What if your entire life was recorded?
What if everyone and everything you have known your entire life was scripted?
What if it was all part of a larger, controlled plan?
For one man - this was true.
His entire life was recorded and broadcast to the world. Everything around him was scripted and fake. The only real thing - was him.
This man was Truman Burbank from the critically acclaimed 1998 film - The Truman Show. 25 years later - one of the biggest achievements of this film is its accurate prediction of the influence social media and entertainment would have on our culture.
Truman’s experience in The Truman Show parallels what we see today in popular reality TV shows like The Bachelor, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Love Island, and other similar shows that make you feel like you’re losing brain cells while watching them.
The Truman Show foreshadowed a world of constant oversharing where people feel the need to post everything in their lives and “live for the camera”.
Have you ever gone out to dinner with someone and they feel the need to post a picture or video of everyone’s food?
Or have you ever gone on a trip with a friend who spends the entire time posting selfies and pictures on social media?
If you follow or know anyone like this - then you can agree that this constant oversharing is annoying.
Studies show how technology and social media addiction are associated with lower self-esteem and life satisfaction and higher sleep disturbances.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Two periods of our lives have the highest impact on our neural development.
The first period occurs during our first year of life.
The second period occurs between the ages of 10 to 25 years old - which is the age range that has the highest social media usage across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Reddit.
These years between 10 to 25 - are also the years where we have the highest desire to be seen, heard, and acknowledged by our peers. We crave social rewards like how the weird old guy at your gym craves feet pictures.
Desiring social rewards and seeking recognition from our peers is not inherently bad. This instinct was crucial in helping our ancestors survive and reproduce.
The issue is that our prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain responsible for advanced cognitive functions like controlling impulses, resisting temptations, and managing emotions - does not fully develop until the age of 25.
APA Chief Science Officer Mitch Prinstein describes it as “all gas, no brakes" when it comes to the things we do in our youth for attention.
In simple terms - we do a lot of stupid stuff for recognition from others.
We waste so much time and energy - during the years when we have the most time and energy in our lives - living for other people.
We pick a specific major in college to make our parents proud - even if it is something we have no interest in studying.
We drink alcohol and do drugs to fit in with our “friends” - even if we get no enjoyment from doing so.
We fixate on trying to create a certain persona and narrative on social media.
We act like someone we aren't to impress people who don’t actually care about us.
And when we analyze our lives - we realize that we don’t really care about them either.
A habit that will boost your growth and success in ALL aspects of life - is reducing your technology and social media usage and regularly completing a digital detox.
Technology & Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword
We live in a hyper-connected world - which is a double-edged sword.
We have the power to chat and see family and friends from around the world by clicking a button. We have the power to find and learn anything on the internet. We have the power to help areas and countries that have a history of poverty.
But a hyper-connected world can lead to physical and mental health problems. A hyper-connected world can lead to technology reliance and addiction. A hyper-connected world can lead to information overload and digital distraction.
We are constantly bombarded and influenced by information, notifications, and other external factors.
If we feel sad or bored - we can immediately get a “quick fix” through entertainment platforms like YouTube and Netflix.
But how many of us spend time analyzing our thoughts, goals, and actions when we feel sad or bored?
Your mind is like a glass.
When you always use external sources for entertainment and answers - you become dependent on filling your glass with these sources.
If you always use YouTube to make you feel better when you’re sad - you will feel worse if you can’t access the platform when you need to feel better.
But when you minimize external influences and spend more time with your thoughts - you fill your glass with your own solutions and ideas - strengthening your critical and analytical thinking.
Whether you believe it or not - YOU are your own best coach.
You have been there for every conversation, experience, and thing in your life - something only you have done.
Many of us don’t credit our abilities enough. Our brains and bodies are EXTREMELY smart - and our mind tends to have a good idea of what to do in a situation - which is reinforced through parts of the body like the gut.
When you limit the influence of external factors and occasionally shut off the external world - you can truly analyze what it is you want from your life. These times of brief solitude highlight critical components of yourself and your life - such as…
What are the most important aspects of my life and how am I currently performing in each one?
What activities bring me the most enjoyment? What things make me lose track of time?
What activities would I never do (again)? What activities are holding me back from achieving my dream life?
Success differs for everyone - some people want to be billionaires, others want to travel to every country, others want to live on a farm in a small town with their family.
Reflecting on these kinds of questions will help you identify YOUR definition of success and what you want from life.
If you value traveling and experiences the most - but are pursuing jobs based on their salary - you'll realize you will be happier with a remote job that provides the flexibility to travel over a higher-paying job.
The Framework
A pilot study conducted on 68 university students found that participants reported positive changes in their mood, better academic productivity, reduced anxiety, and improved sleep after a social media detox. While this sample size is small - similar studies on reducing technology & social media usage have produced related results.
Below are some daily tips and a journaling exercise you can use to reduce your technology & social media time. These will help you become more conscious of your definition of success to make strides toward your dream life.
Daily Tips
1. Create “Shutdown Screens” Times and Zones
Many of us spend most of our days in front of screens - whether it be for work, school, or leisure. It’s critical to schedule time throughout the day to decompress and get away from your phone and work.
Some strategies I use are:
No screens within the first 30-45 minutes of waking up and within the last 60-90 minutes before bed. The easiest way to do this is to turn off your devices completely
No screens during work breaks. Instead - go outside, walk around, talk to a colleague, or anything else that is away from screens
No screens while in bed and while eating
Everyone has a different life - so think of strategies to help you spend less time in front of screens. Make the strategy as easy as possible to incorporate into your current life so you can be consistent with it.
2. Screen Time
One of the best features of phones today is Screen Time.
With Screen Time - you can schedule time away from your screen, activate downtime, and my favorite - set app limits.
For apps or categories like entertainment that you aim to use less - start by analyzing the amount of time you currently spend on them. Next, set a goal slightly lower than your current usage time.
If you spent an average of 2 hours daily on entertainment apps last week, set your app limit for this category at 1 hour and 45 minutes per day. Once your limit on this category is up for the day - you know it’s time to get off the app.
Once you have hit your daily app limit goal every day for a week - lower your app or category time limit. If you spent less than 1 hour and 45 minutes on entertainment every day for a week - lower your goal to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Repeat this process until you reach the lowest sustainable level on your most used categories and apps - which are usually entertainment and social apps for most people.
This strategy helped me lower my time on apps like YouTube and Instagram from 2 and a half hours per DAY to less than 1 hour per WEEK. Now - I have much more time to do things that actually matter to me and contribute to my definition of success.
Visit one of the below links for instructions on how to set up screen time:
3. Digital Minimalism
“A cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind” doesn’t only apply to physical spaces - but also digital spaces.
On my phone - I have one screen.
All my most important apps - the ones I use daily - are in folders with similar apps.
I hide any apps that aren’t used daily or that tempt me to waste time. If I want to go to Instagram or X (Twitter) - I need to swipe down or swipe right and search for it in my app library. I also don’t have the mobile app of Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video, or any other similar platform. If I want to go on these platforms - I go to Chrome and search them.
These little actions increase the friction (i.e., effort) required to go on these apps. Even something as small as having to go to Google and look up YouTube makes me less likely to do so because…
these platforms are invisible - so I don’t think about going on them
these platforms are more difficult to go on - it requires more effort than just clicking one button like if it was on my home screen
the increased time needed to go on these apps gives me more time to be conscious of my actions and think about if there is anything else I could (or should) be doing instead
Here’s what my home screen looks like:
“To break bad habits - make them invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying.” - James Clear, Author of New York Best Seller Atomic Habits
Digital Detox
Every 1-3 months - go an entire day without technology. The frequency you detox will depend on factors like your schedule, obligations, and how much you use technology in your daily life.
I like to go camping when I do this detox. This not only helps you to connect with nature - which has tremendous mental health benefits - but also discourages technology use since many campsites charge for internet access.
During these “unplugged” days - I journal on a series of questions (PDF at the bottom) to determine if I'm happy with my current life trajectory.
Your life trajectory is like a boat at sea.
A boat that is a few degrees off-center from its destination will end up hundreds of miles from its intended destination over the course of a long voyage.
Bad habits and behaviors that move you slightly off-center from your dream life will compound over years and decades and result in you living a depressed and miserable life.
No one wakes up one day without ever drinking and says, "I'm now an alcoholic!"
Bad habits like alcohol addiction usually start with something small - like drinking at parties in college. After college - many people turn to drinking to cope with stress from work or other obligations.
One drink after work every day isn't enough anymore - so it turns into two drinks. Two drinks aren't enough and it becomes three drinks. Over the course of several weeks and years, this individual is now addicted to alcohol - which damages their health, wealth, and relationships.
What was once a social activity for this person turned into a medicating activity. If this person was more conscious of their priorities and the new motive behind the same action - they could have utilized healthier ways to manage their work-related stress and avoided falling into addiction.
Truman Burbank was tired of living a life that was controlled by others - so he began to question reality and what he actually wanted.
Once Truman realized that a life dictated by others and by the camera would never result in happiness and fulfillment - he took a leap of faith and achieved what we all desire - freedom.
So…
Will you continue to let external factors like social media and technology suck precious time away from you doing the things you love?
Or will you be like Truman and make a change?
Download the PDF below to initiate your change today.
To the start of your journey,
Maximillian
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