180. Social Media Is Wrong. The World Is The Best It’s Ever Been

You've got unlimited content on the Internet. We're just so lucky to be alive and I just want people to acknowledge that and remember it. It's not all doom and gloom. They don't go to the source material. They just believe that initial tweet, want to be outraged and then perpetuate that it is so, so crazy. They feed you fear free. And when you start to realize that and you disengage from it, you'll be so much happier and calmer. You need to make your world smaller. Care about yourself, your family, your local community. But you don't need to worry about what's happening in Nigeria this exact second.

Welcome back to another episode of the Better Merch Podcast. I'm Ben, your favorite high school dropout and founder of Collective Shift alongside Ms. Berg, your favorite MBA and CEO of Collective Shift. Join us as we bring you world class crypto research and strategies to help you dominate this from double market as well as behind the scenes view of our scanning a fully remote subscription research business here in Australia. If you like the podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a follow review. Share it with a friend. If you like it, it's how we grow the podcast coming to you each and every week with no advertisements, no affiliates, no commissions, absolutely free, giving you what you need to know about crypto business and personal growth. And today this is a little bit of a personal one that we want to share based off some experiences we've had in the last week on social media, specifically Twitter. And I think it was an important reminder for Bergs and I to jump on and talk about it today because I feel as though it gets lost in translation a little bit that the world is probably at the best, best it has ever been. Right. The world is pretty awesome in comparison to where it's been in years prior, but yet you go on social media, you talk to people, it's doom and gloom, the world's over, there's riots, the election, the US is crypto's. It's just like goes on and on and on and on and on. And I had a moment yesterday when I was strolling Twitter and I had to actually had to just close the app because I'm like, it was just negative after negative after negative. Like this is putting me in a mood.

Yeah. And you see the same people posting and reposting to get that negative engagement where Trump did this, Harris did that. World War three is starting, your money is getting inflated away, you're going to be broke tomorrow. There's A big housing crisis. So many people, like, they try to make every problem in the world your problem. And that just doesn't need to happen. You need to make your world smaller. Care about yourself, your family, your local community, but you don't need to worry about what's happening in Nigeria this exact second in the world. It is crazy. You get bombarded by this, Ben.

And the algorithms ultimately feed you information that you consume and engage with the most. Now, human psychology, the way our brains are wired. And there was a study recently, I don't have the source, but I was watching it a little while back around. If you put two bits of information, one extremely bad and like fear mongering, and one extremely euphoric and exciting, ultimately the brain will trigger more towards the negative bit of content that is more enticing. The brain prefers to consume negative, fearful content for whatever reason. Don't understand in front of me.

Yeah, it's so, it's a fear response. So back in the day, imagine you got like, you still got the same old brain that people had, you know, thousands or if not millions of years ago, how old humans are and Neanderthals, all that kind of stuff. And think about your day. Back in the day, you would be in the middle of nowhere, you'd be outside, and really, what are you doing? You're looking for food, you're looking for shelter, and there's a threat of predators. So your threat response is huge. And nowadays you can walk in most places, you can do most stuff, you've got food, you've got shelter, but that threat response is still there. But it's not going off because I can walk out the front of my house, I'm not going to get eaten by a bear. It's just not going to happen. So I need to look for other things. And that is what these algorithms and pieces of content are feeding on in your brain. And it becomes so extreme. Like even yesterday I was on Twitter too and like someone said something about they support one of Trump's policies and immediately they're getting called a shill, a Nazi sympathiser, all this crazy, extreme stuff. And you're like, well, no, they just think that is a good idea. Like you're not supporting everything about this specific person. Another example, Neil Degrasse Tyson, he was in an interview, great space man, right? Educated a bunch of people comes out and says, elon is in space, is engineering, he's making things more efficient to get to space and do things in space. But NASA still owns the record for the Frontier of space. Just meaning they've gone the furthest. And immediately the comments are just, oh, he's a paid shield. He's anti elon. He's this, he's that. He's like, well, no, he's just stating facts. We've almost lost that critical independent thinking. Even that study, like, I. I commented on. Yes, I think you saw this, Ben. You liked it about. In 2006, there was like five patients that were given 300 milligrams or 3,000 milligrams of magnesium breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And it essentially cured their depression in big air quotes. And like, why isn't anyone talking about this? And I'm like, well, it was 2006. It wasn't a clinical study.

There. Yeah, the way they actually organized the study was terrible. Their design, it hasn't been replicated. And then there's like all this bunch of sciency stuff, like, around it that just no one cares about. If you know how to critically appraise a scientific paper, but people don't even click the link, then they don't go to the source material. They just believe that initial tweet, want to be outraged and then perpetuate that. It is so, so crazy. But also that is what is rewarded in these social ecosystems.

Yeah, people engagement farm. People need to have these crazy opinions, crazy outlooks, because that's what gets clicks. That's what gets engagement. That's what happens to the media. Extremism in headlines and topics and lies. Like, just look at the presidential debate. Like, no matter who you bat for, both parties are are lying. Like they're saying different things to exacerbate the actual story and exaggeration. It's just like it's constant and to get attention. That's what people need to do nowadays. Like independent journalism and things like this doesn't get the clicks because it's not aggravating. It doesn't make people scared or fearful or euphoric anymore.

And that's it. Like, when you're looking at these things, what are you actually doing? Do you want to be entertained? Do you want to be outraged? Do you want to learn something? Figure out what it is you actually want before you get hit with that stuff because you can't compete. There's a bunch of app designers, data scientists, neuroscientists on the other end of that app, using your data against you, and you will not win. The only way you win is deciding what you want in your information diet and what you look at. A big change for me was just Turning off the tv. I don't look at any maze or even news websites, I don't look at any mainstream media. And years ago what clicked for me was there was a report on something that I was an expert in. It was around like data apps, health data and they just got it completely wrong, like so wrong, like stupidly wrong. Like a five year old child would get it better than, would understand it better than that. And another thing that was highlighted, so my parents in law, their house caught fire, it was an electrical fire, the news reported on it and they said it was like a kid's crib doing something else. They don't have kids, they're all grown. Everything was completely wrong. And for those things that you know to be true and they're reporting it in that way, it's like an oh shit moment. But then we get fooled and we believe everything else they do but we need to realize they're also our shit moments. And they're selling a product, they're selling a show for people to watch so they can get ads, so they can get revenue and they can fund their company. And what sells is outrage. Like I don't need to be told what to be angry about or what to be worried about or fearful about. That is what they're selling. They feed you fear for free. And when you start to realize that and you disengage from it, you'll be so much happier and calmer. Like the world is amazing, Ben. Like look at all the stuff you did in the last week when you went on your holiday. A 25 year old guy, incredible.

So much fun. The world is so much fun. I think it's like. And you forget about that stuff when you're in work in the day to day, you're consuming all this stuff, you're getting caught up, oh my God, the world's going to end. And then you off to Queensland and go snowboarding in a festival in your jocks doing a world record. And it's like what the hell am I worrying about? Why am I so stressed?

And we get caught up in these habits and I used to do this when I worked in the hospital in an office and you would start up and I had this little script that would load up my browser first thing in the morning and my email and everything, all my screen would be set up and, and of course there was the news there and I start reading the news or be Reddit or some property stuff, whatever it may be and that would without me knowing it, influence my entire day. It'd be what I would think about. It'd get into my brain. It's what people would talk about during the day is a very social aspect to it. When you're grabbing a coffee together with your workmates, oh, did you see that? You know, they're raising inflation or, oh, can you believe there was this guy living here in Western Australia that did this thing? It's a very social thing. And if you're just aware of those habits and how they're driving your thoughts and then realizing the thoughts you're having are not your thoughts have been put there by someone else for a strategic reason, try to interrupt that process and just see what your life is like when you're critically and independently thinking.

Yeah, I think. I think I've been doing that more recently. More. More so I'm pretty aware of what's coming up and more so just around the impact that it has on my energy and like my. Just my mood depending on what I'm consuming. That's a big in. Like, I've realized more and more, especially when there's so much going on that you can really be consumed and sucked into it. You can kind of go outside and you go, why isn't the world worrying about this?

Because you.

But. But then you realize what's just. It's just a little bubble that we live in. This little crypto bubble that we're in that within the world revolves around, you know, interest rate cuts. Like, you know, it doesn't work like that.

That's a really good point. So everyone that's the majority of people are listening to this will be into crypto and all the crazy stuff we talk, look at. And you go out the front of your house or you go to the local park. No one has any idea about crypto. They've got no idea what's going on. That's normal life. And then realize the other areas where you're a bit extreme and you're unaffected by the majority of world events, like every I. I get everyone listening to this. You'll be listening to it on a very. Like a smoke, a phone, a smart device. You'll have somewhere to live. You'll turn the tap on, water will come out, you'll have access to food. Like, you know, the weather's shaping up to be great in Australia. There's just so much to look forward to and be thankful for. Like, you don't have to fight every single day for food. People aren't coming to bash you and rob you. There's not animals overrun with Anything. You can press a button on your phone and a car will come and pick you up or deliver food to your house. You've got unlimited content on the Internet and connectivity. We're just so lucky to be alive at this point in time. And I just want people to acknowledge that and remember it. It's not all doom and gloom. It's not all social media and, and screens. Don't rewire your brain to what other people want you to think.

Yeah, that's. Yeah, great, great point. Bugs. And remember that the, the algorithms are feeding you stuff that is going to keep your eyeballs engaged and that fear mongering is something inherently innate to us that we engage with more. So it's just going to feed you more of that.

It is. And this is the other key point as well, where, Ben, if I'm telling you that the future is going to be amazing, this is what I think is going to happen. It's all going to be great. Or if I say, hey, Ben, you better watch out for this thing, you know, oh, you know, bitcoin's going to zero because I did this crazy analysis, whatever it may be. It seems like I have your best interests at heart and I'm looking out for you and you'll pay more attention to it. It feeds on your threat response and loss aversion, which are two very powerful drives. So the fear of, like, losing something is way more powerful than gaining something. And like we talked about this before, like, imagine if you found $10 on the floor, how would you feel?

Yeah.

But then imagine if you lost $10. Yeah. Scale that up to $100 or $1,000. It's the loss that you don't want to happen because you feel so much more. And it's, you know, do you increase, like positivity in your life or reduce negativity? And it's like for every increment of negativity you reduce, you become way more happier and positive because your brain is weighted towards that. And it's such an outsized response.

You're spot on. You go to the casino, you lose, you make a thousand dollars, right? Whoop to do, you lose a thousand dollars. You know, like, you know, it's the worst thing ever. Loss aversion is a, is a massive thing. And I think also breaking up what's. What I'm starting to do, and I learned this from someone else, is like even having, especially on Twitter, multiple Twitter accounts. So you can have different accounts for different things. So you can kind of switch the profile based on different things. I never really thought about that and I'm probably going to do it set up where I have like a, like a sports one or just like entertainment. Just like something that's not correlated to politics, crypto or finance.

Yeah, so I'm going to do that as well. So I think. Are you talking about setting up lists within.

I was actually talking about setting up a whole separate account but maybe list will do.

Yeah, yeah. So I'm going to do lists where I'll have like a crypto list, philosophy list, mindset list, investing list, whatever it may be, ebike list, pinball list. And that way I can just use, instead of using the. For you, I can use the following feed and then just have that type of content because you're right as well. Like when you're scrolling you're bombarded by not just one type of content but so many types. Like I'll get hit with like ADHD things that I follow and then which are funny and memes. But then I'll get hit with like super serious like war stuff or some Mario nor whatever his name is about some breaking news with sirens and that I don't fucking care about. Start to block all these people. But it's like, you know, you go from like finance to this to that to this and it's all like these areas of your life you care about but they're all kind of fear mongering. You need to know, you need to listen to me right now. And after a few seconds that your heart's like beating, you got palpitations like oh my God, this is terrible.

And you realize doesn't matter.

Yeah, exactly. Right. When you break up with it and you're free of it. So that's actually a really good point. I'm going to set up lists after this. It's going to be great. So I can just go in and look at like awesome like pinball and ebike stuff.

Yeah, I think, I think we've got to craft the digital world around us like we do in our physical environments. We claim clean up our desk, we have it, you know, nice fresh surroundings, good pillows, you know, it's just kind of homely. We need to do that in our digital digital areas as well. And digital digital accounts, I love that.

Curating your digital environment, that's the next T shirt mate.

Let's make it happen.

Absolutely. And yeah look, the point we want to get across is, you know, it's not all doom and gloom. Most people like. And this is the other thing I reckon It'd be close to, like, high. 90% is like, if you get any people, like the person that's opposite to you, I reckon 95% of the stuff that you want in life will be identical to them.

Yeah.

Take an extreme example of, like, what's the worst thing? Let's just say, like, I don't know, a Nazi person or something like that, or someone who's super racist. Even though they are that person, 95 of what you want will be the same as them, right? You want like, a safe environment. You want your kids to grow up safe. You want like a good neighborhood, good food, good job, all this sort of shit. It's that. It's that small minority that you don't agree with and is weird to you. And, you know, a lot of it shouldn't be done or is illegal. Right? Like, that is an extreme example. But we need to understand that generally humans are more alike than not alike. We don't need to have big divisions. You don't need to hate groups of people. If you don't understand about a certain group of people, go and talk to them. Your life will change. Most people are just, you know, relatively easygoing, just trying to figure out life, be open minded.

Not. Not about racism and Nazis, but, like, you know, be open minded. I think you're just in life in general, you know, with people, and you end up having better conversations and open to new ideas and you don't have. I think in some areas of life, the world isn't black and white. I think living in the gray, I've sort of learned that's kind of where sometimes the answer lies.

Yeah, that's so true. And that was a terrible example with like, Nazis and racists. But I'll give you another example. Like, oh, for me, gay people, right? Like, never had a gay friend or gay person in my, like, little circle. And yeah, then like, in a group of friends, there was like a couple of gay dudes, totally fucking normal dudes. Like, like, if you didn't say anything, you wouldn't even know, right? And it's like some people don't have a brown friend or whatever it may be, right? Like, we're touching on all, like, the topics now. But you gotta understand that people are just people and they have this, like, one small identifying thing about them that they get shoved into this huge category of like, you're this, you're extreme, you're what I see on Twitter. No, they're just normal people. They just do one thing different to you. They've got the same boring problems, the same boring jobs, the same boring lives. They're not these extreme people that you see on, on social media that have formed your ideas. And I can appreciate why people have those ideas because let's just take, I don't know, trans people, for example, and you see all these extreme trans things on Twitter and then people reacting to it. Have you met a trans person? Have you talked to them? They're probably just normal, trying to figure out life.

And it's usually the minority that you only hear from. Right. Not the majority. And that's. That's.

Yeah. And if people are getting attention online, you have to be extreme.

Yeah.

To break through and get constant attention. And that's what you're seeing. And affiliating that with a group of people or.

A person that you've put into a group, which is more than likely.

Yeah. Spot on.

Yeah.

So be open minded, chill with your social media consumption. Have lists, have accounts, moderate it. Curate your digital environment. That's what we're going to leave with today.

Love it, mate. Curate your digital environment, folks.

Amazing. Hopefully you enjoyed that. Folks, let us know if you have any comments or feedback. We'd love to hear from you. As always, please share this episode with a friend. It's how we grow the podcast each and every week and we'll see you on the next episode.

Thanks, champions.