The world has been abuzz in recent weeks amidst the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This is, perhaps, the most damaging and far-reaching revelation in the company’s 14-year history. Rally cries to #DeleteFacebook have been trending for weeks – and many individuals, including large brands like Tesla – have followed through on this threat.

Mark Zuckerberg’s scrutinized testimony at the congressional hearing, was followed by Facebook and Instagram’s sweeping API changes to crack down on how advertisers and third parties can access and use customer data. This has created a ripple effect across the digital marketing industry, as third-party developers and software companies play catch up.

But, I’m not going to write a blog post today about how marketers can adapt their privacy, data usage policies and overall social media advertising approach to the new era of social media marketing. There is plenty of coverage on that. Today, I’d like to share my thoughts how we must create healthier boundaries around social media.  

Admittedly, I am in deep conflict about the state of affairs of the digital media landscape. Having worked in the social media space for over a decade now, I’ve helped some of Canada’s top brands capture the hearts, minds and attention of their customers. On a personal level, I have met and connected with amazing friends and colleagues, and have access to a flood of helpful information on a daily basis that helps me stay on the cutting edge of this industry. That said, I have also had my fair share of burn outs from staying connected to the firehose day in and day out.

The utopian vision of universal connection on which social media was founded upon has been crumbling for years now. Left in its place, there is a darker, more dystopian landscape, where social media has become a tool powered by algorithms, populated by marketers and, in some cases, manipulated by “bad actors”.

The #DeleteFacebook movement isn’t directly caused by the data scandal – this sentiment has  been simmering below the surface for a while. It’s as if we know our social media usage isn’t sustainable, but we want to find a reason to cut the cord. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is just the latest reason, but it won’t be the last.

We all know that the platforms on which we’re spending increasing amounts of time are creating damaging dopamine-fed behavioural loops, where we keep checking for Likes and RTs like Pavlov’s dog and bell experiment.

Thanks to machine learning designed to personalize the experience, our feeds have become information echo chambers where our values, news sources and ideals are reinforcing existing views versus exposing us to diversity of thought. There are countless studies that speak to the direct correlation between an increase in social media usage and self esteem issues, anxiety and depression. To put it plainly, our current-day usage of social media is unhealthy and it’s making society worse off.  

But, it’s not as simple as turning off our social media is it? We’re tied to social media for many reasons, whether it be work, social lives, extracurricular activities, committees or family.

Creating Mindful Habits

In my view, we don’t have to look at social media usage as all or nothing. There are still many positive benefits to using these tools – in moderation. We can create boundaries around how, when and why we use social media to enhance our lives – and when we need to put the phone away.

It’s not just about locking down our privacy settings and being more aware of third-party apps. It’s about creating mindful habits to allow moderate usage and give us the freedom to experience life outside of the addictive sandbox that has been carefully crafted for us.

I work in the digital space, so spend some days completely glued to one social channel or another for my clients. But, I’m working to create boundaries in my personal life by:

• Setting specific hours for when I check my social feeds and private messages
• Being mindful each time I pick my phone up to check my feeds. I ask myself: “Is this out of habit or are you checking for a specific reason?”
• Thinking before I post: “Am I just posting to get likes?”
• Creating digital detox days where I turn my phone off or leave it home
• Opening the virtual door at a reasonable time, not while I’m still in bed

The Advertising Model

The largest digital platforms, Facebook (and Instagram), Twitter, Google (and YouTube), have all been built around a business model whereby the tool is free for users and paid for by advertisers. On the surface, it’s going well. Facebook’s meteoric rise since it went public in 2012 has meant great financial gains for its shareholders as its ad platforms continue to rake in obscene amounts of cash. In 2017, for example, Facebook reported earnings of $39.94 billion USD in ad revenue.  

The problem is that to sustain their advertising model, these digital giants need to keep enhancing their habit forming technology to keep users coming back for more.  What if there was another way to sustain these platforms, ad free? For example, if Facebook charged its 2 billion users just $20 per year for an ad-free platform, that would cover off last year’s ad earnings.

Scientist and technology watcher, Jaron Lanier, explained more about shifting this paradigm on the TED stage in Vancouver this year:

I know I am not alone in the struggle to find balance between real life and the virtual worlds that continue to pull at my coat tails. This is going to be an ongoing challenge for our society as we fight against the dystopia.

One thing is certain though, there is a groundswell of discussion around this topic in academic, tech and digital marketing circles. Thought leaders with creative solutions are emerging and it’s only a matter of time before the landscape shifts once again. I just hope we can steer ourselves back to that utopian vision so many of us still believe in.