Turning 10% into the new 100% – drowning out the noise!

I read a lot of social media and media content, most compliance professionals do!

Regulatory updates, opinions, hot takes, warnings & trends, success posts, predictions and the usual “dressed up as insight” posts.

And honestly, for me 90% of this is noise.

Headlines that trigger the emotional reactions are a good indicator of how much of my time I am willing to put into reading it.

Ragebait designed to provoke

Engagement bait designed to flatter

Clickbait designed to sell

And a growing number of content posts designed to just engage and offer no real learning or prompt a thought.

Not everything is for you.

This leaves approximately 10% that is useful and where I take learning from.

The mistake I used to make was trying to absorb every bit of information and detail and losing sight of what the lessons were. I learnt the hard way that not all content was written for me, once I accepted that I stopped reacting and started filtering.

Read with intent, not emotion.

I now read with intent and an understanding, and I am not asking “do I agree with this?” or “does this make me feel something?”

I am asking a clear simple question, is there anything here to change how I think, work, act or make decisions?

If it’s a yes, I keep reading and soak it all up.

If it’s a no, I am not the target audience and move along. No negativity, no friction, just knowing it’s not for me.

This 10% now becomes my new 100%, not because it hits certain emotions but because it is relevant.

Don’t mistake interest for intent.

The same applies to receiving new network connections.

Have you ever liked a post on LinkedIn and suddenly you receive a connection request with messages of “have you ever considered?” or “Is your software up to scratch?” you know the ones I mean.

It feels like engagement has become a gateway for permission, a like is treated as an invitation.

It’s not, it is just engagement, it’s a sign of me liking what I read because it is relevant.

Time is earned, not assumed.

This is where filtering matters so much, not everyone who connects with me deserves my time, not everyone who is trying to sell me something understands my role, or pressures or the regulatory reality I move in.

But, I also don’t fear looking, there is no reason to fear this!

View the profile, read what they post, check what they actually do instead of taking what their headline suggests or claims.

It’s not rude, it is how I do due diligence. I am not snooping, I am making an informed decision.

Protect your headspace.

You have every right to see if someone is worth your valuable time and adds relevance, is interesting, or adds value to your current situation. Silence is not hostile, it is prioritisation.

In compliance we are trained to assess risk, credibility and relevance. And it is scary how I now apply this to how I view social media content. And I hope others do so too, use those skills, you got them for a reason.

For me, drowning out the noise is not disengaging, it is about being precious with my time and headspace. Taking that 10%, letting it form a better conversation, make me ask better questions of myself and others and to make my judgements clearer and not irrational.

The skill of “scrolling past” in a world filled with bait is a skill worth keeping.