Creating vs. Consuming

The other day I was checking something on Facebook, when I came across the following statement posted by one of my friends:

“I am NOT enjoying FB lately. Not sure how much longer I’ll be here. Too many reasons to list. It’s just not much fun for me lately.”

Normally I don’t give much attention to the random thoughts people share on Facebook. But this one really caught my eye. It’s just not much fun for me lately. This suggests that Facebook, a tool used to connect people and share information, is in charge of our happiness, our emotions, us!

This is the case all too often. We allow social media, in all its forms, to be the master. We allow it to take away our agency. I know this isn’t new information, but reading that post shed some new light on it for me. I immediately had a hypothetical debate in my head with my Facebook friend:

“Why isn’t Facebook fun for you?”
“Because it’s full of negativity.”
“Well, what are you doing to combat all that negativity?”
“…..”
“Are you creating positive posts yourself?”
“No, but that wouldn’t take away all the negative and contentious things everyone else posts.”
“But if you’re too busy creating good content, you won’t have time to consume the bad!”

Boom. I always have the last word in my pretend conversations.

Consuming endless content on social media is like drinking diet soda. You constantly sip on that sugar-free goodness and it’s so comforting. You just can’t stop. But the second you hear that slurp of air hitting your straw, the charade is over. The cup is empty. You’re empty. All those political posts you skimmed over are empty. And all that’s left is the internal rationalization that it could have been worse. You could have asked for regular soda. So you feel better about yourself…for a minute.

Ouch. I’m not pointing fingers. And if I am, there’s three pointing back at myself. I’m not saying consuming is bad. I am just trying to be intentional and help others be intentional about the balance between creating vs. consuming. Like I said in my fictional conversation: If you’re too busy creating good content, you won’t have time to consume the bad. And vice versa.

Facebook isn’t in charge of us. Those heated political posts aren’t in charge of us. We are. We all consume, but we are in charge of what and how we do it. And more importantly, we are in charge of what and how we create.