The Cost of Worry

There’s a scene in Bridge of Spies where James Donovan informs his client, who is being accused of treason, that he might get the death penalty. The client, Rudolf Abel, shrugs. Donovan says, “You don’t seem alarmed.” Rudolf asks, “Would it help?”

The scene crystallizes the uselessness of worry. Being concerned about something doesn’t change the outcome. We all know this and yet we fret about everything. The current state of content consumption only exasperates this. We stress about how we look on Instagram, to how “professional” our resume appears on LinkedIn.

The costs to this anxiety is startling. Teen suicide has jumped 57% from 2007 to 2017 according to the CDC.* Other studies have watched the rising rates of depression parallel the growth of smartphone usage.?  

Reclaim Your Attention

Telling someone not to worry is like telling a person covered in poison ivy not to scratch. I’ve found the only to fix this is through conscious behavior change. On May 31st I deleted all social media from my phone. After a few days I realized how much time was spent “checking my phone” to stamp out 2 minutes of boredom— those minutes add up.

After a month it was astonishing to realize that I don’t miss it. At the end of July, I used a few social channels to share my new publication, but I keep the apps off of my phone. I try to only post through desktop, never my phone.

I reclaimed my attention by breaking the addiction cycle. These apps are designed to be addictive. Ever notice you pull down on the screen to refresh Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook much like you would a slot machine??

Intentional Content Consumption

I view content like food. If social media is junk food, I want to limit my intake. No one’s productive after housing 67 doughnuts. Instead I sought to consume protein shakes for my mind. It’s why I launched Barn Burnt Down.

By reducing my intake of social media and news significantly I noticed my anxiety drop too. COVID-19 has tested all of us. The news doesn’t help. Nor does virtue signaling on social media.

I recommend trying it for the rest of the summer, because as Seneca said, “The man that suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than it is necessary.”

***

P.S. The most effective behavior change I ever did was starting a journaling practice. You can read more about why it's helpful at robertmaisano.com/journaling.

* Curtin, Sally C., and Melonie Heron. 2019. "Death Rates Due to Suicide and Homicide Among Persons Aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2017." NCHS Data Brief. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). October. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf.

? Neighmond, Patti. 2019. "A Rise In Depression Among Teens And Young Adults Could Be Linked To Social Media Use." NPR - All Things Considered. March 14. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/14/703170892/a-rise-in-depression-among-teens-and-young-adults-could-be-linked-to-social-medi.

? Daniel Kruger, Ph.D., M.S. 2018. "Social media copies gambling methods 'to create psychological cravings'." Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation. University of Michigan. May 8. https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings.