How we let social media unplug our brains, and 4 ways to resume transmission

Who’s to blame for the mayhem that social media creates in the virtual and real worlds?
The world’s richest man and X owner Elon Musk? Harvard drop-out, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg? Or is it the Chinese behemoths WeChat, WeBo and TikTok?
None of them. It’s us - ordinary folk like you and me who became infatuated with our smartphones. 
We got sucked into the vanity game of pursuing connections, likes and influence. 
We paid the price, giving away our personal deets and opening our lives for leveraging by the tech titans.
We sold control, just as businesses, community groups and public authorities sold control by becoming dependent on those channels too. 

We have let social media consume our time, unplug our brains and become a key source of mis- and dis-information.

In my book, The DIY Newsroom, I compared the dilemma we would face with the fate of Odysseus in Homer’s Greek epic. Odysseus tied himself and his crew to the masts as they passed the serenading Sirens or risk shipwreck and certain death.
It is not too late to resist the allure if we act now. Here’s four actions we can take to restore sense.
1. We can become more present by tuning out and turning off social media. 
The penetration of social media has built to saturation point. Some eight in 10 Australians use social media. While there are questions around what constitutes active users, the take up has been staggering. 
But social media use is starting to wane. This should not surprise us as we are bombarded with advertising, scams and example after example of social media gone awry.
The statistics tell us that we have never trusted social media. Nonetheless, we have let it consume our time, unplug our brains and become a key source of (mis- and dis) information. 
2. We can reinvest in authoritative, reliable sources of news and information.
Research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority found we are relying on fewer sources for news. As well, more of us are choosing social media as a primary source. 
Those same social media platforms blitzed the business models of media companies. They decimated their advertising revenue and ability to support newsrooms and real journalism. Some outlets weathered the onslaught or reinvented themselves. Now consumers seem to be  recognising the intrinsic value of reliably sourced news and information, and how that contributes to a healthy society.

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One day, you are a global sensation, and the next, in the beat of a changing algorithm, you're a nobody.

3. Information providers need to reclaim mission control.
If there is one lesson from my book, it’s you only control your message when you control the platfrom. On social media you have next to no control. One day you can be talking to a global audience, and the next, in the beat of a changing algorithm, you’re a nobody.
Building a following on any social media platform is a daring strategy. The wisest route is to build one across the channels you control. This could include your core product, website, blog, intranet/portal, or email.
Government departments are an example of information providers who can better control their destiny. During COVID, trust in government surged in Australia as people searched for official and authoritative information. As governments become more sophisticated in delivering information, they will become more recognised as reliable primary sources.
4. We need governments to regulate.
Government intervention was an anathema to me as an editor and journalist. Why should a government tell me what a free press can do? I now see it as critical to our national health. 
Just as traditional media operates in a regulated market, so should social media. The Australian Goverment has shown its courage, along with Germany and Canada, by demanding these platforms are more accountable. The public sentiment supports such guard rails.
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Social media behaving badly will be judged by those who gave rise to it.  Influencers who are household names are taking action. But those who pack the biggest punch, are the silent majority on which those platforms built their success. And that’s back to us.

​>> Stuart Howie is a media and communications professional. Learn more about his journey and book, The DIY Newsroom, in this short video.