Summary

The article reflects on the importance of quality connections, both in podcasts and social media relationships, emphasizing the need to disengage from poor quality interactions that lack clarity and fail to hold one's attention.

Abstract

The author draws a parallel between experiencing poor audio quality in a favored podcast and maintaining social media connections that are unclear or unengaging. Despite being a fan of the podcast, the poor audio quality caused distraction and disinterest, leading the author to question the value of their time investment. This experience prompts introspection about the nature of social media "friendships," suggesting that just as one would troubleshoot a bad phone or internet connection, it's equally important to reassess and potentially sever social media connections that do not contribute positively to one's daily content consumption. The author advises taking note of such "bad connections" and considering their removal from one's social media feed to avoid negative influences on decision-making and mental clarity.

Opinions

The author has a positive predisposition towards certain podcasts, as indicated by the act of subscribing to them.
Poor audio quality in a podcast can significantly detract from the listening experience, regardless of one's initial interest.
The author believes that the quality of our social media connections can similarly affect our engagement and emotional state.
It is suggested that if social media interactions are unfocused, unclear, or apathetic, they may be akin to a "bad connection."
The author recommends actively managing one's social media relationships, much like troubleshooting a technical connection issue.
There is an emphasis on the importance of curating one's social media feed to include only meaningful and clear interactions.
The article implies that maintaining "bad connections" on social media can have a detrimental effect on one's decision-making and overall well-being.

Bad Connections

Thinking about social media “friends.”

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately.

I have a few favorites. I also have a few I’ve started and not finished. As we all know, some are better than others. We also know there is a podcast for every interest.

Motivation, Politics, Music, Panthers and Tar Heels, other sports. All kinds of flavors out there.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast and had a small disruption. This was a podcast where I even clicked the subscribe button to get regular updates on my podcast app.

You know if I do that then it’s one of my more favored podcasts, so I already have a positive inclination.

But in this instance, there was bad audio on the podcast and I found myself distracted.

I don’t know if it was a bad day for the host.

I don’t know if it was a weak microphone.

I don’t know if the podcast app wasn’t working properly.

I found myself having trouble focusing, listening and frankly, caring what the conversation was about.

I stuck with it because I’m bought in to this podcaster, but at the end of the fifteen minutes or so I was questioning why I even spent the time.

This also got me thinking about the social media “friends” we have in our lives and the daily feeds we allow to influence our moods.

What is your connection with each person?

Do you feel their words are clear?

Is there something distracting?

Do you have trouble focusing, listening and frankly, caring about the conversations they are bringing up?

Maybe you have a bad connection?

So, if you have a bad connection on a phone line or a computer, what do you do?

You try to reset it?

You call back?

You log in again?

What if you aren’t that into the call or the relationship in the first place?

Do you let it drop?

Do you try to hold on or improve the connection?

I propose you make a note to yourself if you have a bad connection with a social media “relationship” and you find you are having trouble focusing, listening and frankly, caring about what they have to say.

Maybe that isn’t a “friend” whose posts and commentary need to be influencing your daily content diet.

Don’t let a bad connection set you back. Don’t let a bad connection alter your decision-making. Don’t get stuck in a place of fuzzy communication where you look back and can’t figure out why your choices were made.

If you have a bad connection:

Try to login again.

Try to call back.

Try to reset the connection.

But if you can’t make out the topics or understand why the topics are being discussed, don’t let it negatively alter you. Get it out of your feed.

It may be time to find a new connection.

…

Contemporaneous Notes

Do you remember everything?

medium.com

Are you an Authority (in content)?

I’ve been thinking recently of the way content providers/writers communicate with their readers.