbers, spreadsheets, strategies, content, etc. Talking with other people doesn’t demand the same amount of effort and also gives you a break from thinking about your business. (You’ll come back to it later.)

“Social” media isn’t as helpful as it’s sometimes made out to be … not to mention the problems it causes for time management

Naturally, as online as most people are, the idea of “social” media can tempt you into thinking that you’ve got social needs covered. It has “social” in the name, after all! But the human brain hasn’t been online for hundreds of thousands of years. Or even hundreds of years. Or even a handful of decades. 

I’m old enough to remember the internet in the 1990s, before the World Wide Web, when we were all on bulletin boards and we made emojis using punctuation marks like so :-). That was really when (some of us) started spending time online and that was only about 30 years ago.

So humans haven’t had time to adapt to connecting socialization with words on a keyboard. Our brains recognize human faces and voices for connection. Video conferencing is probably a way to connect (I haven’t seen any research one way or the other), as are phone calls and of course face-to-face. But typing doesn’t engage your brain in the same way, so you don’t get the benefits of socializing when you’re on “social” media.

The promise of “social” media is to be connected to friends, family, and colleagues. But the platforms all make money from putting ads in front of you. They’re designed to play with the same dopamine signaling system that is also used in drugs and alcohol (and other) addictions.  

Corporations do not own social platforms so you can say hi to your friend from college, but to make money from third party ads. If you stop thinking of the platforms as “social” media and instead online media, you might be able to spend more time connecting (and getting the benefits of socializing) instead of scrolling your feed.

How I try to stay social enough without tipping over into Too.Much.Peopling

I had instant messaging for about 10 seconds in the early 00s. That was before corporations used them (and frankly IMs were mainly used for hookups, if I recall correctly.) I had several messages come in and the notifications freaked me out. I’d be trying to work and then this thing would buzz and flash across the screen. Yikes. Not doing any more of THAT, ever, thank you very much. (I do use Slack for some projects, but I turn off the IM capabilities.) If we’re going to have a conversation, it’s going to be face to face or over the phone.

Introvert that I am, I still need to spend time with other people. When the pandemic happened, at first it was great because I didn’t have to make an excuse not to show up somewhere when I needed to recharge or thought the energy expenditure would outweigh the benefits. But even for me, after a while, not seeing other people in person wasn’t so great. When things opened up I went overboard in the other direction, which just wore me out. So now I’m trying to manage it better.

That means not going to every networking event and being smart about going to get-togethers. I’m energized when I’m with certain friends: people I can talk to about anything and who get what I’m saying and don’t need to warm up with idle chitchat. 

I went to a friend’s house last week so I could see some people before I moved out of the area, and I figured I’d be there for about an hour max. Four hours later I had to drag myself away, which for me is pretty rare.

For me, networking is very different and requires a lot of energy so I can’t do it that often. One on one meetings are easier. But I do enjoy the time I’m networking if I can find the right people to talk to; I just need a lot more recharge time afterward. 

If you didn’t know any better about “social” media, you might think that would be fertile ground for an introvert. But it’s just a time drain, because you can get sucked into scrolling your feed without actually getting any socialization benefits. 

I know a lot of people, especially business owners, who think they need to be on every social media platform. And if you have someone managing all your social media, that might be a good way to go.

But I don’t. I have a personal Facebook account that I’ve had since about ‘08 or ‘10  (I think) and a LinkedIn account that I use for business. I was and still am on the bird app (mainly to see what’s going on in the wider writing world), but I knew Musk was going to drive it into the ground. 

When Twitter started going down the tubes, other alternatives showed up and I didn’t even bother investigating them. It’s nice to not have to care about them, honestly. Threads is making a land grab for it, but Meta’s made some missteps (metaverse ha ha ha ha ha ha) and it’s not clear that any other app is going to have the same impact as the bird app. I think people are realizing that most of these apps are great for wasting time and not much else.

I’d much rather meet my friends for a good talk and bathe my brain in genuine social connection. 

Recap (TL;DR):

Socialization is necessary for brain health, which also makes it essential for productivity in the workplace. I have to be careful about my time, but I still enjoy being with the right people. Because “social” media can’t provide the connection that brains crave, see your buddies or call them if you want to catch up.

Jennifer “JJ” Jank is Chief Brain Hacker at Productivity Injection. She helps business owners make more profit in less time with less stress and better systems. If you’re tired of losing business to distractions, find out your Distraction Type and how to fix it here.