Unveiling the Truth: Social Media, Smartphones, and Your Mental Health (Wellness Wednesday)

Livin' The Dream

Today, I want to share some work done by Michael Easter author of the comfort crisis and the scarcity brain. He has created an incredible group called the 2%’er club which stemmed from a stat that said when given the option to take the stairs or an escalator… only 2% of people take the stairs. He has a multiple post per week newsletter that he does that I am subscribed to. He recently wrote about mental health and what he called the Smartphone Withdrawl Effect as well as how to quit a bad habit by slowing it down. In this episode going to share with you what I learned.

Catch up quick on what’s happening with social media regulation:

• The Kids Online Safety Act is a bill introduced in the US Senate.
• It aims to protect minors from the harms of social media.
• The bill has bipartisan support. It led to a rare Kumbaya moment with senators. Politicians who generally agree on nothing are … agreeing on something!
• Last Wednesday (1/31), Senators dragged the leaders of Meta/Facebook, X, TikTok, Discord, and Snap to DC and pressured them to take action. The Senators went HARD.

Some of the bills highlights are. The bill would:

• Limit people’s ability to communicate with minors.
• Limit the features that result in compulsive use of social media platforms.
• Limit minors from sharing their geolocation.
• Include options to easily delete apps or limit time on them.
• Give parents the ability to monitor kids’ social media.
• Make overprotection on the apps the default setting.
• Force social media companies to release reports detailing immediate and foreseeable harms to minors and how they’re preventing those harms.
• Fund the National Academy of Sciences to conduct at least five comprehensive studies on the risks and harms to minors who use social media.

Let’s call it “the withdrawal effect.” It applies to smartphone and social media overuse—and many other behaviors we overdo at the expense of our health and sanity.

Today, we’ll dive into the science of social media/smartphones and mental health—and what the withdrawal effect can tell us about quitting any bad habit.

References:

Michael Easter
Books: The Comfort Crisis, The Scarcity Brain
Newsletter: Twopct.com
Brain.fm App

(First month Free, then 20% off subscription)
Discount Code: coachdamiensd

Caldera Lab Skin Care
www.calderalab.com

Discount Code: CoachD
Links:

IG:
@coachdamien_sd
@damienrayevans
@livinthedream_podcast

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS6VuPgtVsdBpDj5oN3YQTg

FB:
https://www.facebook.com/coachdamienSD/