Social Media Usage, Herd Mentality, Following Your Passions, and More
Article Round-Up: 8.14.22
Enjoy this week’s round-up of articles, podcasts, and more from the web.
“The Invisible Balancing Act of Following Your Passions w/ Ron” [Podcast]
Takeaway: They say there are two paths: find a way to make a living doing something you love, or find a career that gives you the means to do what you love. My guest today has found a unique way to both—find a career that he enjoys and gives him the means to follow his passions.
I am joined in this episode by full-time accountant and championship amateur dancer Ron Garber. We take a unique look into the realities of the often forgotten second path to following your passions.
“The Knowledge Project — The Pursuit of Happiness” [Podcast]
Takeaway: Happiness researcher Laurie Santos discusses all things related to happiness. As it turns out, we are pretty bad at predicting what will make us happy.
I particularly enjoyed their conversation on social media and smartphone use. These things provide undeniable benefits to society and our lives, but can quickly get out of hand. Santos shares a simple acronym developed by author Catherine Price—author of “How To Break Up With Your Phone”—to help guide your media usage at any given moment: “WWW.”
W - What For
W - Why Now
W - What Else
What are you using your phone for? Something productive like chatting with a friend or completing a work project? Or mindlessly scrolling social media?
Why are you on your phone now, at this very moment? Was it intentional to complete a task, or simply because you are bored with nothing else to do? Perhaps procrastinating?
What else could you be doing with your time? Are you on your phone at the expense of a IRL (in real life) conversation with your significant other at dinner?
Asking these questions, argues Price and Santos, can help you avoid phone usage at the expense of other important areas of your life that might bring you more joy and happiness.
“Herd Mentality: How Easily Can Your Friends Sabotage Your Fitness Plan?”
Takeaway: As it turns out, we are swayed by group decisions far more than we think we are.
In one study, people were so likely to go with the group that they labeled a clearly red rectangle as being orange. They convinced themselves they must’ve been seeing it wrong and went along with the consensus of the group. (Even though the group of strangers were paid experimenters instructed to give wrong answers about the color of the rectangle.)
Fortunately, there are ways to combat this influence. First, be the first to voice your opinion in the sea of ideas. We are more likely to stick to our guns once we’ve made up our mind before hearing what everyone else has to say. Second, stack the deck in your favor. Having just one other group member agree with you is enough to go against the majority and combat this herd mentality effect.
These findings could easily have implications for navigating a fitness plan in social environments.
Just For Fun:
What do Hulk Hogan and the ‘90s have in common? Suburban Commando. Thank me later.
Watch The Original Trailer Here.
Looking forward to enjoying the podcasts during the up coming week. Never heard of the HH & Christopher Lloyd movie, must have gone straight to VHS.
Have a great week. I’ll be drop off our freshman at VATech Tuesday and our other son, an sophomore in the Corp of Cadets, next Sunday. So a good week for our family with lots of new adventures to come.