Anything we consume online can influence our minds.

If we mindlessly scroll on TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram every day, we feed our minds all those random things. Every. Single. Day.

We don’t need most of those things. Most don’t have value. But why are we still doing it?

I’ve written before about not owning a smartphone.

I do use my wife’s spare smartphone at times though for online banking and taking photos/videos — and that’s it.

Sometimes I get tempted to mindlessly scroll Facebook through my laptop. My intention is to know what my favorite musicians are working on.

But over and over again, I feel stupid afterward — no matter how inspiring their posts are. It always feels like a waste of time.

I’ve talked with some friends and they feel the same way. It’s weird that deep inside, we know there’s really no value in doing it, yet we keep going.

The reason for this is because social media is designed in a way that we get addicted to it.

If you want to achieve great things in life, scrolling/stalking people online is a distraction.

Anything you absorb online clutters your mind.

Do those things matter to you? If not, you’re wasting time. You’re wasting energy and money.

The best way to approach this is to always ask yourself why are you doing what you’re doing.

This all boils down to knowing what your true intention is. Are you scrolling (or lurking) for some answers or out of boredom? There’s a huge difference.

Once you know the core reason, ask “Is there a way to attain similar results without scrolling on social media?”

This may not totally prevent you from the temptations of stalking, but it’ll encourage you to reassess your actions and think differently.

Remember it’s your responsibility to guard your mind against nonsense. One way to do this is to regularly examine yourself.

What do you really want to achieve in life? Are you really pursuing it? Or are you being distracted?