Have you ever felt lonelier after scrolling through social media? We discuss why this happens and how you can counteract it by focusing inward. Could solitude be the cure for loneliness? Join us on Mindful Bytes as we explore this compelling idea, drawing on insights from Wendell Berry to reveal how purposeful alone time can defy the pull of loneliness. Shawna discusses the fine line between loneliness and solitude, showing how choosing to be alone can offer profound mental health benefits, especially when contrasted with the false connections often promoted by social media. Olivia brings a nuanced perspective by explaining how both extroverts and introverts might navigate these feelings differently, adding layers to our understanding of social engagement.
Brian introduces us to the "Brick," a fascinating innovation by college students designed to help you manage smartphone distractions and foster a more introspective mindset, during the tech talk segment. Providing practical strategies to help you tune out the noise and tune into your own thoughts. Discover how intentional disconnection through tools like the "brick" device can help create more meaningful connections in your life.
We also discuss Instagram strategies with our savvy Millennial, Olivia, to boost engagement, emphasizing meaningful interactions over mere follower counts. As we wrap up, the conversation shifts to understanding and aligning personal goals with professional ambitions, stressing that success is subjective and personal.
This episode is packed with valuable insights that promise to help you navigate loneliness, embrace solitude, and optimize your digital presence.
Links Mentioned:
- Social Media Engagement Rate Calculator
- The Brick
- Epidemic of Loneliness & Isolation Article
- The Surprising Ways Solitude Is an Antidote to Loneliness
Let's Figure This Out Together:
- Schedule a Discovery Call
- Book Brian for a Keynote, Speaking Engagement, Team Workshop or Interview
- Get Help with Digital Strategy, Consulting, or Coaching
Affiliate Links:
- Launch your own podcast on BuzzSprout
- Join us LIVE in VR at the Killer Bee Studios by grabbing an Oculus headset. Plus, earn some reward points from Meta!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Mindful Bytes podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Today we're going to talk about what Adam Masseri,
the head of Instagram, had tosay recently.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The surprising antidote to loneliness and a
tool that can help you stayfocused and present by removing
daily distractions.
Let's go ahead and dive intothis episode of the Mindful
Bytes.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Hey, I'm Shawna.
I'm your Xenial digitaldinosaur.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm Brian, your Gen X business leader.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I'm Olivia, your sassy savvy social media
millennial.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
And then Ashton, our Gen Z gadget fanatic, taking the
day off, so we'll have to bringsome tech news in from you from
the Gen X side.
All right, Shawna, why don'tyou go ahead and kick us off?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
All right.
So last time I talked about theepidemic of loneliness in the
US, and today I'm going to talkabout the surprising antidote to
loneliness.
So I'm going to start with aquote by Wendell Berry that kind
of sums up what I'm going totalk about.
So the quote is in the wildplaces where one is without
(01:02):
human obligation, one's innervoices become audible.
The more coherent one becomeswithin oneself as a creature,
the more fully one enters intothe communion of all creatures.
And so that's what theunexpected, surprising antidote
is to loneliness is being byyourself.
(01:23):
And when I first started readingabout this I mean that doesn't
make sense, right, that'scounterintuitive.
But the difference is, you know, loneliness comes down to
feeling the difference betweenhow much social engagement you
want and how much you actuallyhave.
So like, if you feel like youknow you want to be hanging out
with people more and you don'thave the opportunity, then you,
you feel like you know you wantto be hanging out with people
(01:45):
more and you don't have theopportunity, then you can feel
alone, you know or if you wantdeeper connections with people
and you don't have theopportunity, then it can make
you feel lonely.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So I can definitely see how social media can play a
huge role in that, because a lotof people want more followers
and they're they're kind oflooking at followers as hey,
like this is my, my community ormy tribe that's following me,
and when they don't have thatthat large of a following, they
feel maybe they're not that as,not that as important.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Definitely, and imagine what it would feel like.
And maybe you've even felt this.
I think I've felt thisdefinitely.
But you know, I have what 5,000friends or something like that
on Facebook and yet sometimesyou can't find someone to talk
to.
You know what I'm saying Like.
So those numbers can trick youinto thinking, oh, I have like a
(02:36):
big friend group, but then ifyou actually need something and
you can't find someone to listento you or to talk to you or to
help you, then that's a big gap,you know.
And it's because we're made fordeep connection, we're made for
intimacy and for friendship andfor deep relationships and for
the most part, you don't reallyfind that on social media.
We saw, during COVID lockdownsand stuff like that, a lot of
(02:59):
people suffering from lonelinessbecause they literally could
not get out and do the thingsthat they were used to doing.
The difference in solitude isnumber one, you choose it and
number two, you use itpurposefully.
You know, right now in ourculture, we're seeing that we're
losing the ability to be ableto be by ourselves, to be quiet,
(03:19):
to be unplugged, and that'shurting us in a lot of ways
unplugged and that's hurting usin a lot of ways.
But one of the ways is that youstart to see addictive
tendencies with social media andthings like that.
I mean, we've seen it for years, even with TV and the internet
and things like that.
But if you're feeling lonelysometimes it will seem like a
(03:40):
natural thing to try to reachout online.
But we know that those aren'talways quality connections that
you're making you know in thoseways on social media or whatever
way you're using thesetechnologies.
So by taking time to be byyourself and if you, by the way,
if you couple that with beingin nature, then the benefits
(04:02):
just compound.
It's so much better for youeven if you're alone out in
nature, and some of the reasonsfor that is when you are
unplugged and you have time tobe alone with your thoughts,
your stress level comes way down, you're able to hear your own
thoughts, so you get to knowyourself better, and all of
these things make you betterable to connect with people.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
When you are with people, I love that you point
out that it was that solitudetime allows us to start hearing
our own selves think, which whenwe're so caught up in all the
busyness and stuff and today'sculture, it's hard to find that
time to really hear your ownthoughts.
So I feel like that's veryinteresting.
(04:46):
Libby, do you have any thoughtson this so far?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
yeah, I mean, I was also wondering if there, you
know, is more of a differencebetween like an extrovert and an
introvert and like feelings ofloneliness, because I feel like
I've changed in my life, wherewhen I was younger I just wanted
to be around people all thetime, and this and now I'm more
(05:11):
introverted and I don't want tobe around a ton of people all
the time.
So I do find it easier to taketime to.
You know, sit with your ownthoughts and go on a walk and
think, and you know, solitude tome is enjoyable, versus, you
(05:33):
know, when I was younger I'd belike this is the worst.
Yes, exactly yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I was exactly like that too.
I hated to be alone when I wasyounger, and I think that shows
you that it's a skill that youcan build.
You know, because you mightthink people might think they
don't need any time alone, butthat's not healthy.
And so you know, if you startto build like that ability to be
alone, it's so good for you.
But it points out that's aninteresting thing you pointed
(06:02):
out, olivia is that everybodyhas a different balance, so
everyone has to find what'sright for them, what makes them
feel, you know, healthy andwhole.
And you know some people needlike our son, ashton needs a lot
of social interaction.
Like he goes for too longwithout hanging out with his
friends or going out and doingsomething, he starts to feel
(06:24):
kind of sad, he starts to feelkind of lonely and he has a high
and he has recognized that inhimself.
He'll say like you know Iforget how he words it exactly,
but basically he's saying like Ineed some like social
interaction.
And interestingly I don't knowif this is normal for Gen Z, I'm
guessing it probably is Ashtondid not get into social media
(06:49):
very much, for one thing, wedidn't allow him to have it till
he was over 18.
So now it's not a source ofsocial interaction for him, like
he doesn't even keep it on hisphone because he just doesn't,
you know, he doesn't getanything out of it.
So that's an interesting thing.
Like from a young age, I feellike he learned like, okay, I
feel like I need someinteraction.
(07:11):
Let me, you know, go make somefriends, you know.
So, anyway, all of that, justto say that it's a balance and
everybody has to work out forthemselves what they need.
What I want people to thinkabout is, if you find yourself
feeling lonely, start to see theways that you're trying to meet
that need that are making itworse for you.
(07:32):
So if you, if you go straightto Facebook and start scrolling
and you notice like this is nothelping me, I'm still feeling
lonely, think about what you cando to fill that need and not
just make it worse.
And start with having some timeto yourself and you know,
listen to what your, what yourthoughts are saying, and that
(07:54):
helps you understand yourselfbetter, be more confident and,
you know, be able to walkthrough your life in a healthy
way.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Something that I've kind of seen from like a younger
perspective, and it is fromsocial media.
But I think you know that Gen Zand even younger, they again
look at definitions of thingsdifferently because they grew up
with all of that stuff.
So a big thing that I'm seeingnow is specifically with women,
(08:27):
but they are like takingthemselves on a like a self care
date, so they'll like go to acoffee shop and just do all
their favorite activities, um,and that's something that
they're finding to be enjoyable,which I think is a good thing,
(08:50):
oh, me too, I think so too.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
I liked how you point out, too, about really looking
at how are you trying to meetthat need when you feel lonely.
When you talked about going toFacebook, I mean I can say in
the past there's probably beentimes where I've posted on
Facebook because I felt lonely,but then there's no responses
and it's like that just makesyou feel more lonely, Like
something's not, like nobody'slistening, and it makes me
(09:13):
wonder are there deeperquestions?
And I think that's why it'simportant how you bring up about
going out and choosing solitudeto hear your own voice, Because
it's like well, why are youcraving, Like why are we craving
that attention?
Is there something deeper therethat needs our attention, Like
mental health wise?
(09:34):
Is it because you don't feelgood enough?
Is it for your important right?
Those are things that may be wecould hear and hear.
I don't know if that's theright way to say it, but maybe
those thoughts will come outduring that time of solitude to
help us be aware of maybe somedeeper things that's going on
inside of us individually thatwe can seek out.
(09:56):
I know you have two articlesyou said that you want to share
that that support.
This, too is people want toread more about it.
So we'll make sure we put thosein the show notes.
So we want to hear your guys'thoughts too, so make sure you
click that link in the shownotes that says Texas.
We would love to hear yourthoughts and we'll talk about
those later on in a futureepisode.
Now, I think that there'sprobably people listening right
(10:16):
now that's wondering okay, hey,this sounds great Solitude.
Yes, Okay, I could see this,but I'm just too busy, I don't
have time, I can't.
We have too many distractions,which I think is a great, great
place to transition into thispiece of tech that we're going
to share with everybody.
It's nothing.
It's nothing high tech.
It's called the brick.
So, right here, this is calledthe brick and the this little
(10:38):
thing is pretty, pretty amazing.
Shawna sent it to me a whileback ago to check out because I
don't know.
Olivia Shawna, have you guysever found yourselves like where
you're?
You're always constantly likemaybe you find yourself looking
at your phone when you reallydidn't want to be looking at
your phone?
Have you ever struggled withthat before?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
I have definitely.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Or those, those phantom vibrations like where
you have.
You guys both experienced thatbefore you think your phone's
vibrating Constantly All thetime.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's not even in your pocket or in your purse.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It's like in the whole other room.
It's weird.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Yeah, like my butt vibrates in my phones when I'm
in there and I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, we'll talk about that off the podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
That's a whole different podcast.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Shawna, you sent me this link to this device where I
could check it out and I cantell you guys have you guys used
devices before to try to helpyou stay focused?
Have either one of you Oliviaand Shawna?
No, olivia hasn't.
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
A millennennial hasn't done that yet.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hold on.
I'm waiting to see if she getsa little sassy here.
Wow, wow.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Here comes three.
I don't need a device to helpme get focused, Brian.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I do, I really do, and I've tried the timers on my
phone.
It doesn't work.
Within one day, my finger isalready trained to be like 15
more minutes.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I think if Ashton was here, he'd probably remind you.
It's like a dopamine hit orsomething like that.
When you do that, it's like,ooh, I just rewarded myself
another 15 minutes.
I did nothing for it, justclicked a little button that
said give me 15 more minutesyeah, I've tried those.
I 15 more minutes, yeah, I'vetried those.
I've tried those.
I've tried different apps aswell, but you can always turn
(12:28):
them off and there's noconsequence for anything like
that.
So Brick was designed by twocollege students who noticed
that there was a problem, aproblem of constant distractions
that they were dealing withevery day, and it was with their
phone, their phones.
Like right here, this thingright here was causing the
distractions, and they saw itwith people all around them.
So their mission behinddeveloping the brick was to make
(12:50):
smartphones less distractingand to help increase
productivity.
And I could definitely see that, and I think that this device
right here can really play ahuge role in improving even like
what we're talking about rightnow this loneliness and finding
some time for solitude to getout and hear our own thoughts
and be open to asking ourselvesthose deeper questions about
(13:12):
ourselves, like why do I feelthis way?
Why do I crave this.
I think it's interesting andyou guys share your guys'
thoughts.
Isn't it interesting that thesedevices like these phones or
social media that have beendeveloped to bring us closer
together, to help us connectmore, with too much of it, it
seems to take us down the routeof doing the total opposite and
(13:33):
it's causing more of adisconnect.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
You know, I guess it comes down to money.
Now, it's all being, you know,designed to keep us on there
longer, because our attention isfor sale.
So the longer they can keep uson there, then the more likely
we are to spend money, buythings.
I mean gosh, those Facebook adsare so tempting.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
How about those TikTok ads?
I'm sure there's probably a lotof people buying stuff off
TikTok, right, Olivia?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Let me just say I'm not oniktok, but I have used
some tiktok products becausesome people I work for have
bought things off the tiktokstore and or what's called
tiktok shop, tiktok shop yeahyeah, uh, excellent mops, let me
just say yeah, exactly, yeah,exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Oh, I was just gonna say I wonder if this it's the
smart, it's the smartphoneaspect.
Right, if we still had justplain old cell phones, like when
we all first started them, thatwas a way to keep you connected
, but then they morphed intothese smartphones.
(14:42):
That I think it's thesmartphone aspect of it,
absolutely.
Had they stayed their old way,I think they would have been a
way for you know people to leteach other know that where
they're at, or whatever it maybe, but then they morphed into
this monster.
If you will what Shawna spot on,what money and all of that um
(15:08):
having I think you nailed itthere.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I mean, yeah, I think you know the smartphones are
making us dumber really is whatit comes down to.
The smartphones are not makingus that much smarter, and I
remember last episode we talkedabout having a responsibility as
millennials, as gens, asXenials, to help remind the
(15:29):
younger generation coming up thedifferent ways to create more
meaningful connections.
You guys remember talking aboutthat, yeah.
So I think that this brickthing is a good way, a good tool
that I think we should bring totheir attention is because I
think if we can turn off thosephones at certain times, it can
play a huge role in our livesand create positive change for
(15:53):
us.
But it also just like youtalked about choosing solitude,
it has to be a choice that we'rewilling to do.
To tell you a little bit aboutthe brick itself, it's very easy
to set up.
You just you get it, you scanit with a QR code, it's set,
downloads the app.
But what's cool about it isit's this little thing is
magnetic, so you can stick it onyour refrigerator stuff like
(16:14):
that.
You can throw it in your purseor put one in your car, you can.
You can get multiple ones, buteach one you can use for
multiple phones, so, like ourentire household can use this
one brick.
But what's cool about it is youliterally create modes for it,
(16:35):
so how you want to use it, andyou can choose to either allow
apps or block apps.
I've learned that it's a loteasier to set it up to say, hey,
I'm just going to choose toblock these apps.
So I've created different modes.
Like I created a work mode, Icreated a checkout mode which is
like, hey, you know, I'm goingout and going out, maybe it's a
date night or something.
I have a a touch grass modewhich is like, hey, this is my
(16:58):
time to go reflect.
But yeah, I've created thesedifferent modes that whenever,
like whenever I'm checking outfrom work, like, hey, work's
over, I want to go check out, Igo tap my phone on it.
You just tap your phone andthen it puts it into that mode
and you can block those apps.
So I can say, hey, after workhours, I do not want to be able
to check my email, I don't wantto be opening up my calendar, I
(17:25):
don't want the things I have todo with work.
So I can really transition fromwork to my personal life.
Or if I'm going out for a timeof solitude.
Well, we know the challenge ofthat is, if you're stepping away
for solitude, you're going tohave notifications going off,
just like we've had during thispodcast episode.
My notifications are going offand they're distractions, so you
can go and say, hey, during mysolitude time.
On that mode, I want to makesure that I don't get Facebook
(17:46):
messenger notifications.
I don't.
I can't open up the Facebookapp, I can't open up Tik TOK, I
can't do Instagram.
You can do turn all thosethings off.
So all you do is tap it.
Now the interesting thing isthe only way to unlock, to
unbrick your phone is to go backand tap that again.
So I think that's where it'svery interesting is like if you
stick this on your refrigeratorand you're going out, you have
(18:08):
to drive all the way back hometo unlock it.
Now, I have done some tests toit.
I see, I see the millennial, orI just got really big.
Like what?
Okay, first, let me stop here,olivia, what are your thoughts
about that?
Uh, yeah, that does not soundgreat to me at all.
(18:30):
What, what would be, what wouldbe, what would be the one thing
that that makes you hesitant todo something like this.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I don't know, like just hearing you say that last
part that you had to likephysically, like tap it or
whatever, and if it's at yourhouse and you're out, I just
started to get like shaky orsomething.
I don't it's a bad sign.
Probably I'm having withdrawals.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I get it.
I mean, when we first startedusing it, I admit like I thought
it's not going to be no bigdeal at all.
But then when I bricked myphone after work, I did not
realize how many times I wouldtry to go and open up my email
again or look at LinkedIn.
Like LinkedIn, that's a workapp.
So I blocked it and I didn'trealize how much, how often, I
would actually try to go to thatafter work hours.
(19:15):
But I love that, even though itdoesn't feel good, doesn't
sound good, you're still beingaware of.
Like that's not good, probably.
So that's the good thing aboutthis is I know we've talked
about the apps that you've beenable to.
You know, hit ignore, give me15 more minutes.
They're used to have the Appleused to give you a notice every
(19:36):
week of how much time you spenton applications.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I don't really see that anymore.
Oh, you still get that?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, it is.
I love that response.
It is, that was perfect.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
That was a great response.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, I did test this with the brick.
Like when I bricked my phone, Ithought, okay, this is great,
but can I get past it?
Like?
I want to know, can I get pastit?
Because if I can figure out away, I'm going to do it, because
the tendency of like I want todo this, now you're going to do
whatever you got to do to openup that app, and I wanted to
really prevent that Like, isthis really going to take it to
(20:12):
the next level?
So the first thing I did was Ilocked, I bricked the phone, and
then I held down on the app andI said delete the app.
I deleted the brick app and, ofcourse, it unlocked every app.
So I'm like see, this isn'tgoing to work.
What's interesting, though, is Ireinstalled the app, and the
further I got into the settings,I noticed that there's a a
(20:34):
little toggle that saysemergency on brick strict,
strict mode, and I'm like well,what's that it says?
I have four left, and I startedreading and what that is?
Well, what's that it says?
I have four left and I startedreading, and what that is is
that is, if you turn on strictmode, what that does is if you
go.
If you turn on strict mode andyou brick your phone, you cannot
delete the app.
It will not allow you to dothat.
(20:57):
But you can say use an emergencyunbrick and it unbricks it.
So if you're out somewhere andyou have to get in there, you
can do it.
And I thought, well, that'ssuch an odd number.
Four, well, I guess that's aneven number, but four, why would
you choose four times?
But they actually do give youfive.
They actually do give you fiveunbricks.
But it recognized that Ideleted the app to unbrick my
(21:21):
phone and it took away one of myemergency on bricks.
So I'm guessing that when yourun out of emergency on bricks,
the only way to unlock yourphone is to unlock those apps,
is to go back and tap the brick.
So you have some freedom there.
Olivia, maybe that helps alittle bit to test it out, but
(21:44):
you only get five total.
So you got to really use itsparingly.
And I am I still don't knowthis.
Uh, we need to install it onShawna phone because, uh, she
could probably block some appslike instacart and stuff like
that from us ordering, do younot?
want to eat but you don't wantto maybe block it.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Like it like at nine o'clock we're like you know what
sounds good ice cream well,instacart doesn't deliver after
nine, so it you have to block itfrom like seven.
It's usually.
It's usually 7, 30 when brian'slike you know, I'd love some
ice cream.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I'm like, let me just go right here on instacart we
could probably save a lot ofmoney bricking things like the
amazon store and stuff like thatat certain times, like when you
purchase more.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
For yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, for myself.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So you can still talk and text on your phone, right?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yes, you can do whatever you want.
So you decide what you want tobrick or not.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Yeah, you create your own modes and you choose each
mode what apps you want to block.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
So, like for me, I wouldn't block email because I
don't care about my email.
I never check my email.
Brian is, you know, like,semi-addicted to his email, so
you can just decide what is bestfor you.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It is a really cool app.
The only thing question, though, with the emergency bricks is
I'm wondering like I want to getit on your phone, Shawna, so we
can see do we all get five ordo we all share that five?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And I could see it even at workplaces.
I mean, if you have workplacesand you don't want people using
certain things during work, youcould use a brick, like have
everybody tap the brick.
I don't know.
We were just talking lastepisode about the Siri thing,
being able to hear, and you know, with chat GBT, could you make
people tap their phones at somepoint and turn that off so you
(23:32):
don't have to worry about tradesecrets getting out?
I don't know.
So I would love to know, beforewe go to the next topic which
we'll be switching over to,olivia, what apps would you guys
even consider blocking?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Okay, Olivia, you can go first.
Remember, it doesn't have to beblocked all the time, just for
certain times.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
None, it all has to do with control.
I have control issues and thatmakes me feel out of control,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
But what if you reframed that and looked at it
like you're actually more incontrol?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Hmm, how about that?
There you go.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
More control of the things that More control, olivia
, of the things that areimportant to you in life.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Okay, maybe I would consider blocking my Amazon app
for a little bit, but other thanthat, yeah I got an interesting
thought on this little twist.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
What if we asked our spouses what apps we should
block?
Speaker 3 (24:34):
oh, go get nate olivia he would say tiktok 100 I
would I mean for myself.
I would block Facebook becausethat is the only app that I
don't feel like I'm in controlof, like I was telling Brian the
other day.
You know, sometimes I'll pickup my phone to look at I don't
(24:56):
know the date or something, andthen I just click right into
Facebook and I'm scrollingbefore I even realize what I'm
doing, or you know, I will lookup.
This happens all the time.
I'll be like hi, I wonder whatthe weather's going to be.
And then 10 minutes later I'mlike what am I doing on Facebook
?
Like I don't even realize I'mdoing it.
It's such a habit, so I would.
That's what I will use it for.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Well, I would love to know in the comments you guys
let us know if you're listeningto the podcast, click that link
in the show notes and let usknow what apps would you block
and would you even considerusing something like this brick?
It would just be helpful to you.
Let us know, send us a textmessage.
So all right, olivia, let's goahead.
And let's go ahead and jump onover to this instagram updates.
I would love to hear what'sgoing on there all right.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Well, unfortunately I cannot tell you because I
blocked Instagram with.
The podcast is over.
Okay, so recently the head ofInstagram his name is Adam
Masseri did an interview orsometimes he does like Instagram
(26:02):
lives, things like that but heanswered some questions that a
lot of people had aboutInstagram and none of this stuff
is like groundbreaking to mostpeople.
It might be to some people, butit just kind of like reiterates
, kind of like the things thatwe've been talking to our
(26:25):
clients about.
So it was just good to hearthem literally out of the head
of the mouth.
Who kind of controls thealgorithm and all of that sort
of thing?
So, um, I'm just going to goahead and dive into these um
things that he said and if youhave any questions or whatever,
(26:48):
feel free to interrupt me.
Okay, so number one he said thatyou should respond to comments
on your Instagram posts for upto a week.
So going back to your old postsfor an entire week, he said,
(27:09):
helps it to get reboosted againin the algorithm.
So, just thinking about it,almost like you know those
little um heart things, ifsomeone codes and boom, that's
what you going back to commentsare, you're bringing your posts
back to life.
So another thing which we'vebeen teaching our clients for a
(27:35):
while is just how valuablecarousel posts are, and he once
again reiterated that fact.
But he explained the reason whybeing people are so busy.
So when you have a carouselpost, say, for example, bring it
(27:55):
back to that person's feed tolet them fully look through your
entire post.
So basically, the carousel isgiving people more than one
(28:17):
opportunity to see the post.
So I've noticed that you're notdoing carousels, definitely add
those in and really make yourfirst two slides like the ones
that are, you know, have thebiggest punch there.
So he said one of the importantmetrics that the algorithm
(28:45):
looks at on Instagram isactually shares, but with
Instagram it's not even he's noteven talking about like shares
to your story.
What he means by that is sendsslash DMS, which, if you're what
(29:06):
?
Basically what they're tryingto do, right?
If you're not super familiarwith TikTok, that is the number
one way for you to share onTikTok is by DMing people, and
we all know that they're tryingto do whatever they can to
compete with TikTok, to competewith TikTok.
(29:30):
So basically he's saying thatthey're seeing if your post is
being privately DM to youraudience, like to your followers
.
So it's Shawna sending a postthat she likes to Brian, or a
reel or whatever.
That's basically like thehighest compliment.
You want your close circle tosee these things.
So that's something to keep inmind when you're creating
(29:52):
content.
I wouldn't like just be, youknow, blatant and spammy and be
like DM this to someone but likesprinkle that in there in your
strategy and, you know, letpeople know that you want them
to privately DM it to someone.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Does that count if you DM other people about your
post?
Because I've been honestly likeI've had people DM me their
posts like crazy now and itdrives me insane.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah, no, I am not in the camp of doing that.
I think it feels very spammyand icky and I don't like it.
So I don't think that that islike.
I know it's something that nowthey even have at the top of
Instagram when you post Do youwant to share this with your?
(30:48):
Or do you want to DM this, orwhatever?
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm talking about content thatyou know someone really likes,
that they share, or you know.
So, yeah, be mindful of thatLike when you're posting
something.
(31:09):
Again, asking thing.
But another thing that he said,kind of going along with this,
(31:29):
is that they care aboutengagement rate more than your
number of followers.
So, not to say that yourfollower number isn't important,
but that's not the thing thatthey're looking at as a
successful account.
(31:49):
So if you have, you know,10,000 followers but you're
getting five comments per postor whatever to Instagram, that's
not a success, right?
Because someone else who has 20followers could also be getting
five comments and that's ahigher percentage, that's a
(32:09):
higher engagement rate.
So, again, I know, since thebeginning of social media, it's
always been about how many likesdo you have, how many followers
do you have.
But that, if you're stillmeasuring that.
I hate to say it, but youreally do have an old school
mentality when it comes tosocial media, and it's time to
(32:35):
to update that thought process.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
So um, yeah, I love that, and then you know anybody
that's listening.
If you're wondering, like, well, how do I figure out my
engagement rate, we actuallyhave a free calculator that you
can use on Killer Bee's website,so we'll post a link to that in
the show notes.
You can use it for free.
I know it's hard to do moremeaningful connections on social
.
You know we're all learningthis.
You know those of us that havebeen doing this before social
(33:03):
and now we're in here embracingthe digital more and more.
But I think it's a great thingto point out that engagement is
so crucial because that's a moremeaningful connection when it
comes to digital, on a digitalaspect, when it comes to a
metric compared to how manyfollowers you have, because
that's just the followersrepresent.
It can represent a huge crowd,but you know, at a concert, if
(33:24):
you're at a huge crowd, you'renot connecting with all those
people.
It's the people that's close toyou that's engaging with you.
That's really the moremeaningful connections on that
side of it.
So I love you pointed that out,Olivia.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Yeah, and I think that, um, you know, just with
all of this information that hascome out again, so many people
feel like I can't be successfulor whatever on social media
anymore.
It's pointless for a business.
But they tell you what to do,and I think a lot of the
(33:58):
businesses or people that arelike social media is dead I
can't get X, y and Z anymore.
If they really took a step backto see what they're actually
doing, a lot of their contentmight be valuable to them, but
is it really valuable to otherpeople?
So that's something that youhave to keep in mind as well.
(34:21):
Social media is not dead.
It's evolving, but you have tobe giving valuable content.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
So, olivia, I noticed a few things that you said
there.
As we get ready to close, Iwant to encourage people to be
thinking about this, too.
When you're talking about a lotof people are trying to feel
like they feel like they can'tbe successful on social media
stuff like that.
I want to encourage anybodythat's listening to ask
themselves what is success toyou?
What is success?
(34:50):
We can fall into this trap and,like you're saying too, they
tell us what to do, they do,they will tell us what to do and
Olivia is amazing at payingattention to these things, so we
can get the most out of theseplatforms.
But it's important that wealways remember that their goals
are different than our goals.
It's different than your goals,what you're doing, their
success is different than yoursuccess.
(35:12):
What is success to you, what isimportant to you and what is
your goals?
Because we can fall into thattrap of chasing things that
really are just pulling us awayfrom what's really important to
what we're doing and what we'rehere to do at the jobs that
we're at and the positions thatwe're in.
Be more mindful about that aswell.
With that, I want to thankeverybody for tuning in.
(35:34):
Make sure you check out thelinks in the show notes and make
sure you text us.
We want to hear from you if youhave any thoughts or anything
that you would like to add tothe conversations, and if you
enjoyed this episode, don'tforget to click, follow and
leave us.
Welcome to the Mindful Bytes podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Today we're going to talk about what Adam Masseri,
the head of Instagram, had tosay recently.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The surprising antidote to loneliness and a
tool that can help you stayfocused and present by removing
daily distractions.
Let's go ahead and dive intothis episode of the Mindful
Bytes.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Hey, I'm Shawna.
I'm your Xenial digitaldinosaur.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm Brian, your Gen X business leader.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I'm Olivia, your sassy savvy social media
millennial.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
And then Ashton, our Gen Z gadget fanatic, taking the
day off, so we'll have to bringsome tech news in from you from
the Gen X side.
All right, Shawna, why don'tyou go ahead and kick us off?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
All right.
So last time I talked about theepidemic of loneliness in the
US, and today I'm going to talkabout the surprising antidote to
loneliness.
So I'm going to start with aquote by Wendell Berry that kind
of sums up what I'm going totalk about.
So the quote is in the wildplaces where one is without
(01:02):
human obligation, one's innervoices become audible.
The more coherent one becomeswithin oneself as a creature,
the more fully one enters intothe communion of all creatures.
And so that's what theunexpected, surprising antidote
is to loneliness is being byyourself.
(01:23):
And when I first started readingabout this I mean that doesn't
make sense, right, that'scounterintuitive.
But the difference is, you know, loneliness comes down to
feeling the difference betweenhow much social engagement you
want and how much you actuallyhave.
So like, if you feel like youknow you want to be hanging out
with people more and you don'thave the opportunity, then you,
you feel like you know you wantto be hanging out with people
(01:45):
more and you don't have theopportunity, then you can feel
alone, you know or if you wantdeeper connections with people
and you don't have theopportunity, then it can make
you feel lonely.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So I can definitely see how social media can play a
huge role in that, because a lotof people want more followers
and they're they're kind oflooking at followers as hey,
like this is my, my community ormy tribe that's following me,
and when they don't have thatthat large of a following, they
feel maybe they're not that as,not that as important.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Definitely, and imagine what it would feel like.
And maybe you've even felt this.
I think I've felt thisdefinitely.
But you know, I have what 5,000friends or something like that
on Facebook and yet sometimesyou can't find someone to talk
to.
You know what I'm saying Like.
So those numbers can trick youinto thinking, oh, I have like a
(02:36):
big friend group, but then ifyou actually need something and
you can't find someone to listento you or to talk to you or to
help you, then that's a big gap,you know.
And it's because we're made fordeep connection, we're made for
intimacy and for friendship andfor deep relationships and for
the most part, you don't reallyfind that on social media.
We saw, during COVID lockdownsand stuff like that, a lot of
(02:59):
people suffering from lonelinessbecause they literally could
not get out and do the thingsthat they were used to doing.
The difference in solitude isnumber one, you choose it and
number two, you use itpurposefully.
You know, right now in ourculture, we're seeing that we're
losing the ability to be ableto be by ourselves, to be quiet,
(03:19):
to be unplugged, and that'shurting us in a lot of ways
unplugged and that's hurting usin a lot of ways.
But one of the ways is that youstart to see addictive
tendencies with social media andthings like that.
I mean, we've seen it for years, even with TV and the internet
and things like that.
But if you're feeling lonelysometimes it will seem like a
(03:40):
natural thing to try to reachout online.
But we know that those aren'talways quality connections that
you're making you know in thoseways on social media or whatever
way you're using thesetechnologies.
So by taking time to be byyourself and if you, by the way,
if you couple that with beingin nature, then the benefits
(04:02):
just compound.
It's so much better for youeven if you're alone out in
nature, and some of the reasonsfor that is when you are
unplugged and you have time tobe alone with your thoughts,
your stress level comes way down, you're able to hear your own
thoughts, so you get to knowyourself better, and all of
these things make you betterable to connect with people.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
When you are with people, I love that you point
out that it was that solitudetime allows us to start hearing
our own selves think, which whenwe're so caught up in all the
busyness and stuff and today'sculture, it's hard to find that
time to really hear your ownthoughts.
So I feel like that's veryinteresting.
(04:46):
Libby, do you have any thoughtson this so far?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
yeah, I mean, I was also wondering if there, you
know, is more of a differencebetween like an extrovert and an
introvert and like feelings ofloneliness, because I feel like
I've changed in my life, wherewhen I was younger I just wanted
to be around people all thetime, and this and now I'm more
(05:11):
introverted and I don't want tobe around a ton of people all
the time.
So I do find it easier to taketime to.
You know, sit with your ownthoughts and go on a walk and
think, and you know, solitude tome is enjoyable, versus, you
(05:33):
know, when I was younger I'd belike this is the worst.
Yes, exactly yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I was exactly like that too.
I hated to be alone when I wasyounger, and I think that shows
you that it's a skill that youcan build.
You know, because you mightthink people might think they
don't need any time alone, butthat's not healthy.
And so you know, if you startto build like that ability to be
alone, it's so good for you.
But it points out that's aninteresting thing you pointed
(06:02):
out, olivia is that everybodyhas a different balance, so
everyone has to find what'sright for them, what makes them
feel, you know, healthy andwhole.
And you know some people needlike our son, ashton needs a lot
of social interaction.
Like he goes for too longwithout hanging out with his
friends or going out and doingsomething, he starts to feel
(06:24):
kind of sad, he starts to feelkind of lonely and he has a high
and he has recognized that inhimself.
He'll say like you know Iforget how he words it exactly,
but basically he's saying like Ineed some like social
interaction.
And interestingly I don't knowif this is normal for Gen Z, I'm
guessing it probably is Ashtondid not get into social media
(06:49):
very much, for one thing, wedidn't allow him to have it till
he was over 18.
So now it's not a source ofsocial interaction for him, like
he doesn't even keep it on hisphone because he just doesn't,
you know, he doesn't getanything out of it.
So that's an interesting thing.
Like from a young age, I feellike he learned like, okay, I
feel like I need someinteraction.
(07:11):
Let me, you know, go make somefriends, you know.
So, anyway, all of that, justto say that it's a balance and
everybody has to work out forthemselves what they need.
What I want people to thinkabout is, if you find yourself
feeling lonely, start to see theways that you're trying to meet
that need that are making itworse for you.
(07:32):
So if you, if you go straightto Facebook and start scrolling
and you notice like this is nothelping me, I'm still feeling
lonely, think about what you cando to fill that need and not
just make it worse.
And start with having some timeto yourself and you know,
listen to what your, what yourthoughts are saying, and that
(07:54):
helps you understand yourselfbetter, be more confident and,
you know, be able to walkthrough your life in a healthy
way.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Something that I've kind of seen from like a younger
perspective, and it is fromsocial media.
But I think you know that Gen Zand even younger, they again
look at definitions of thingsdifferently because they grew up
with all of that stuff.
So a big thing that I'm seeingnow is specifically with women,
(08:27):
but they are like takingthemselves on a like a self care
date, so they'll like go to acoffee shop and just do all
their favorite activities, um,and that's something that
they're finding to be enjoyable,which I think is a good thing,
(08:50):
oh, me too, I think so too.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
I liked how you point out, too, about really looking
at how are you trying to meetthat need when you feel lonely.
When you talked about going toFacebook, I mean I can say in
the past there's probably beentimes where I've posted on
Facebook because I felt lonely,but then there's no responses
and it's like that just makesyou feel more lonely, Like
something's not, like nobody'slistening, and it makes me
(09:13):
wonder are there deeperquestions?
And I think that's why it'simportant how you bring up about
going out and choosing solitudeto hear your own voice, Because
it's like well, why are youcraving, Like why are we craving
that attention?
Is there something deeper therethat needs our attention, Like
mental health wise?
(09:34):
Is it because you don't feelgood enough?
Is it for your important right?
Those are things that may be wecould hear and hear.
I don't know if that's theright way to say it, but maybe
those thoughts will come outduring that time of solitude to
help us be aware of maybe somedeeper things that's going on
inside of us individually thatwe can seek out.
(09:56):
I know you have two articlesyou said that you want to share
that that support.
This, too is people want toread more about it.
So we'll make sure we put thosein the show notes.
So we want to hear your guys'thoughts too, so make sure you
click that link in the shownotes that says Texas.
We would love to hear yourthoughts and we'll talk about
those later on in a futureepisode.
Now, I think that there'sprobably people listening right
(10:16):
now that's wondering okay, hey,this sounds great Solitude.
Yes, Okay, I could see this,but I'm just too busy, I don't
have time, I can't.
We have too many distractions,which I think is a great, great
place to transition into thispiece of tech that we're going
to share with everybody.
It's nothing.
It's nothing high tech.
It's called the brick.
So, right here, this is calledthe brick and the this little
(10:38):
thing is pretty, pretty amazing.
Shawna sent it to me a whileback ago to check out because I
don't know.
Olivia Shawna, have you guysever found yourselves like where
you're?
You're always constantly likemaybe you find yourself looking
at your phone when you reallydidn't want to be looking at
your phone?
Have you ever struggled withthat before?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
I have definitely.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Or those, those phantom vibrations like where
you have.
You guys both experienced thatbefore you think your phone's
vibrating Constantly All thetime.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's not even in your pocket or in your purse.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It's like in the whole other room.
It's weird.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Yeah, like my butt vibrates in my phones when I'm
in there and I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, we'll talk about that off the podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
That's a whole different podcast.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Shawna, you sent me this link to this device where I
could check it out and I cantell you guys have you guys used
devices before to try to helpyou stay focused?
Have either one of you Oliviaand Shawna?
No, olivia hasn't.
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
A millennennial hasn't done that yet.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hold on.
I'm waiting to see if she getsa little sassy here.
Wow, wow.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Here comes three.
I don't need a device to helpme get focused, Brian.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I do, I really do, and I've tried the timers on my
phone.
It doesn't work.
Within one day, my finger isalready trained to be like 15
more minutes.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I think if Ashton was here, he'd probably remind you.
It's like a dopamine hit orsomething like that.
When you do that, it's like,ooh, I just rewarded myself
another 15 minutes.
I did nothing for it, justclicked a little button that
said give me 15 more minutesyeah, I've tried those.
I 15 more minutes, yeah, I'vetried those.
I've tried those.
I've tried different apps aswell, but you can always turn
(12:28):
them off and there's noconsequence for anything like
that.
So Brick was designed by twocollege students who noticed
that there was a problem, aproblem of constant distractions
that they were dealing withevery day, and it was with their
phone, their phones.
Like right here, this thingright here was causing the
distractions, and they saw itwith people all around them.
So their mission behinddeveloping the brick was to make
(12:50):
smartphones less distractingand to help increase
productivity.
And I could definitely see that, and I think that this device
right here can really play ahuge role in improving even like
what we're talking about rightnow this loneliness and finding
some time for solitude to getout and hear our own thoughts
and be open to asking ourselvesthose deeper questions about
(13:12):
ourselves, like why do I feelthis way?
Why do I crave this.
I think it's interesting andyou guys share your guys'
thoughts.
Isn't it interesting that thesedevices like these phones or
social media that have beendeveloped to bring us closer
together, to help us connectmore, with too much of it, it
seems to take us down the routeof doing the total opposite and
(13:33):
it's causing more of adisconnect.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
You know, I guess it comes down to money.
Now, it's all being, you know,designed to keep us on there
longer, because our attention isfor sale.
So the longer they can keep uson there, then the more likely
we are to spend money, buythings.
I mean gosh, those Facebook adsare so tempting.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
How about those TikTok ads?
I'm sure there's probably a lotof people buying stuff off
TikTok, right, Olivia?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Let me just say I'm not oniktok, but I have used
some tiktok products becausesome people I work for have
bought things off the tiktokstore and or what's called
tiktok shop, tiktok shop yeahyeah, uh, excellent mops, let me
just say yeah, exactly, yeah,exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Oh, I was just gonna say I wonder if this it's the
smart, it's the smartphoneaspect.
Right, if we still had justplain old cell phones, like when
we all first started them, thatwas a way to keep you connected
, but then they morphed intothese smartphones.
(14:42):
That I think it's thesmartphone aspect of it,
absolutely.
Had they stayed their old way,I think they would have been a
way for you know people to leteach other know that where
they're at, or whatever it maybe, but then they morphed into
this monster.
If you will what Shawna spot on,what money and all of that um
(15:08):
having I think you nailed itthere.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I mean, yeah, I think you know the smartphones are
making us dumber really is whatit comes down to.
The smartphones are not makingus that much smarter, and I
remember last episode we talkedabout having a responsibility as
millennials, as gens, asXenials, to help remind the
(15:29):
younger generation coming up thedifferent ways to create more
meaningful connections.
You guys remember talking aboutthat, yeah.
So I think that this brickthing is a good way, a good tool
that I think we should bring totheir attention is because I
think if we can turn off thosephones at certain times, it can
play a huge role in our livesand create positive change for
(15:53):
us.
But it also just like youtalked about choosing solitude,
it has to be a choice that we'rewilling to do.
To tell you a little bit aboutthe brick itself, it's very easy
to set up.
You just you get it, you scanit with a QR code, it's set,
downloads the app.
But what's cool about it isit's this little thing is
magnetic, so you can stick it onyour refrigerator stuff like
(16:14):
that.
You can throw it in your purseor put one in your car, you can.
You can get multiple ones, buteach one you can use for
multiple phones, so, like ourentire household can use this
one brick.
But what's cool about it is youliterally create modes for it,
(16:35):
so how you want to use it, andyou can choose to either allow
apps or block apps.
I've learned that it's a loteasier to set it up to say, hey,
I'm just going to choose toblock these apps.
So I've created different modes.
Like I created a work mode, Icreated a checkout mode which is
like, hey, you know, I'm goingout and going out, maybe it's a
date night or something.
I have a a touch grass modewhich is like, hey, this is my
(16:58):
time to go reflect.
But yeah, I've created thesedifferent modes that whenever,
like whenever I'm checking outfrom work, like, hey, work's
over, I want to go check out, Igo tap my phone on it.
You just tap your phone andthen it puts it into that mode
and you can block those apps.
So I can say, hey, after workhours, I do not want to be able
to check my email, I don't wantto be opening up my calendar, I
(17:25):
don't want the things I have todo with work.
So I can really transition fromwork to my personal life.
Or if I'm going out for a timeof solitude.
Well, we know the challenge ofthat is, if you're stepping away
for solitude, you're going tohave notifications going off,
just like we've had during thispodcast episode.
My notifications are going offand they're distractions, so you
can go and say, hey, during mysolitude time.
On that mode, I want to makesure that I don't get Facebook
(17:46):
messenger notifications.
I don't.
I can't open up the Facebookapp, I can't open up Tik TOK, I
can't do Instagram.
You can do turn all thosethings off.
So all you do is tap it.
Now the interesting thing isthe only way to unlock, to
unbrick your phone is to go backand tap that again.
So I think that's where it'svery interesting is like if you
stick this on your refrigeratorand you're going out, you have
(18:08):
to drive all the way back hometo unlock it.
Now, I have done some tests toit.
I see, I see the millennial, orI just got really big.
Like what?
Okay, first, let me stop here,olivia, what are your thoughts
about that?
Uh, yeah, that does not soundgreat to me at all.
(18:30):
What, what would be, what wouldbe, what would be the one thing
that that makes you hesitant todo something like this.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I don't know, like just hearing you say that last
part that you had to likephysically, like tap it or
whatever, and if it's at yourhouse and you're out, I just
started to get like shaky orsomething.
I don't it's a bad sign.
Probably I'm having withdrawals.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I get it.
I mean, when we first startedusing it, I admit like I thought
it's not going to be no bigdeal at all.
But then when I bricked myphone after work, I did not
realize how many times I wouldtry to go and open up my email
again or look at LinkedIn.
Like LinkedIn, that's a workapp.
So I blocked it and I didn'trealize how much, how often, I
would actually try to go to thatafter work hours.
(19:15):
But I love that, even though itdoesn't feel good, doesn't
sound good, you're still beingaware of.
Like that's not good, probably.
So that's the good thing aboutthis is I know we've talked
about the apps that you've beenable to.
You know, hit ignore, give me15 more minutes.
They're used to have the Appleused to give you a notice every
(19:36):
week of how much time you spenton applications.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I don't really see that anymore.
Oh, you still get that?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, it is.
I love that response.
It is, that was perfect.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
That was a great response.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, I did test this with the brick.
Like when I bricked my phone, Ithought, okay, this is great,
but can I get past it?
Like?
I want to know, can I get pastit?
Because if I can figure out away, I'm going to do it, because
the tendency of like I want todo this, now you're going to do
whatever you got to do to openup that app, and I wanted to
really prevent that Like, isthis really going to take it to
(20:12):
the next level?
So the first thing I did was Ilocked, I bricked the phone, and
then I held down on the app andI said delete the app.
I deleted the brick app and, ofcourse, it unlocked every app.
So I'm like see, this isn'tgoing to work.
What's interesting, though, is Ireinstalled the app, and the
further I got into the settings,I noticed that there's a a
(20:34):
little toggle that saysemergency on brick strict,
strict mode, and I'm like well,what's that it says?
I have four left, and I startedreading and what that is?
Well, what's that it says?
I have four left and I startedreading, and what that is is
that is, if you turn on strictmode, what that does is if you
go.
If you turn on strict mode andyou brick your phone, you cannot
delete the app.
It will not allow you to dothat.
(20:57):
But you can say use an emergencyunbrick and it unbricks it.
So if you're out somewhere andyou have to get in there, you
can do it.
And I thought, well, that'ssuch an odd number.
Four, well, I guess that's aneven number, but four, why would
you choose four times?
But they actually do give youfive.
They actually do give you fiveunbricks.
But it recognized that Ideleted the app to unbrick my
(21:21):
phone and it took away one of myemergency on bricks.
So I'm guessing that when yourun out of emergency on bricks,
the only way to unlock yourphone is to unlock those apps,
is to go back and tap the brick.
So you have some freedom there.
Olivia, maybe that helps alittle bit to test it out, but
(21:44):
you only get five total.
So you got to really use itsparingly.
And I am I still don't knowthis.
Uh, we need to install it onShawna phone because, uh, she
could probably block some appslike instacart and stuff like
that from us ordering, do younot?
want to eat but you don't wantto maybe block it.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Like it like at nine o'clock we're like you know what
sounds good ice cream well,instacart doesn't deliver after
nine, so it you have to block itfrom like seven.
It's usually.
It's usually 7, 30 when brian'slike you know, I'd love some
ice cream.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I'm like, let me just go right here on instacart we
could probably save a lot ofmoney bricking things like the
amazon store and stuff like thatat certain times, like when you
purchase more.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
For yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, for myself.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So you can still talk and text on your phone, right?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yes, you can do whatever you want.
So you decide what you want tobrick or not.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Yeah, you create your own modes and you choose each
mode what apps you want to block.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
So, like for me, I wouldn't block email because I
don't care about my email.
I never check my email.
Brian is, you know, like,semi-addicted to his email, so
you can just decide what is bestfor you.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It is a really cool app.
The only thing question, though, with the emergency bricks is
I'm wondering like I want to getit on your phone, Shawna, so we
can see do we all get five ordo we all share that five?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And I could see it even at workplaces.
I mean, if you have workplacesand you don't want people using
certain things during work, youcould use a brick, like have
everybody tap the brick.
I don't know.
We were just talking lastepisode about the Siri thing,
being able to hear, and you know, with chat GBT, could you make
people tap their phones at somepoint and turn that off so you
(23:32):
don't have to worry about tradesecrets getting out?
I don't know.
So I would love to know, beforewe go to the next topic which
we'll be switching over to,olivia, what apps would you guys
even consider blocking?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Okay, Olivia, you can go first.
Remember, it doesn't have to beblocked all the time, just for
certain times.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
None, it all has to do with control.
I have control issues and thatmakes me feel out of control,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
But what if you reframed that and looked at it
like you're actually more incontrol?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Hmm, how about that?
There you go.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
More control of the things that More control, olivia
, of the things that areimportant to you in life.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Okay, maybe I would consider blocking my Amazon app
for a little bit, but other thanthat, yeah I got an interesting
thought on this little twist.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
What if we asked our spouses what apps we should
block?
Speaker 3 (24:34):
oh, go get nate olivia he would say tiktok 100 I
would I mean for myself.
I would block Facebook becausethat is the only app that I
don't feel like I'm in controlof, like I was telling Brian the
other day.
You know, sometimes I'll pickup my phone to look at I don't
(24:56):
know the date or something, andthen I just click right into
Facebook and I'm scrollingbefore I even realize what I'm
doing, or you know, I will lookup.
This happens all the time.
I'll be like hi, I wonder whatthe weather's going to be.
And then 10 minutes later I'mlike what am I doing on Facebook
?
Like I don't even realize I'mdoing it.
It's such a habit, so I would.
That's what I will use it for.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Well, I would love to know in the comments you guys
let us know if you're listeningto the podcast, click that link
in the show notes and let usknow what apps would you block
and would you even considerusing something like this brick?
It would just be helpful to you.
Let us know, send us a textmessage.
So all right, olivia, let's goahead.
And let's go ahead and jump onover to this instagram updates.
I would love to hear what'sgoing on there all right.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Well, unfortunately I cannot tell you because I
blocked Instagram with.
The podcast is over.
Okay, so recently the head ofInstagram his name is Adam
Masseri did an interview orsometimes he does like Instagram
(26:02):
lives, things like that but heanswered some questions that a
lot of people had aboutInstagram and none of this stuff
is like groundbreaking to mostpeople.
It might be to some people, butit just kind of like reiterates
, kind of like the things thatwe've been talking to our
(26:25):
clients about.
So it was just good to hearthem literally out of the head
of the mouth.
Who kind of controls thealgorithm and all of that sort
of thing?
So, um, I'm just going to goahead and dive into these um
things that he said and if youhave any questions or whatever,
(26:48):
feel free to interrupt me.
Okay, so number one he said thatyou should respond to comments
on your Instagram posts for upto a week.
So going back to your old postsfor an entire week, he said,
(27:09):
helps it to get reboosted againin the algorithm.
So, just thinking about it,almost like you know those
little um heart things, ifsomeone codes and boom, that's
what you going back to commentsare, you're bringing your posts
back to life.
So another thing which we'vebeen teaching our clients for a
(27:35):
while is just how valuablecarousel posts are, and he once
again reiterated that fact.
But he explained the reason whybeing people are so busy.
So when you have a carouselpost, say, for example, bring it
(27:55):
back to that person's feed tolet them fully look through your
entire post.
So basically, the carousel isgiving people more than one
(28:17):
opportunity to see the post.
So I've noticed that you're notdoing carousels, definitely add
those in and really make yourfirst two slides like the ones
that are, you know, have thebiggest punch there.
So he said one of the importantmetrics that the algorithm
(28:45):
looks at on Instagram isactually shares, but with
Instagram it's not even he's noteven talking about like shares
to your story.
What he means by that is sendsslash DMS, which, if you're what
(29:06):
?
Basically what they're tryingto do, right?
If you're not super familiarwith TikTok, that is the number
one way for you to share onTikTok is by DMing people, and
we all know that they're tryingto do whatever they can to
compete with TikTok, to competewith TikTok.
(29:30):
So basically he's saying thatthey're seeing if your post is
being privately DM to youraudience, like to your followers
.
So it's Shawna sending a postthat she likes to Brian, or a
reel or whatever.
That's basically like thehighest compliment.
You want your close circle tosee these things.
So that's something to keep inmind when you're creating
(29:52):
content.
I wouldn't like just be, youknow, blatant and spammy and be
like DM this to someone but likesprinkle that in there in your
strategy and, you know, letpeople know that you want them
to privately DM it to someone.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Does that count if you DM other people about your
post?
Because I've been honestly likeI've had people DM me their
posts like crazy now and itdrives me insane.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah, no, I am not in the camp of doing that.
I think it feels very spammyand icky and I don't like it.
So I don't think that that islike.
I know it's something that nowthey even have at the top of
Instagram when you post Do youwant to share this with your?
(30:48):
Or do you want to DM this, orwhatever?
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm talking about content thatyou know someone really likes,
that they share, or you know.
So, yeah, be mindful of thatLike when you're posting
something.
(31:09):
Again, asking thing.
But another thing that he said,kind of going along with this,
(31:29):
is that they care aboutengagement rate more than your
number of followers.
So, not to say that yourfollower number isn't important,
but that's not the thing thatthey're looking at as a
successful account.
(31:49):
So if you have, you know,10,000 followers but you're
getting five comments per postor whatever to Instagram, that's
not a success, right?
Because someone else who has 20followers could also be getting
five comments and that's ahigher percentage, that's a
(32:09):
higher engagement rate.
So, again, I know, since thebeginning of social media, it's
always been about how many likesdo you have, how many followers
do you have.
But that, if you're stillmeasuring that.
I hate to say it, but youreally do have an old school
mentality when it comes tosocial media, and it's time to
(32:35):
to update that thought process.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
So um, yeah, I love that, and then you know anybody
that's listening.
If you're wondering, like, well, how do I figure out my
engagement rate, we actuallyhave a free calculator that you
can use on Killer Bee's website,so we'll post a link to that in
the show notes.
You can use it for free.
I know it's hard to do moremeaningful connections on social
.
You know we're all learningthis.
You know those of us that havebeen doing this before social
(33:03):
and now we're in here embracingthe digital more and more.
But I think it's a great thingto point out that engagement is
so crucial because that's a moremeaningful connection when it
comes to digital, on a digitalaspect, when it comes to a
metric compared to how manyfollowers you have, because
that's just the followersrepresent.
It can represent a huge crowd,but you know, at a concert, if
(33:24):
you're at a huge crowd, you'renot connecting with all those
people.
It's the people that's close toyou that's engaging with you.
That's really the moremeaningful connections on that
side of it.
So I love you pointed that out,Olivia.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Yeah, and I think that, um, you know, just with
all of this information that hascome out again, so many people
feel like I can't be successfulor whatever on social media
anymore.
It's pointless for a business.
But they tell you what to do,and I think a lot of the
(33:58):
businesses or people that arelike social media is dead I
can't get X, y and Z anymore.
If they really took a step backto see what they're actually
doing, a lot of their contentmight be valuable to them, but
is it really valuable to otherpeople?
So that's something that youhave to keep in mind as well.
(34:21):
Social media is not dead.
It's evolving, but you have tobe giving valuable content.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
So, olivia, I noticed a few things that you said
there.
As we get ready to close, Iwant to encourage people to be
thinking about this, too.
When you're talking about a lotof people are trying to feel
like they feel like they can'tbe successful on social media
stuff like that.
I want to encourage anybodythat's listening to ask
themselves what is success toyou?
What is success?
(34:50):
We can fall into this trap and,like you're saying too, they
tell us what to do, they do,they will tell us what to do and
Olivia is amazing at payingattention to these things, so we
can get the most out of theseplatforms.
But it's important that wealways remember that their goals
are different than our goals.
It's different than your goals,what you're doing, their
success is different than yoursuccess.
(35:12):
What is success to you, what isimportant to you and what is
your goals?
Because we can fall into thattrap of chasing things that
really are just pulling us awayfrom what's really important to
what we're doing and what we'rehere to do at the jobs that
we're at and the positions thatwe're in.
Be more mindful about that aswell.
With that, I want to thankeverybody for tuning in.
(35:34):
Make sure you check out thelinks in the show notes and make
sure you text us.
We want to hear from you if youhave any thoughts or anything
that you would like to add tothe conversations, and if you
enjoyed this episode, don'tforget to click, follow and
leave us.
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