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Is Facebook Killing Your Motivation?

The Answer Probably Won’t Surprise You

Several studies have shown an overall decrease in the participation of team sports, civic activities, club memberships, and other similar participatory activities. Keep in mind that these are overall trends/numbers. Not everyone is opting out—raw numbers in bulk are doing less, but we must not mistake the exceptions for the rule.

Some studies are also showing that (aside from the depressive effect that increased screen times have on the average person) we are seeing the decline of cognitive load/ambition due in part to the phenomenon of “vicarious experience”. That is to say, some self-report that watching videos or reading posts of people doing certain activities gives them a similar experience to doing the activity themselves.

You read that correctly. Viewing, in the eyes of many, is the same as doing.

…But That Doesn’t Make Any Sense?


Photo by Max Pixel

When we analyze that statement further, we realize that it is absurd on its face. Watching porn is not the same making love and viewing MMA from the safety of your couch is not the same as getting punched in the face. The man who climbed to the top of the mountain is in no shape, form, or fashion US. That experience belongs to him and him alone.

Then Why Does This Happen?

The cognitive load/tension within becomes lighter when one “Likes” or “Shares” such videos or posts. It is assumed the mechanism of adding this wee bit of physical action (the click or swipe) lightens our “willpower/ambition” burden and gives a brief illusory burst that one is somehow, in some minuscule way, a part of the “Liked” or “Shared” activity.

Your Brain Is Playing Tricks On You

Again, absurd. This is nothing more than an illusion—our brain is playing tricks on us. “Liking” porn is not even remotely similar to a light kiss on the cheek (nor does it bring us any closer to such an experience), “Sharing” a fight video is nowhere near the same as stepping foot into the gym or onto the mat, and posting a “funny” video does not mean that you have a funny bone in your body.

Only activities in which you are an active participant are actual accomplishments. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back. Only activities in which you are an active participant are actual accomplishments. “Liking” and “Sharing” are merely polite acts of encouragement we direct toward others—a kindness, of which I am of course not opposed.

Any assumption of association with the accomplishments or doings of others is a delusion.

A Legend’s Perspective

Let’s allow the following observation from a legendary doer and his explorer compadre to drive the point home.

This insight comes from the National Geographic article titled “To the Depths of the Sea by Bathysphere” by Jacques Cousteau dated July 1954. It tells of Cousteau and his team plunging to an unprecedented 4,000 feet beneath the Mediterranean Sea. In the below extract, an observer asks why they risked their lives instead of allowing the automatic camera aboard the experimental craft to do the dangerous work.

Skeptical, one observer on board asked me if I really expected to see anything that 10,000 photographs failed to record. “Of course!” I said, “A direct look is something else again.”

“After all,” added my friend Dumas, “the eye is closer to the brain than the lens. The eye knows how to select.”

Two Phrases To Keep In Mind:

  1. A direct look is something else again.
  2. And: The eye is closer to the brain than the lens.

Might I amend to that, “the eye is closer to the brain than the screen.”

Wrapping Things Up

I offer these observations in the hopes that we can all (myself included) start looking at “Liking” and “Sharing” the activities of others on social media as an inspiration to go out and achieve great things ourselves, not as a subconscious excuse to let ourselves off the cognitive-accomplishment hook.

Otherwise, we end up having done nothing more than exercising our clicking finger while convincing ourselves we’ve checked something off our bucket lists. In reality, the only thing we’ll have accomplished is giving a big thumbs up to someone else’s progress on their bucket list. I know I want more out of life than that, what about you?

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87 thoughts on “Is Facebook Killing Your Motivation?”

  2. I agree with you 100%. Social media is making people lazy and soft. You may have big strong fingers from stroking the keyboard or a game controller but that’s it. It is really dulling the mind, senses, communication and everything else. Turn off social media for a while and get up and do something.

    Reply

  3. Thank you so much for sharing this information.
    i hadn’t actually thought about it in this way, but it makes a good deal of sense.
    i’m rarely on fb at all anymore — and perfectly content to mostly stay away.

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  5. I couldn’t agree more Mark. Social media is making us soft, and ultimately killing us. What happens in the future when everyone is a watcher and a clicker? No one left to do anything anymore. Social media in particular seems to be an uber potent version of this, even more so than the internet in general. And once hooked it’s very hard to kick the habit. In fact social media is an addiction it actually causes spikes in dopamine production in the brain and in the end that’s what most recreational drugs cause anyway.

    It’s a tall order to expect anyone to disengage with the internet all together, but what helps is looking for older ways people interacted online and spending time in those places. Such as forums. And I mean forums NOT ON FACEBOOK. People will make the effort to go to those places if they are really passionate about the subjects being discussed there. You’re likely to get more information and positive reinforcement from such a site.

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  8. I agree that social media can be detrimental in several instances but in turn it can be benifical
    For some such as myself whom are unable to go out and interact with people due to disabilities so this makes it a two edged sword of sorts and a quandary to be explored

    Reply

  9. Interesting read thank you . But I quit Facebook some time ago and I had a few different accounts but I just don’t have the need for that kind of ( social media) you are right Facebook does more harm than good for your brain .

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  10. Never been on or had a facebook. Never will. I enjoy hiking and camping and trying out my survival skills in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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  11. Tried to post this to my friends on Facebook. Wasn’t allowed. Data base error according to Facebook. Thank for all you’ve done.
    I’ll find another way to get this word out.

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  12. I agree FB protes, encourages listlessness; that is reduction in motivation to engage in other patterns of behavior. Some say it is similar to an addiction. Personal, I know it is a tremendous thief of time, which seems to both stand still while involved with and and whiz by after you see how long you have been at it. I am on the verge of discontinuation for a significant interval if not a long term breakaway if not a cold turkey termination. .I will see how it goes. Time will tell. I find your essay timely, on point and what my life force needs at this time, so thanks much!

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  13. I’m seventy, and experiencing something new everyday. You can smell bacon, but the reward is in the taste!

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  17. Completely true, social media is as they say
    a platform to stay connected.
    It is not putting your butt in a car and taking a roadtrip, its not camping outdoors under
    challenging circumstances.
    Social media is entertainment and connectivity, not a cure all panacea for
    an otherwise mundane life, life is for the living so go out and be alive

    Reply

  18. the social media is fast turning us into another things entirely it’s making us to be lazy and not active in real life activities especially the act of self defense . The catastrophic effect of fantasising on pornographic and unedited video being posted on social media is having a devastating effect on our mental alertness . So the maxim ” the eyes is closer to the brain than the lens” is proper because what eyes will see ordinarily will be more original than what lens would see

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  19. I agree while whole heartedly! I would even take it a step further and say that is why so many of us are football, baseball, basketball, or any other sport fanatic and never played the game. We as humans live out our fantasy lives vicariously thru others even if it is thru a screen or book. We need to put down the phone, the computer, the book the remote and physically get envolved. Nothing takes the place of doing, even if we fail; it’s better than not doing.

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  20. I agree the World Wide Web is only a simple tool no matter if it is Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo etc…it’s good for learning and keeping close to family and love one’s. But it doesn’t live our lives, we do. Reality is what we live, A.I. (Artificial Intelligence ) is not reality and will not ever replace it. We are our reality and we must face it head on, if we don’t all life’s experiences and beauty will pass us by.

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  22. Just wants to say thanks for your awesome products and videos. And I am a woman, not a man who fiercely believes in the 2nd Amendment and am very comfortable with all types of self defense and am quite proficient at using the ‘tools’ I have always closeby. When it comes to myself or those I love that may be in jepourady, I’m quite
    Confident in my ability that they will regret the day they saw me. Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  23. I see in my own family. My oldest spends all his time in the virtual world. My youngest is very active preparing for the Army Calvary unit, hardly online except for studying.

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  24. How many times do people actually miss the experience they are trying to record because they were fiddling with their device? Or ruined a moment trying to grab their phone? I’m guilty, as well as everyone I know. Very insightful…thank you and well done!

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  25. I’ve seen this so many times. I fell into the social media trap some months back, but by God’s grace got outta it. Social media really is the bane of our generation.

    When it comes to self defense, we have to remember to practice it, not just watch it. Even just once or twice is better than nothing. “Be doers, not just hearers.”

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  27. Wow this really hit home for me when I think back to how many hours I have wasted posting and liking stuff on Social media
    it really is a gigantic time waster. I do not get on there every day but I notice the same people on there all the time, I assume
    they do not have much of a real social life.

    Reply

  29. I quit Facebook more than a year ago. Had a difference of opinion with a Family member who elected to post on full public view. It was like having an argument in the middle of a busy railway station. It encourages instant response for selfish and arrogant reasons which easily leads to confrontation. I also found the Site to be full of sad wannabe characters making a type of artificial contact, with no soul or real purpose. I feel much better with real friends who I can physically meet up with and enjoy their company in real time. Or keep in touch via email. In other words, I prefer real contact to a type of artificial contact. Much more rewarding and avoids me feeling that I’ve sold my soul to the Devil on Facebook. Harsh words, but very true in my own experience. Thank you.

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  31. Excellent observations….I am in my 70th year and have watched such a shift in active physical exercise and movement since the advent of I pods etc. (at least in western societies, it is frightening and reflected in increased use of medical facilities and services.

    Keep moving whether it be gardening, cycling, tennis, canoeing….it does not need to be spectacular or earth shattering…JUST DO IT!!!

    Thanks Mark

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  32. I agréé Witherspoon you.Like tout wrote,mi-long and sharing isn’t bad.But don’t forget tout go out to like and share,(move it do it).The human expérience,do ans love!😉

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  33. Facebook keeps changing into a weirder n more one sided site ..I have my pages. Set up different than most . .mine arrr not about me. U can not hunt me. U can not prophile me. Or catagorize ..only on couple levels …mine shows no connections .. no real life ..yet it’s all real life. It’s a world of qotes and pictures sarcasms and life issues news and my likes from my world. Yet stealth. ..each page . N I have several…arrr set up. Linked yet not linked . Same but not anything same . Connected yet not connected. Friends but not friends. Full truths. Full Christian constitutional Conservative American Born Citizen aimed …almost unrealized….yet….still TRUMP FIRM SUPPORTER DEFENDER FIGHTER …VOTER… Q + <ii~ Knights TEMPLAR..

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  34. Absolute piffle! I have never used Wastebook and never will. Plenty of other diversions.
    Don’t blame some people’s lifeline for other people’s apathy.

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  35. Great piece Mr. Hatmaker, thankyou!!!!! It’s refreshing to see this sentiment put out there on Fight Fast……This to me is parallel with a discussion I had with a teacher friend of mine, that more emphasis has to be made to get young people to be more physically involved with activities, other than punching freakin’ buttons…..Also it seems to me that vocational studies are slacking in younger generations….A direct look IS something else again, and alot of people don’t know how to actually see, especially regarding nature…..Again thanks Mark………Bill

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  37. All that stuff…facebook, twitter, Instagram….has no place in the human experience except to be informative. Unfortunatley, it’s tainted by lies and deception. So it’s better to leave it alone then risk being brainwashed.

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  38. I call it f book and they are such a Socialist Communist entity. I was on a scuba diving platform in 2017 and a lady nearly died I was being praised by everybody that was trying to assist her. Everyone else was amazed that I was providing detailed information. Meanwhile some freak comes up and starts talking some smack I then called everybody a rainbow snowflake unicorn and they banned me for well they just banned me. I haven’t fought for it or even did anything but this guy was talking to lip about IA intelligent things. His whole comment was I was typing way too fast so they thought I was some robot or such. I use voice activation through gulag on my phone and it just types. But I find that gulag actually will intentionally alter my words and type just about whatever garbage that’s it is or intentionally type something separate and different from what I’m speaking. Another thing that I am extremely pissed off is my Samsung Galaxy S7 doesn’t even turn off the settings to where it’s sensors and infringes my first amendment by the way I speak if I want to say certain words I don’t want a streak marks filling in the gaps. My Note 3 last year actually started censoring my speech if I chose certain words it would put Astrid marks by it. It took me a year to finally get so angry that I started looking in the settings over a month ago I found some settings where I turned it off and I was able to speak and not be censored as much and it wouldn’t do that remark. Although I’m on August 23rd at the phone just crashed and died now I’m dealing with this all the things you want to say. It hasn’t done it today cuz I’m not speaking in a way that is offencive to the rainbow snowflake unicorns. And yes all of these F book and social networks I don’t use I use email, texting of a phone and phone calls oh and yes emails and add my dominant email address now is unfortunately gulag dot-com.

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  42. I’ve got a better Idea….Just stay the hell away from “social media”!
    You want to give people inspiration, do it in person. If that’s not possible then make a phone call, send a card/mail (snail or E) anything but feel the need to be part of that mindless drone bullshit!
    Use common sense! Think for yourself! Don’t be a part of the herd!

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  44. I agree with you a 100% and if we ever fail to take into consideration that we can’t believe everything we see

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  45. Yyyep!… “A dream w/o ambition, is like a car, with no fuel – you’re going nowhere! “… So, my motto is
    ‘ Live it Up ‘!!… (not Give it up!, Hahaa!)
    Hey Bob! .. I appreciate being part of the hotlist, the self-defense tips, freebie offers and the opportunity to buy the kinda stuff, I like! 😎👍 (I’m behind on a wish, to get that one piece knife, that you could attach the sheath anywhere (I think 6&1/2 blade, tanto, 11″-12” total…) I have to mail a money order!!

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  46. That’s why I only use Facebook to keep tabs on family that I rarely talk to much less see. Of course I have a couple of friends who post things such as videos or some kind of saying, but on like/share the ones that I deem important.

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  47. Yes… facebook is HORRIBLE, I have refused facebook.. The big problem is caring about whats on facebook. If I’m not on it, then ….I don’t care. All time spent on a phone or computer is truly wasted time,as life is short.

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  49. I myself am a Marine veteran and after reading this I realize my Facebook activity my likes and my sharing posts of what other people post is indeed causing me to become inactive. I use to fish and hunt and interact with people on a higher level. Now after reading this I realize why these activities have decreased in my life. That is going to change. Thank You for this article.

    Reply

  50. I agree with Mr.Cousteau and Mr.Hatmaker. Seeing and doing are much more than liking and sharing; it’s far more to actually experience something than to relate to someone else’s recolection of an event.

    Reply