You Will Not Find Joy in Social Media

I was reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 77 lessons for his 77th birthday and there were a few that stood out to me. Here’s one of them:

The World Isn’t as Broken as Your Phone Makes it Seem. Read your social media feed. Now imagine going to a gym, or a bar, or church, and hearing people talk like that. You’d say, “It’s enough already — stop fucking whining.” But that’s normal on social media! Get out there in the real world as often as you can. Talk to real people, not avatars. You will not find joy on social media.

Scrolling through Instagram often leaves me feeling worse. While my Explore feed occasionally contains gems, it also exposes me to toxic perspectives that I wouldn’t encounter in real life. This reminds me to step away from social media and take a break.