False economy What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the

To feel less alone, stop clicking and instead 
schedule your texting and calling times.
We’ve spent thousands of years developing a 
brain that has a complex network of neurons for 
the purpose of processing an intricate social life. 
It stands to reason that this brain would not be 
satisfied with emojis and hashtags. It may come 
as no surprise, then, that according to the 
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the 
more time spent on social media, the more likely 
you are to feel lonely.
So the next recommended digitally minimalist 
practice is to stop clicking “like.”
In fact, don’t even leave any of those superficial 
comments like “so cool” or “love it.” Don’t fool 
yourself or anyone else into thinking these are 
meaningful human interactions or a valid 
alternative to a real conversation because they 
aren’t. Instead, stay silent and save your 
comments for the next time you call your friend 
or meet up with them for the kind of face-to-face 
conversation that we’re built to find satisfying.
If you’re worried your friends will find this social 
media silence troubling, just tell them you’re 
stepping back from these kinds of interactions. 
And remember, if you visit a friend and bring 
some food with you, it will mean more than a 
hundred likes. The reality is that less social 
media equals a better social life. This is because 
you’ll be more prone to actually meet and talk to 
people.
The same goes for texts, messaging and emails 
as well. An actual phone call is more rewarding 
to our social needs than any number of emojis. 
Of course, texts are extremely useful when 
you’re running late to a meeting or just need a 
quick confirmation. But when it becomes your 
standard means of communication, it can raise 
your level of loneliness.
One Silicon Valley executive has come up with a 
pretty useful practice that you can start 
implementing, which is to set regular 

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conversation hours. He tells everyone that any 
weekday at 5:30 p.m. you can call him and 
discuss anything. This is an effective way to 
discourage getting into a lengthy text-based 
back-and-forth, since he often writes back to 
say, let’s discuss this – just call any day at 5:30.
This doesn’t just apply to phone calls, either. 
You can have a standing invitation to be joined 
at your favorite coffee shop on Saturday 
mornings at 11 AM, for instance. Whatever you 
prefer, just promote real conversations, and 
you’ll be happy you did.