Rule #3: Quit Social Media
Why should we abandon network tools such as Facebook or Instagram when they provide some benefit in our lives?
First, note that 80% of the value we generate comes from 20% of our efforts or time. 202110031839 - The Pareto Distribution / 80-20 Rule
Similarly, 80% of the time we have in a day is spent producing 20% of our total value generated that day. The time we spend using platforms that endorse distraction such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube fall into this 20% value generating category.
There is no question whether these network tools provide some value in our lives, but that is not the question. The question is how much value do they take away? If 80% of the value we generate comes from 20% of our effort and time, then how productive can we be if we devote not 20% but 50% of our time toward productive acitivities (the answer is theoretically 2.5 times more productive)? This is precisely the opportunity cost of using social media.
Additional Notes
Any-Benefit Approach - You're justified in using a network tool if you can identify any possible benefit or loss if you don't use it.
Craftsmen Approach - Identify the core factors that determine the happiness or success in your personal and professional life. Adopt a tool only if it's positive impacts substantially outweigh its negative.
Don't use social media as entertainment - Social media and entertainment both fall into this category of time and effort that produce 20% of your generated value. So, won't it be better to devote your free time not to social media but to more rich entertainment, friends and family, relaxation, etc?