Young fastlaners: SHUT DOWN ALL SOCIAL MEDIA

[heavy_industry]

Important note:​

The internet is the most powerful communication tool in the history of mankind.

All powerful tools are inherently dangerous and need to be used properly.

There is a huge difference between using a tool, and being crushed by it. It all depends on how you use them.

This thread is not about demonizing certain technologies, or black and white thinking.

I'm not saying anything is inherently good or bad, but what I am saying is that a lot of people are using these tools in a way that is not conducive to good mental health and positive business results.

If you're using various platforms to improve your business, further your education, connect with people, and improve the quality of your life - that's great. You are using these tools in a smart way.


However, you find yourself spending the entire day glued to a screen, heavily addicted to watching pixels move around, and you're wasting your time, energy, life, and you're feeling horrible as a result of your behavior, this thread might be of interest.

Target audience:​

Beginner fastlaners that don't have anything positive to gain from being on social media or other entertainment platforms, and are just suffering as a result of this unnecessary addiction.

The large number of forum posts in which beginner fastlaners complain about this issue, is a clear indication that this problem is widespread, even among people that are actively trying to build a better future for themselves.

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

Let's explore this idea.

---

Young fastlaners:​

SHUT DOWN all the social media, and the bullshit apps that are not helping you on the entrepreneurial path that you've chosen.

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Besides the huge amount of wasted time and energy, that cannot be recovered, you are very likely to become addicted to those apps.

If you let this happen, physiological changes to the brain will occur, which will result in the impairment of the prefrontal cortex.

This will result in the following symptoms:

• poor executive function (translation: can't do the F*cking work)
• goldfish attention span
• no focus
• low energy / low motivation
• poor long-term planning ability
• bad choices

You can't be successful in anything, but especially in business, if your brain is not firing on all cylinders.

These changes are not permanent, and they can be fully reversed if you stop everything right now.

In a few months time, your brain will be back to normal, and you will be amazed at your new-found motivation and superior cognitive function.

If you want to be the 1%, you can't do what the other 99% is doing.

---

All the information that you need can be found on this forum.

Let this be your "social media".

You will learn many useful things that are nowhere to be found anywhere else on the internet.

(Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake)



Thanks @Matt Lee for inspiring me to write this post.
Check out his comment here.

 

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[SDE]

99% of the time, you won't miss anything important by quitting social media

 

[Prdgy]

Semi-agree to this. If you're using social media to endlessly scroll when you could be doing better things (which 99% of teenagers are doing; I'm looking at you, past me) then yes, absolutely delete your social media accounts. It's gonna take some rewiring to get that social media muscle memory ridden of but IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

However, if you're using social media as a tool instead of an entertainment then it is a highly profitable endeavor. If your market is other young people or people in their 20s and even 30s, social media is still a great way to reach out to a very wide audience, imo.

Imagine you're selling an eraser with pop culture designs on it. Who would buy this kind of stuff? Teenagers. What platform will you most likely find these kinds of people on? Tiktok and Instagram.

 

[heavy_industry]

However, if you're using social media as a tool instead of an entertainment then it is a highly profitable endeavor.

Of course there are some use cases for social media, some being business related.

But there is a huge difference between using a tool and being crushed by it.

For all fastlaners that don't need to rely on this as your business platform:

SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING

Regain control of your brain and of your life.

 

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[dominicmarcu]

Don't aim for moderation, don't try to find any balance, because the is no such thing.

I 100% agree, I always used to try to moderate social media use, but by a couple of days I'd be back to my usual amount.

Also, web browser add-ons like 'Cold Turkey' that block certain sites don't work at all because the only barrier is clicking twice to delete it.

 

[Andy Black]

I don't have social media apps on my phone. I only log into them on my computer, and that's more for work.

 

[Kevin88660]

If you are addicted to something. Don’t seek moderation. Shut it off.

I don’t keep snacks or ice cream in fridge. Because I can finished them all while doing work or watching something. Not an issue when I was a teenager who grew fast…

There is no need for me to quit social media as I hardly log into them. Hard to get addicted to see average person posting about their new life events and oversea trip photo.

You need to pay me money to watch these.

One man’s cocaine is another man’s poo poo.

 

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[Strategery]

Just don't get addicted to the forum, and don't turn it into an action-fake

Very important, ask me how I know

In the same vein (vane? vain?) here’s a video about a thing. It’s pretty neat. Did it a week or so ago and have to say it was very worthwhile.

View: https://youtu.be/gh2m0dj_lFk

 

[heavy_industry]

Very important, ask me how I know

In the same vein (vane? vain?) here’s a video about a thing. It’s pretty neat. Did it a week or so ago and have to say it was very worthwhile.

View: https://youtu.be/gh2m0dj_lFk

I stopped watching the video after the first 30 seconds when I've heard the term "dopamine detox".

This is a made up term created by people that don't understand anything about neurology.


I don't want to write my PhD thesis here, so I'll keep it short:

• the more "internet fun" you have, the more unhappy you will be
• anything that artificially raises your dopamine without requiring a substantial amount of effort is highly destructive and highly addictive
• the dopamine reward circuitry requires 3-6 months to heal
• shut down all social media

The solution:
Go outside, make new friends, pick up a sport, train hard, start a business.

Life needs to happen.

 

[Kak]

True!

I have lived a life pretty much devoid of social media at this point. I have danced with it enough to know I don’t want it in my life.

For my cigar box company, I had an instagram, back when instagram with THE thing. I found myself needlessly scrolling always felt like I had to snap out of it. I eventually broke the habit. I ultimately sold the company and the instagram went with it.

Then I got a Twitter for my radio show… I found I would needlessly scroll it, I also found that it would piss me off beyond belief. It robbed me of my peace. I deleted it after I built a pretty nice following. I made a new one maybe a year later when Elon bought it, but haven’t installed it on my phone and haven’t posted anything in months.

I also got a TikTok for the radio show and found I couldn’t control myself with that either. Deleted it from my phone.

Then I got Facebook pretty much so I’d have access to marketplace. I get stuff and sell stuff on Craigslist all the time and I heard that Facebook marketplace is better. They have the short videos you get looped into and it is the most addictive thing I’ve ever had. Deleted it from my phone.

There are ZERO social media apps on my phone and thankfully I have noticed it is a problem early. I can’t imagine wasting years on social media or video games.

My advice is to delete absolutely everything you don’t need for business and live in the real world.

 

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[Strategery]

I stopped watching the video after the first 30 seconds when I've heard the term "dopamine detox".

This is a made up term created by people that don't understand anything about neurology.


I don't want to write my PhD thesis here, so I'll keep it short:

• the more "internet fun" you have, the more unhappy you will be
• anything that artificially raises your dopamine without requiring a substantial amount of effort is highly destructive and highly addictive
• the dopamine reward circuitry requires 3-6 months to heal
• shut down all social media

The solution:
Go outside, make new friends, pick up a sport, train hard, start a business.

Life needs to happen.

Well that video randomly popped up in my YouTube feed and I did it, and haven’t stopped with certain parts of it because I liked how abstaining made me feel… from social media and alcohol. So I’m not too concerned about how wrong he is, just that it had value for me.

 

[Andy Black]

You can't consume your way onto team producer.

If you use social media for business then I suggest removing the apps from your phone and only using them on your computer. Log in, do your task, log out.

 

[constant]

I'll ask this while the thread is active.

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I feel like I'd be much better off with my smartphone being turned on only for few tasks and then turned off again, but I still need to keep in touch with some people.

 

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[Andy Black]

I'll ask this while the thread is active.

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I feel like I'd be much better off with my smartphone being turned on only for few tasks and then turned off again, but I still need to keep in touch with some people.

I had one for a bit. I had no idea how often my hand crept to my pocket. I switched back though as I like using Basecamp, email, calendar, Google maps, banking, checking football results, etc.

I play with social media platforms on my mobile for a few weeks to see what it's like being a consumer. Then I'll remove the app and let my brain cells recover.

 

[heavy_industry]

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I'm using my smartphone as a dumbphone with 3 modern functions:

• camera
• map
• music player

This is how they were intended to be used in the first place. Not sure when and how the society has degenerated into a crowd of zombies glued to their phones as if it was an extension of themselves.

And then in the same breath, we are asking ourselves why half of the kids in school are on psychiatric medication and suffer from crippling depression and anxiety.

 

[Kak]

I'll ask this while the thread is active.

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I feel like I'd be much better off with my smartphone being turned on only for few tasks and then turned off again, but I still need to keep in touch with some people.

Nah. My full communication capability in my pocket is important to my business.

As a matter of fact, I’m pretty outspoken about replacing phones with the newest and best available, at the slightest hint sluggishness or battery problems.

I currently have a 13 Pro Max and it’s the longest I’ve ever had a phone. Maybe 18 ish months.

I also want to make something else clear about my earlier post. When I say I don’t partake in social media, it isn’t because I’m constantly only working on business. Like, “I need more hours in the day to do it.” It’s more that I want to live life outside of the cyber matrix.

This forum and my radio show are the only places I share anything publicly.

 

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[Matt Lee]

However, if you're using social media as a tool instead of an entertainment then it is a highly profitable endeavor. If your market is other young people or people in their 20s and even 30s, social media is still a great way to reach out to a very wide audience, imo.

100%. Nuances exist in every polarize opinion. Right?

Social media is great if you're producing.

But there's nuance in that too... Even if you produce on social media platforms, there's the danger of being addicted to the platform itself as @Kak mentions.

For my cigar box company, I had an instagram, back when instagram with THE thing. I found myself needlessly scrolling always felt like I had to snap out of it. I eventually broke the habit. I ultimately sold the company and the instagram went with it.

If you sell hardcore liquor, who to say you won't take a small sip on a bad day? (and then maybe another the next?)

I think the answer is always: self-awareness. You need to understand yourself and your degree of neuroticism. It takes reflection and being able to draw boundaries before the thing becomes a slow-acting poison, but everything worthwhile takes thinking. Right?

****************************************************************************************************************************

The argument here is: don't be a consumer on these social media platforms.

If you need to consume something, be selective of it and make sure it's controlled because...

Someone once said the things you consume usually end up consuming you. I lied it's actually ...



Similarly, what you see and watch WILL live in your head even when you don't think about it consciously. Ever heard of subliminal messaging? (IDK if I believe in it but I do know reading and hearing about useless things makes me feel horrible). These things whether you like it or not influence your actions and mood.

An angry Reddit post turns you into an angry and aggressive peon IRL. Watching girls twerking on Tiktok will make you want to go open the blasphemous hub.

I haven't gotten the itch to do something that drains my energy while using this forum, EVER. The only itch I've gotten is "Why the F*ck am I not working harder. I need to put my head down. I will get this result too".

Sometimes the itch is just to write posts like this, to test my 3rd-grader vocabulary and ability to string coherent sentences together, to entertain, inform, and possibly ingrain what I write into my own head. Self-hypnosis. (But it sure beats being resentful and thinking I'm not in control of my life as I watch some self-hating person ranting.)

 

[Vivielle]

I don't have social media apps on my phone. I only log into them on my computer, and that's more for work.

That’s exactly what I do too. Some months ago I realized I was more addicted to social media than I thought, so I decided to cancel all my apps from the phone and have the access only on the computer. That’s a work to do!

 

[Mr.Maverick]

I'll ask this while the thread is active.

Has anyone switched to a dumbphone for mental clarity?

I feel like I'd be much better off with my smartphone being turned on only for few tasks and then turned off again, but I still need to keep in touch with some people.

I haven't switch to a dumbphone but I use an app called minimalist phone: Productivity .

It changes the UI of your phone and makes it really boring but still usable. I like my phone as a tool but not as a distraction.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

i sometimes wonder what would’ve happened if instead of 10 year old me having a smart phone dropped into my lap, I had unscripted dropped in to my lap.

What if I had seen what I see now, if I had became a learning prodigy and read boatloads of books instead of posting and reacting to tens of thousands of useless social media posts?

The beauty of it though, is that whatever age we are, at least us at 30,40,50 will be on a completely different, non-addicted path.

I think it’s actually a good thing for a lot of people to go through at a time in their life even though in todays day and age constant scrolling is inevitable.

I got to a point where it got so bad that I literally had a FTE. My FTE was my social media addiction. That wasted time hurts my soul like nothing else.

I sometimes wonder what Gen Z is going to do? Once you break out the competition is low. Dana white explains it well here:

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/qyt4nmZWsoQ?feature=share

 

[dominicmarcu]

then in the same breath, we are asking ourselves why half of the kids in school are on psychiatric medication and suffer from crippling depression and anxiety.

From first and second-hand experience, I can confirm that social media and videogame addictions are the largest contributor to the youngest generation's high levels of depression, anxiety, etc. and the low levels of testosterone and motivation.

Videogames especially give such an extreme amount of dopamine that ANYBODY would get hardcore addicted in a couple of weeks.

"One 1998 study showed that video games raise the level of dopamine in the brain by about 100 percent, roughly the same increase triggered by sex."

Too much screen time has been linked to:

• Obesity
• Poor sleep or insomnia
• Behavioral problems, including impulsive actions
• Loss of social skills
• Violence
• Eye strain
• Neck and back problems
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Difficulties with work or school

 

[The-J]

Everything has been designed from the ground up to be highly addictive and to grab your attention for as long as possible, in the hopes of you clicking on a stupid ad or buying some bullshit that doesn't help you in any way whatsoever.

Gold

 

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[Kak]

Gold

Motion to goldify the thread. @MJ DeMarco

 

[constant]

I'm going to buy a dumbphone and use it for 6 months as an experiment.
I can understand why Kak needs a smartphone, because he needs to keep in touch with important people and get updates.
The only thing I get from my smartphone is the craving of constant drip of information. All my work takes place on my laptop. There is nothing or noone important in my smartphone.

If anyone asks me in real life:
"hey constant, why are you using a dumbphone now all of a sudden?"
"I sell drugs"
"..."

 

[heavy_industry]

Motion to goldify the thread. @MJ DeMarco

You're making me blush.

I didn't expect this response from the forum, to be honest.

Seems like this is a much bigger problem than I've imagined. Perhaps because there are a lot of young people on the forum that have been exposed to the bullshit lifestyle that has now become the new normal.

Not surprised at all that veteran fastlaners share the same opinion, and have taken steps to prevent this problem from happening.

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

---

But beyond the (temporary) impairment in cognition, this thing has been proven to lower the quality of our life. I'm sure a lot of us can relate to this.


Our brain is wired in such a way that pain and pleasure are two faces of the same coin. That's a basic fact of our biology.

• Pursue only pleasure, and you will end up with pain.
• Pursue hardship and challenge, and you end up with satisfaction, fulfillment, and success.

Some of the darkest moments of my life happened while being surrounded with digital entertainment.

While the most wonderful moments of my life, happened when I was working hard on a project I found meaningful. Pure joy and happiness. It's indescribable.

So let's turn off the bullshit, and let's get back to work.

 

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[Kak]

You're making me blush.

I didn't expect this response from the forum, to be honest.

Seems like this is a much bigger problem than I've imagined. Perhaps because there are a lot of young people on the forum that have been exposed to the bullshit lifestyle that has now become the new normal.

Not surprised at all that veteran fastlaners share the same opinion, and have taken steps to prevent this problem from happening.

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

---

But beyond the (temporary) impairment in cognition, this thing has been proven to lower the quality of our life. I'm sure a lot of us can relate to this.


Our brain is wired in such a way that pain and pleasure are two faces of the same coin. That's a basic fact of our biology.

• Pursue only pleasure, and you will end up with pain.
• Pursue hardship and challenge, and you end up with satisfaction, fulfillment, and success.

Some of the darkest moments of my life happened while being surrounded with digital entertainment.

While the most wonderful moments of my life, happened when I was working hard on a project I found meaningful. Pure joy and happiness. It's indescribable.

So let's turn off the bullshit, and let's get back to work.


So, beginner fastlaners:
(this is not financial advice)

View attachment 48563

You can cut limbs off with power tools. You could drill holes in yourself with power tools. You can autonailer your face. You can tablesaw your torso. You could lop a leg off in 5 seconds with a chainsaw. You can also build stuff, and civilize the world with tools and equipment. The important thing to remember is to respect the power.

A phone should be viewed with the same respect. An amazingly powerful tool that can make you wealthy or make you worthless.

Own your phone. Don’t serve it… Make it serve YOU!

 

[Kak]

If we want to be the 1%, we cannot behave like the 99%.

Should be the anthem of this forum.

 

[Andy Black]

What if I had seen what I see now, if I had became a learning prodigy and read boatloads of books instead of posting and reacting to tens of thousands of useless social media posts?

Reading boatloads of books without taking action is still being on team consumer. Those who post intentionally and regularly on social media end up moving onto team producer. You had/have some social media accounts with decent size audiences Mike, and you know how to grow those audiences. Those are valuable assets and skills imo. Be careful you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

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[Andy Black]

You can cut limbs off with power tools. You could drill holes in yourself with power tools. You can autonailer your face. You can tablesaw your torso. You could lop a leg off in 5 seconds with a chainsaw. You can also build stuff, and civilize the world with tools and equipment. The important thing to remember is to respect the power.

A phone should be viewed with the same respect. An amazingly powerful tool that can make you wealthy or make you worthless.

Own your phone. Don’t serve it… Make it serve YOU!

^^^ This.

The platforms are designed to get us addicted. If you know that and don't allow it to happen then they can still be great tools to get in front of people you could help, serve, entertain, or whatever your business does.

 

[Raedrum]

I've been a weed smoker, and a video games and social media/bullshit content addict for years.

I'm trying to quit smoking for a certain time now, slowly gaining ground over my addiction, and when I finally did my intro in TFF some weeks ago, your very reply @heavy_industry about me banishing all toxics things from my life might have been the little spark I needed.

I still smoke, but like 10 time less than before. I AM NOT A WEED ADDICT ANYMORE.

I still have bad habits, but I'm working for my dreams more and more, despite years of frustation. I feel now capable of banishing every F*ckery from my life, eating fruits, drinking water, doing sport and dig over and over until I find gold.

I'm actually experiencing this renewed motivation and for someone like me, this feel like resurrection.

Thank you @heavy_industry for having taken the time to respond to my intro, it surely helped me greatly.