mindfulness and the darkside of social media
Picture of Chris Cheung

Chris Cheung

Mindfulness and the Dark Side of Social Media

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Play Video about erin lee

During this keynote for the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, Erin Lee discusses the ‘Dark Side’ of Social Media. 

Social media has many positives; it can connect us and provide us with digital communities. On the other (dark side) it can lead to addictive behaviour, disrupt our attention and have us attaching our identity to our online personas. In this great presentation, Erin discusses these aspects of social media and very interestingly how we can use mindfulness to break out of the habit.  

What I find to be very helpful when challenging internal processes is to ask myself these three questions: Is it true, Is it helpful, Is it necessary

Key Insights

How often do we check our phone each day? How does this disrupt our attention?

58 times a day at least, taking up a total of 37 minutes. 37 minutes  might not sound like much. But dispersed throughout the day, it can be a killer disruption to the tasks that you are doing. Click the link  to jump to this insight. https://youtu.be/GNQYrsncaj8?t=796

How social media is designed to hijack our attention?

As humans we’re designed to socialise. Combine this with our liking for variability and you have a recipe for keeping us addicted.  https://youtu.be/GNQYrsncaj8?t=796 

How to break the habit loop? 

Following James Clear’s framework on the forming and following of habits: cue, craving, response, reward. The best time to interrupt the habit loop with mindfulness is as early as possible. When the ‘cue’ has just occurred or when you perceive the craving. https://youtu.be/GNQYrsncaj8?t=1414 

How can we become more aware of how our bodies are responding to stimulae? 

Follow this lovely practice: https://youtu.be/GNQYrsncaj8?t=1811 

The good and bad of social media

As human’s we’re built for connectivity but the mechanisms in social media (the anonimity it provides) can also bring out our darker sides resulting in harmful behaviour towards others and ourselves. How do we apply wisdom to check ourselves? Click here to find out.   https://youtu.be/GNQYrsncaj8?t=2440 

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

More to explore

Mindful leadership

Inspiring, Mindful, Leadership

What an honour to be guiding this inspiring group of Leaders on their mindfulness journeys. In partnership with Business for Better Society…

the_big_think

What Mindfulness Is and Isn’t

Mindfulness and its practice can be hard to describe. For many it conjures up images of monks sitting in a monastery meditating, for others it