Get paid £2,000 to quit social media for two months
An educational app offering 5-minute ‘Knowledge Hacks’ is looking to pay someone £2,000 to quit social media for two months.
The company wants to hire a self-confessed ‘social media lover’ as part of a study to discover the impact social media and ‘doomscrolling’ have on a person’s productivity, wellbeing and self-growth. The unusual hire comes after multiple studies about social media being a behavioural addiction, as it can increase dopamine levels in the same part of the brain drugs and alcohol can.
The successful applicant will be paid by the Uptime app to uninstall all of their social media profiles and monitor their happiness, behaviour, productivity levels and what else they might do in their downtime across the two-month period. The successful applicant will receive expenses of £50 per month to cover memberships for online resources that improve wellbeing and self-growth.
In addition to uninstalling the apps, the applicant will also be asked to answer a frequent questionnaire and keep a written and video journal to record their experience.
The platform’s main aim of the study isn’t for people to delete social media entirely but to decrease their time spent on apps mindlessly scrolling, to promote learning, and consuming information that aids self-growth and wellbeing.
The app also wants to warn people about the risks of ‘doomscrolling’, which is where people spend a lot of time on a device reading bad news on social media platforms and news outlets. Experts have warned that doomscrolling can be harmful to mental health and that social media can be a behavioural addiction.
No previous qualifications or experience are required for the role. However, the app has stated that hopeful applicants must be over the age of 18 and be a ‘self-confessed social media lover’. The candidates must also only use their social media platforms for social reasons only, not for business purposes, as the app states it wants to solely gather insights on the personal use of social media. The person chosen for the study will also not be asked to delete any social media platforms they use for professional purposes such as LinkedIn.
Recently selected as one of Google’s Best Apps of 2021, Uptime allows users to improve their chances of lifelong learning with the use of ‘Knowledge Hacks’, tappable five-minute stories condensing the world’s best books, courses, documentaries and podcasts into easily digestible content.
Says Patrick Walker, co-founder of Uptime:
“Like most things in life, social media has its downfalls, but it can also be great for many people, from providing work to offering people a platform to express themselves and their hobbies – as well of course helping people to connect. We’re not against social media at all but we do see the problems with doomscrolling, where people just consume negative and misleading news and opinions.
“In our study we want to highlight how much learning and using your time productively can result in better wellbeing and self-growth, contrary to the minutes spent wasting time online. We don’t think everyone needs to delete social media forever, but we want to inspire people to use their downtime in a way that’s better for them in many ways.”
People interested in quitting social media can apply here: https://uptime.app/blog/social-media-study-get-paid-2000-to-quit-social-media-for-two-months/
