Social Media is KILLING Your Confidence! Here's How to Break Free -

Have you ever caught yourself doom-scrolling, comparing your life to strangers online, or feeling like your worth is tied to likes and follows? Yeah, you're not alone. In this episode of The MrMind Podcast, Ryan Johnson is talking about the sneaky ways social media is messing with your confidence—and how to take back control.

IG: @themrmindd

Transcript

Ryan Johnson (00:00):

Hey, can we be honest? You and me. Alright. Let's just have a very honest conversation where there's two folks sitting in a room having a conversation. Okay? If you're listening to this right now, you've probably been scrolling on your phone way too much today, way too much. Maybe you checked Instagram, saw someone's morning grind post while you're still in bed and thought, damn, I really need to get my life together. Or maybe you just went down a TikTok rabbit hole and somehow ended up watching a video of a raccoon stealing a donut. Either way, we need to talk. Today we're breaking down how social media is low key, wrecking your confidence, and more importantly, how to break free from the cycle without doing anything drastic, like moving into the mountains and raising alpacas that have dogs strapped to their back, although not going to lie, that does sound kind of peaceful.
(01:06)
Thank you so much for tuning into the Mr. Mind Podcast, your twice week dose of Living Well, I am Ryan Johnson, your mindset coach for today. Listen, if you've ever felt like everyone's crushing it, but if your mood depends on how many likes you got or if you consistently compare yourself to strangers on the internet, this episode is for you. So please strap in. Here's the deal. Social media is like a fun house mirror. That's my best analogy. Okay? You think you're looking at reality, but instead you're seeing a warped, exaggerated, unrealistic version of everyone else's life. And then you're over there like, damn, I need a glow up. A six figure business and a yacht by next week.
(02:01)
Do not fall into the comparison trap. Comparison is the thief of joy, but on social media, comparison is the thief of your entire sense of self worth. You log in feeling decent, then you see someone your age just about a mansion, and suddenly your little apartment feels like a shoebox. Or you see some shredded fitness influencer posting. No excuses, just results while you're eating a burrito in bed, extra cheese, and now you feel personally attacked. Here's the truth. That fitness influencer probably took that pick after eating a burrito and that mansion guy, oh, don't be fooled by him. He might be drowning in debt, but social media doesn't show you that. No, it will not because it doesn't get clicks. You ever notice how nobody posts their fails? No one's out there posting, just got by. My dream job here is a crying selfie. It's called Curated People Edit people filter people polish their lives into highlight reels, and then we compare our behind the scenes to their red carpet version.
(03:15)
Even the I am being vulnerable posts are sometimes curated. Oh my god, guys, I woke up looking like a mesh, but it's a perfectly angled, slightly messy hair pick with golden hour lighting. Please. Let's be real. So now we know the game, but let's talk about how social media is actually wired to keep us addicted. The social media algorithm does not care about your happiness. It cares about keeping you on the app doom, scrolling into oblivion. Every time you get a, every time you get a comment, a notification, your brain gets a little hit of dopamine, the feelgood chemical, but the problem, oh, it's my baby crying in the background here. She's so cute. That's M you can tell by the cries, but the problem, right? It's addictive. Your brain starts craving that, that little dopamine rush, and when you don't get it, you feel like trash.
(04:17)
You ever post something, check your phone 10 minutes later and only see two likes and suddenly question your entire existence? Yeah, that's social media withdrawal. And here's the thing, it gets worse. Negative content wins the algorithm. It favors drama because negativity and outrage keep people engaged. You ever notice that negative news spreads way faster than positive news? That's because anger and fear make us react quicker, and social media knows this. So what social media does is feeds you content designed to stress you out so you stay glued to your screen typing in all caps, debating strangers in the comments in a topic you didn't even know existed five minutes ago. Okay? So for now, I am finished roasting social media. So let's talk about how to actually fix this mess so that you can use it without losing your confidence. Try this unfollow people who make you feel like trash.
(05:14)
If someone's posts make you feel like you're failing at life, just unfollow them. It's like cleaning out your fridge, right? You're going to get rid of all the stuff that's expired, that's making you sick. Same concept. And when you're done with that, follow people who inspire, not intimidate. If you're only following models, billionaires, motivational accounts that make you feel like you're not doing enough, switch it up. Follow creators that make you laugh, teach you something, or remind you that it's okay to be human. Something else that is a good idea to do is sit a screen time limit. Yes, like an adult, your phone now tells you how much time you spend on each social media account. So if that number makes you want to cry, it's time to set limits. No need to on Instagram, it's your second job, unless it is your job.
(06:00)
What I like to do is take a social media detox, try to go 24 hours without using social media, and if that makes you panic, congratulations, you're addicted. But for real, just take a day off. Just one day. It could reset your brain. You can feel fresh, you can feel free. If you have a dog, take a dog out for a walk. Don't even use your, don't even bring, I should say, don't bring your phone, just detox. Post for fun, guys, post for fun, not for likes. Oh, and remember when social media was about posting whatever you wanted without worrying about engagement, let's bring that energy back. Can we do that? Please? That'd be great. Look, I'm not saying that social media is all bad. It's like pizza. It's great in moderation, but eat too much and you'll feel sick. The goal isn't to quit cold Turkey unless you want to.
(06:48)
It's to use it in a way that works for you. Here's the challenge for you tonight. Do three things. One, unfollow someone who makes you feel bad. Two, set a screen time limit for tomorrow, and three, find one piece of content that actually inspires you and keep more of that on your feed. It's very important to know, to really understand that your self-worth is not in your likes, it's in you now. Go live your damn life and stop worrying about strangers online. Okay? Thank you. Love you. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning into the Mr. Mind podcast. It was great to have you. I hope you learned something from this episode. We all learned stuff all the time, but hey, can you do me a huge favor? That very last person you sent a text message to, can you send that person a text message back? Unless you're trying to avoid them, send them a message and say, Hey, I hope you're having a great morning, and I hope your afternoon is that much better. But more importantly, I hope you're having a great night because guys, honestly, honestly, you never know. They just might need Itlo.