Creative Content Team - Hustling the Social Network: a Blessing or a Curse?

In a decade predetermined by the immense emergence and rapid change of technology, social media, for most of us may have already seen and witnessed, has become a fairly powerful major part in nearly every aspect of our everyday lives. As a result of globalization and a part of the digital revolution, social media has led us to change how we undergo various fields, including social and work-wise. Not to be dramatic, but in other words, the uprise of social media has a supremely prodigious impact on our society along with its existence, whether we are ready or not.

So, what social media actually is to begin with? Social media is a form of interactive internet-based technology that allows us to participate in social-networking, such as communication and information-sharing. The medium used in doing so is called social media platform. There are so many social media platforms. The popular ones for example are Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and even on a professional level, there exists LinkedIn.

As previously mentioned, social media surely has a big impact on our society. Socially, in the current situation, trends from around the globe can easily spread like a wildfire and encourage us to catch up with what the world is up to right at the moment. By exposing ourselves to pop culture, we will gain beneficial information and opportunity that social media provides. Not only is social media beneficial on a large scale, but also, on a personal level, it can also help us build our personal branding. But why does that matter? Lately, at a time we live in when career attainment is such a big deal as the result of peer-pressure, it is important for us to curate a ‘perfect’ (culturally-influenced) image of ourselves so we will be able to win social triumph and compete with our peers. Our existence is defined by how successful and productive we might be seen by the eyes of our social media audiences so we will strive more in reaching our success. The more successful we are, the better impression people would have on us. Indeed, it’s a good thing because it motivates us to work on ourselves better.

On the other hand, besides the advantages social media has brought to us, it can also be harmful to our lives. The constant use of social media in the community does not have a good impact because we tend to focus on the virtual world and forget our original purpose of living. Rather than living our life, we’re constantly seeking for our social media audiences’ validation instead as the result of peer-pressure, leading us to become addicted to social media. We will likely feel the fear of missing out (FOMO) when everybody else is showing off their success and productivity, driving us to binge-working because of the unrealistic standards. It’s also bad because at the same time, hustle culture makes us so overwhelmed. By having too many beyond-the-capability things to do, our work becomes piled up and left behind. It is almost like there is no way out when you already fall into the abyss of hustle culture caused by social media addiction. In today's highly competitive and fast-paced lifestyle, hustle culture is becoming the norm for more people in today's world of work besides of the fact that it affects our mental and physical health. Long working hours increase the risk of poor mental health, such as depressive symptoms, deteriorating emotional well-being, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and fatigue. A 2018 study by The Child Mind Institute and The National Center for Health Research shows that people who use social media excessively were shown to have 13 to 66% higher rate of reported depression than those who spent the least time. Indeed, to some degree, social media can make our lives easier but the hustle culture caused by it has so many negative impacts after all.

In response to how we avoid hustle culture, we need to acknowledge what is important. First, we need to limit our social media usage. Focus on ourselves, don't let what other people are doing distress us. Clarify our goals and write them down. Take a moment to think and decide what the ideal day looks like by setting true priorities. Plan how to achieve them while maintaining our own well-being. After that, we need to schedule what we must achieve. Give our mind time to wander by taking mindful micro-breaks in the middle of working. By doing those simple little steps, our life will become more balanced.

Sources:

Sitepu, G. D. R. F. (2019). Hubungan Penggunaan Media Sosial dengan Fear of Missing Out.

Mir, Elina, Caroline Novas, and M. Seymour. (2019). Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health.

National Center for Health Research.

Miller, Caroline. (2020). Does Social Media Cause Depression? Child Mind Institute 11.

Kuhlmann, Mpho. (2021, November 8). Social Media Puts Botswana’s Hustle Culture on Steroids. Sunday Standard.