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This is an opinion piece by Mark Maraia, professional development author and Bitcoin researcher.

I have been studying Bitcoin since 2020 and have noticed that there is a strong and vibrant community on Twitter. In fact, “Bitcoin Twitter” is practically its own “country” that exists online.

I’ve had a Twitter account since 2009, but I never use it to tweet. There are several reasons for this (perhaps the subject of a different article), but suffice it to say, I never found it to be a great use of my time. Like many Boomers, I see social media as a huge waste of time and productivity. I also see it as perhaps the worst addiction of our time.

On a recent episode of the “TFTC” podcast, host Marty Bent and guest Ryan Breslow, CEO of BOLT, addressed the topic of our addiction to technology, and specifically to Twitter.

Both admitted to having Twitter addictions. It was clear from the conversation that, although Bent admitted to his addiction, he hadn’t done as much to break it as Breslow had. In fact, Breslow described “her toughest personal challenge is managing her time on Twitter.” Breslow used to check it randomly and frequently every day, which brought him the dopamine hit that keeps us all hooked on technology.

How many can say the same? Probably many of you reading this.

no silver bullet

Since I’m not on Twitter, it’s easy to feel left out. I may have great ideas to contribute, but they won’t be heard unless I become more active on Twitter. My compromise approach was to join Telegram, which has been the right middle ground for me.

But, as Breslow pointed out, there is no silver bullet. On a day-to-day basis, how are you managing your addiction? It turns out that few of us can resist the appeal of something that is “always available, just a button away”. Breslow has adopted this rule for his posts: he checks his Twitter feed once to see how the post went. It’s easy to say and hard to do.

I have been writing about this growing addiction to our devices before the age of smartphones and before Bitcoin. In fact, I wrote about this with the advent of PDAs (meaning personal digital assistant), in particular the Blackberries, which were – during their heyday – sometimes referred to as “crackberries”. I even wrote a chapter in my second book which, ironically, was called “Fire Your PDA!”

I joked at the time that most people didn’t know there was a power switch on their devices. And for those of you too young to remember, Blackberries were highly addictive in the age of email and before social networks or text messages.

Well, as anyone reading this article today can attest, the problem has only gotten worse with Twitter and other social media platforms, but it’s at least 10, or maybe even 100 times worse.

kicking an addiction

Before sharing specific experiments you can implement in the new year to raise your awareness of this addiction, let me ask you the following questions:

1. Do you admit that you are addicted to Twitter?
2. Did it get in the way or interfere with your relationship with a co-worker, family member or friend?
3. Have you ever tried to go a day without him?
4. Do you check Twitter (or another social media app) first thing in the morning?
5. Do you keep your phone in your bedroom?
6. Do you leave your cell phone on the bedside table?
7. After posting something, do you check it compulsively?

It’s a safe bet that if a family member or friend has ever asked you to stop reading their Twitter feed when you’re with them, you’re probably addicted or misusing technology. In fact, I bet it’s harder for some of us to give up our social media addiction than it is to give up our addiction to certain foods like sugar. In fact, I would argue that our device addiction is just as detrimental to our health as our sugar addiction.

The following are several actionable “experiments” (from easiest to most challenging) that you can implement. today it will be worth a try in 2023:

1. Disable Twitter notifications for a week
2. Turn off Twitter notifications for a week and check your usage data for the last week. Set a benchmark for the number of minutes you spend on the platform each week. Monitor this on the same day every week.
3. Set a set number of times a day that you will check the app on your device. Or, set a block of time for when you check.
4. Turn off the device for one hour a day. (This is actually a good way to gauge how compulsively you check this.)
5. Turn off the device for a whole day. Keep track of the number of times you check it and/or turn it back on.
6. Turn off your device when meditating or reading spiritual literature. Keep track of the number of times you check it and/or turn it back on.
7. Turn off the device when eating. Keep track of the number of times you check it and/or turn it back on.
8. Turn off your device when writing an article. Keep track of the number of times you check it and/or turn it back on.
9. Turn off your device when you’re working, if possible.
10. Turn your device off for an entire weekend.
11. Delete Twitter from your phone for a day.
12. Delete Twitter from your phone for a week.

Some of these experiments might be downright impractical due to life situations, but their overall purpose is to gauge how addicted you are to the device. The point of the exercise is for you to gain greater control over Twitter or the social media application that owns it. Ideally, spending less time on Twitter and spending more time with your friends and family will improve your quality of life and productivity. Remember, we want the technology to serve us, not us to be addicted to the app or the technology.

Consider establishing one or more of the above as a possible 2023 New Year’s resolution. Best wishes for a great 2023!

This is a guest post by Mark Maraia. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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