Rhett: 0:00

Imagine a world where every conversation feels like a genuine connection, a place where you and I truly feel like we belong and where everyone has a seat at the table. Hey friends, welcome to Armchair Authentic. I think you need to start with that.

Justin: 0:24

Say that again. Well, I was just telling you to start bumping my BPMs, or my BPMs dBs. Start bumping my the dBs up the level of my microphone, because when I edit I usually have to knock mine up about 6 dBs. So what I'm hearing?

Rhett: 0:43

you say is more of me, please, more of me, please, yeah, more of me less of you and it took me a year and a half to tell you that.

Justin: 0:50

So that's what we were laughing at before we went on the air.

Rhett: 0:52

Yeah, you're like it's not something new. I've been dealing with this for a year and I'm like, dude, that's on you man, it is on me, and that's why I'm telling you now. Because I thought I need to go ahead and tell you this what?

Justin: 1:06

else do we need to get out?

Rhett: 1:07

I'm glad we got a close enough relationship for you to go. You know I'm going to wait a year before I'm honest with you. A year and a half, yeah, a year and a half, sorry.

Justin: 1:25

Well, it's kind of like when you're doing a sound check and when you don't have your own monitor mix, like, if you know I know we've been talking heavy music the past several episodes, but yeah, when, usually if you're on stage you can like turn your own monitor mix so you can hear yourself and everybody you want to hear. But if you're not at a place where you can do that kind of, the traditional way is the audio guy will say how's your mix? And let's say you've got so and so singing next to you and they're loud. Yeah, it's always hard to say. Could you turn Sally down? It just sounds like you're saying something bad.

Rhett: 1:51

It sounds like you're saying listen, sally sucks, I don't want her in my ears, so can you help me out here? Yeah, and you're not, you're just saying, she just needs her volume needs to go down a little, and that's okay.

Justin: 2:03

And so you try to find creative ways of saying like, sally you, you sound great today.

Rhett: 2:14

Um, I could actually use a little less of Sally. Uh, could I have more of myself? Sally, you're amazing and this has no reflection on you. It's my issue, not your issue. Will you can? Okay, so when you hear, hear me say this, just know that's. What I love about the personal monitors is that you don't have to worry about that as much no, that's, that's exactly right.

Justin: 2:30

I used to love going around. We had this electric guitarist who he just loved to crank up himself, and not a lot of other people yeah and I would just go after a sound check and just see where he had his settings and it would be like no vocal, no acoustic guitar. Yeah, it would just be all electric and maybe the other electric guitar player and I'm like come on, dude, come on.

Rhett: 2:56

All right, I mean time out editing purpose. Does it sound like my mic sounds different to you, or or is it just my ears?

Justin: 3:03

I don't know.

Rhett: 3:04

So it sounds like I'm back in the broom somewhere, like I'm back in the back. Does it sound that way to you? It could maybe, I mean, I don't know, it sounds like you sound? Really clear in the ear.

Justin: 3:18

Well, it's about time.

Rhett: 3:19

Yeah, yeah, no, it's great.

Justin: 3:20

It's called roll reversal.

Rhett: 3:22

Roll reversal.

Justin: 3:23

Now you can put up with this for a year.

Rhett: 3:24

I'm trying. Let's see here Test test test test test One, two. Test test test test test test test test test One one, two, one, two, one two one two one, two, one, two, one. Somewhere I was like what in the world?

Justin: 3:43

is happening Like on the recording. Yeah, Test test test but was that the only thing you're basing it off of?

Rhett: 3:49

No, I'm basing it off of.

Justin: 3:50

right now I feel like like Right now it's different, because sometimes I'll edit those Like if Micah says something and me, or you, said something at the same time. I'll turn our volumes down about 10 dbs, just so it picks up micah's word test, test talk for a second. Hey, uh, oh, now I feel like I left a little bit. Oh there, I'm back. There, I'm back. It was this.

Rhett: 4:12

When I bumped you up, it affected my ear and I'm just going back and make got it like you were really loud and I felt like it was like right here. So now I'm just, I'm just adjusting. I'm I'm actually doing the sally to you right now. That's all I'm doing. Let's pick it up right there. So what's funny is, as you and I are talking right now, I'm actually feeling that Sally conversation. I'm feeling like Sally in this analogy because I'm literally going I need less of Justin in my ear and I'm trying to fix this.

Justin: 4:41

And that's the first time today? Yeah, it's the first time.

Rhett: 4:44

It's the first time, so we bumped you up by 5 dB or 6, and then it affected me to where I'm like well, that's now I can't hear me Now.

Justin: 4:51

You don't feel as loud yeah but I'm not going.

Rhett: 4:53

I need more of me outwardly.

Justin: 4:54

I know what you mean.

Rhett: 5:02

But I am Right. But with our headphone mix is what it affected. So now I'm adjusting my own personal monitor mix that makes sense Are you good on your personal monitor. You need less of me, more of you, are you good?

Justin: 5:17

I could probably use a tad less of me, a tad less of you, how about?

Rhett: 5:21

that Just my monitor, though, how about?

Justin: 5:22

that Check. Check.

Rhett: 5:24

How about that?

Justin: 5:25

Just my monitor, though, how about?

Rhett: 5:26

that Check, check, how about that? Check, hello, hello, yeah, we can go with that, cool, all right. So moving on. So where were we, I don't know, but before, like we were having a pre-conversation and we were talking about social media, yeah, and I was like we just need to hit record on this because I think this can really I don't know help us and help people.

Rhett: 5:49

But again, I have a love-hate relationship with social media.

Rhett: 5:53

I get the importance of it and what we were talking about is what would it look like if we didn't do social personally and armchair authentically and armchair authentically.

Rhett: 6:03

Right, because we're looking at it, because I think the statement that I made to you as we were talking about this was I am nowhere near as productive as I want to be as long as I have Facebook, instagram and X on my phone, yeah, but yet I feel that I can't live in this world, in this culture. I should say and be effective, whether it's a mind monster saying you need to be sucked into this world because post something and keep moving, like literally, when I get online, or if I do something really quick, it's a good 15 minutes Sometimes I will be very transparent, because then I'm going to the church social media account. I'm going to my personal social media accounts, plural, you know Armchair Authentic, the church I serve in, idaho Believers Church, my own and next thing I know it's 15 minutes in. I'm like okay, and then coming out of that world trying to get back into what I was working on.

Justin: 7:14

I'm like, oh my gosh, and 15 minutes is being very generous. If you're only doing that, that's amazing.

Rhett: 7:21

But I'm being very respectful, like if I'm in my day and I'm working on things and I do it. Yes, now if I'm at home after a long day, you know that's not 15 minutes yeah, you veg out. It's different 45 minutes to an hour sometimes. Yeah, to be blunt to be, I just veg out, and next time I'm just doing that doom scroll, right, oh yeah, it's pointless, yeah, out. And next time I'm just doing that doom scroll, right, oh yeah.

Justin: 7:44

It's pointless. Yeah it's, it's tough. Well, we go back to we said, and you know, in the beginning of our podcast it reintegrated me into social media because I had been off for two years. Yeah, you've lived a life of freedom, oh man. And and just for the podcast I got, back on and over the past year and a half, you know, and there's been some other things too that have been good, but there's been a lot more focus on the social media side.

Rhett: 8:12

Here's the thing that social media, for me, used to be. I genuinely had an interest in my friends, the people that I followed. I wonder what they're doing. It was a great connect that I followed. I wonder what they're doing. It was a great connect. Now it has become this monster of a.

Rhett: 8:29

We know what you like and we're going to put it in front of your face every two seconds. Every once in a while, we'll throw one of your friends in there. Just, you know the ones that you think that you want to follow and keep in. No, no, no, no. We know more about you than you know about yourself. Oh, yeah, and so what happens is you, you scroll, you're like, oh, detailing, like.

Rhett: 8:49

Right now I'm in a kind of like detailing like car. You know stuff and I'm learning how to like vacuum carpets and clean engine bays and you know clean headlights. I'm like, oh, and now it's just inundating me and I'm like oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah. Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. Oh, oh, oh, oh. And it's just inundating me and I'm like ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. And it's just like. It's like the big wheel of remember Price is Right. Oh yeah, spin the wheel. Ding ding, ding, ding ding. One dollar, one dollar, it's like ooh, I just want to keep you know, so I don't. Is it possible to live in this world without social media that's a good question and still be influential and making a difference, helping people? And is it possible to organically allow things to grow without that?

Rhett: 9:47

Well, you and I were talking about for our podcast how great it would be just to have someone who enjoyed it and they loved it and let them focus on it.

Justin: 9:50

It'd be great. And we're never even logging on because it's getting the normal post. Yeah, you know I look at it because I try to jump in. You know you handle the socials right now and it's hobby level this is all about hobby.

Rhett: 10:06

This is hobby level this isn't like oh, I handle the socials and I think I do a great job.

Justin: 10:10

Right, you create a fun little social post and it goes out and all I do, yeah, is I just go on and take that and I story it. So here's, that's it, that's all I.

Rhett: 10:21

So we have this tool that we use that takes our transcripts and that creates a somewhat of a description of the episode, trying to encapsulate it into two, maybe paragraphs. Sometimes it gets it right, sometimes it doesn't. And the titling like, how do we title this? Based off the crazy conversation we have? So we take that and then I usually put that into chat, gpt or or grammarly or whatever, and then I'm like, hey, check the grammar on this.

Rhett: 10:50

And then is there a better way to say this that actually helps this? And does this title actually match? And, and that saves a lot of time from me having to sit around and write all this new writing. All of it saves hours, yeah, saves hours, yeah. So we take that. And then I do the same thing with social now create social media posts based off the description and based off the title that hopefully will create engagement or inspiration, or I'll let say this in a way that hopefully we'll get somebody to read it and want to be a part you know, and then it does, and then I'll copy and I paste it, and then I and I even say, give me hashtags, oh my gosh, yes, and I'm probably not even using it to the extent that it could be used, but that's what I'm doing.

Rhett: 11:28

And then, and so if you're ever wondering, golly, how do you come up with all that? Well, jetgpt, gary P Turner. He's my friend, so that's what we do, because that's all we can sustain. But it goes back to being effective in, in being productive, in in your head, in your mind space and your creativity. Cause, dude, I get sucked into this. I'm like, well, man, I'll never create something as good as that, yeah, or I'll never. You know what I mean? It's this idea of it's just never enough. Why even go in and be? Why even go? Do that idea that you thought was great? But this seems like there's a thousand other people doing the same thing. Right?

Justin: 12:04

And it's like you just look at the what's most effective, because, number one, there's an endless vacuum of things out there. Yeah, take our world podcast. I think the reason we have 80 plus episodes now is because we've kept this at hobby level and to us it's just two friends getting to have our weekly catch up and we have this audience that we're trying to steward, but that keeps it sane for us.

Justin: 12:32

So, whether you have 20 or 20,000, none of that would matter to us. But when you look at the endless vacuum of there's a lot of podcast options, there's a lot of social media sites, I mean you couldn't even catch it all if you want to. And people have to be very selective throughout their day what they do. And if I jump in and add an hour of my time to give an extra posting of what our Armchair Authent, authentic podcast already put out there, am I getting the return on investment for my time? Or did that post already take care of it, or did I just go spend an extra hour at this? That now locked me in and it showed me another article Now I'm interested in. And now, two hours later, it's not just the time, my mind that was all locked in and focused on my other task at hand. Now it takes me a while to even get back into that. So I got to go listen to some audio book or just sit down and pray or something to get my mind in that space, yeah, that zone.

Justin: 13:42

Because it zones you out every time, so you're not just missing that. So me and you were talking before we hit record and we thought, let's just hit record. What would it be like if we were even saying. What would it be like if there was no post?

Rhett: 13:55

Yeah.

Justin: 13:55

And of course we were like, well, maybe we shouldn't do that. What would it be like if someone posted everything for us and we're not even dealing with that? That could be awesome. That would be amazing because it does get eyes and it gets ears and that's wonderful. And in our normal human side, the more people we can impact, we feel like that's, the better, you know that's the enormity feel.

Rhett: 14:16

It was fun.

Justin: 14:17

It's fun to have a large audience, but time is very, very precious too, and if you're really not getting something back from that, you're just kind of reassessing where how? Do I do this Like? Do I just delete Instagram and Facebook? And I've done that throughout months. Where we post, I get rid of it. Well, right now I'm in a summer series. If anybody's seen it great, I get rid of it. Well, right now I'm in a summer series. If anybody's seen it great.

Rhett: 14:49

But what?

Justin: 14:49

it is when school ended. I do a worship Wednesday for the school that's used to having me come lead worship for them every Wednesday and I just do like a brief part of a song, maybe a verse, chorus and a bridge, and that's been so great for me that's been awesome Creative outlet, but still takes some time to put that post together and create all that.

Justin: 15:06

It does. And you know what, once I post it, though, that's still my creative outlet. I'm in my living room creating all that, and that's adding value, because I want to focus on a song. It's developing my piano skills, my acoustic skills, my vocal skills. All that stuff is happening, but then I still want it to be raw, so that helps me not overproduce it. So it's been a very freeing activity to post something out there and be vulnerable, so all good things come from that. But but then once you post it, though, there's that side of me that wants to stay engaged with it, if anybody has feedback it's like are people going to like it?

Rhett: 15:44

Are people going to say something? If they do say something, do I need to respond to it? Yeah, like I don't want to leave people hanging.

Justin: 15:50

That's added another thing to my midweek where to delete the app? Now I'm pulling it back up two days later versus six days later. Yeah, you know. So there's so many thoughts that I have with this. Okay, I want to encourage what would it just look like.

Rhett: 16:03

Okay, it's why you were talking. I was pulling up my phone and I was staying engaged with your conversation, but I was also looking up something. I want you to pull your I want you to do that. I want you to pull your phone up and I want you to look at this and then and what we're going to do here. And especially if you're listening to this conversation, you have an iPhone.

Justin: 16:19

By the way, you always the armchair moving. Yeah gosh, I got it. I got quite the squeaky chair here okay, you go to your settings.

Rhett: 16:28

Where, at? Where are we at? If you have an iphone, go to your settings, right? Oh no, give me a second. Was it general? I don't know? This is your bit. Well, give me a second. I, I done forgot, I've done. I don't forgot how you like that. Okay, here we go. So go to settings on your iPhone, got it. Scroll down to screen time and then there should be see all apps and website activity. Click that and then it gives you a list of your most used apps. Okay, okay, but it breaks it down between week and day. It can give you your daily average and your daily average. So do you see that? Okay, so weekly average, what is your weekly average? I say weekly, but it gives me your daily average.

Justin: 17:20

You give it all away.

Rhett: 17:22

From last week. Yeah, yeah, so messaging, so like messaging text messaging, weekly daily average or whatever, I guess three hours and 49 minutes on texts, yeah.

Justin: 17:36

That's ridiculous. What is yours?

Rhett: 17:38

No, it's not, it's not.

Justin: 17:40

My message like messaging yeah, Four hours and 45 minutes All right, so I'm back over to week Facebook.

Rhett: 17:49

One hour and 41 minutes average. Okay, that's almost two hours of my life and I'm not going to sit here and do all the math. What about you? Three hours? Okay, you must have stayed up late last night scrolling.

Justin: 18:04

Oh man, I don't know.

Rhett: 18:05

Okay, what about your Instagram?

Rhett: 18:08

Instagram Mine is one hour and 22 minutes. Yeah, three hours, okay, now, this is okay, but this is what's scary Total screen time, total screen time for the week so far. Where do you get all that? Nine hours, 17 minutes? Right here in that little box. You see it Bottom right-hand corner, underneath the week. What is yours? It's a big number. I want to know what that number is. 22 hours, okay, so far this week. That's just this week. Yeah, so I am down 51% from last week, but let's be honest, it's just, uh, the day that it is so, where it's early in the week. I'll leave it at that. Yeah, okay, so, and then if I start, uh, pickups, pickups, it breaks it down to how many times you picked up the phone. All right, this is crazy. My daily average of just picking up this stupid phone and holding it is 52. Where do we see this? Just keep scrolling down, like, look right here, you just go down, you got most used and then you got pickups.

Justin: 19:10

It tells you your daily average Now again this is just for this week.

Rhett: 19:15

I had 97. I picked up the phone 97 times Daily average yeah, that's the number.

Justin: 19:24

That's what it says your daily average, that number. Yeah, and it tells you your most pickup day and total amount of pickups so far this week. I mean I'm seeing an average of 55. Okay, so you pick it up less but you hold it more, or I set it on my counter for a long time, or yeah yeah, well, I don't know how it feels anyway, like I got my hoopla.

Rhett: 19:48

Audio books too, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, anyway, all this to say all right. So these are hours, these are minutes of our day that turn into our life. Yeah, so I'm not going to sit here and do the math, but if I'm currently at three and a half hours a week, that's a lot of my life. That's getting sucked away, looking at a screen, number one, doing absolutely nothing. Doing absolutely nothing, which, granted, there are times that you need a chance to disconnect, but the overall picture here is the person you want to become is going to be limited to how great. You're fine, just adjust that mic while I'm trying to say something. Keep going.

Justin: 20:28

This is excellent what you're about to say. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rhett: 20:30

No, I think. Ultimately, what I'm trying to say is we all want to do great things, we all want to accomplish much. What price are we willing to pay to put down the distractions right, to become that man or that woman that we're destined to be right, because we follow a lot of people online and we get an unreal, unrealistic picture of what we think it takes to do greatness. Okay, I'm just going to throw one.

Justin: 21:00

I'm tracking with you Whether or not you agree with this person or not.

Rhett: 21:03

I'm just going to throw one out Dave Ramsey. Yeah, I look at a lot of financial things and I get a lot of things in my feed, one of them being Dave Ramsey, because I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan. Just because the algorithm knows. And if you look at that, you're like God. This guy just lives on social media, cut after cut after content, content, content, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Rhett: 21:25

And if you don't know the reality of this, you're thinking that this guy is like just living his life through the lens of his phone. But he ain't doing it. He's got a team of people around him. Their number one job is to ensure that everything that he does in his productivity gets captured, and then he knows the vision. He's like hey guys, I just here's the vision, here's what I wanted to accomplish. I want to help people get debt free. So, however, you need to make this. Help people and clip it, go for it, run with accomplish. I want to help people get debt free. So, however, you need to make this. Help people and clip it, go for it, run with it. I'm not thinking about it, that's like.

Rhett: 22:06

I think we all want to make that type of difference with our life.

Rhett: 22:09

But we see what we see online and we think, well, we've got to live through our phone to make that happen.

Rhett: 22:12

And the truth is, no, put down the phone, go be productive, go create something, go build something with relationships and what's, and then, as that builds, then hire somebody to do right, that you can do, what only you can do and then and then allow that to be that.

Rhett: 22:24

And so I think we're caught in this tension, which this is an elevated hobby for us, exactly, and we love creativity and we want things to be great and we do believe that we've got a voice to be shared, to encourage and to help people and to be friends with people and to create this opportunity where people feel heard and seen and loved and valued through our conversations and our friendship. But the amount of time that it would take for us to create that online and to put that out on social is just something we don't have right now and so it's exhausting to us because we kind of get sucked into that a little bit and we're like, but it's taking away well, I can't speak for you, it can take away from the other creative outlets that I need to be pursuing and the other things that I need to be productive in.

Justin: 23:06

You know what I mean and it can take away from that, and I don't, I don't want it to but I think you're literally talking to an audience right now who is feeling everything.

Rhett: 23:14

Yeah, if you're a small business person. Right, you want to create an incredible business, but now you're thinking, well, crap, now I've got. I got to deal with Google, I got to deal with Yelp, I got to deal with the reviews and the comments and I've got to be able to manage that. And on top of that, I've got to be pumping out social media pictures and content of our coffee or biscuits or whatever your product is, and then you got to be doing that in a way that represents your culture and your people. And so now it's like all I really want to do is call it, serve coffee or do something.

Rhett: 23:43

Well, but now I feel like I just got sucked into all these different avenues of 20 something different social media platforms and growing on top of all these reviews. You know, and, and, and that, what people think and what people say, and if I don't respond within 20 seconds online to show people that I'm responsive to your feelings of how we missed the mark or got it great, you know, and it's so overwhelming it just sucks you in. It's like it's never ending. So there's value in it, but man, I just see, I it's like I almost see all the negative more than I see the positive and it's just like there's gotta be. I don't know. Balance is ever the key.

Justin: 24:19

I don't even know. We're just processing this out loud right now. To me it's experimental.

Rhett: 24:23

Yeah.

Justin: 24:24

Because I go back to the two years that I took off before we launched the podcast. Those two years, yeah, I mean I can map my journals every day and I mean some of the most productive days I've ever had productive times, early mornings, journaling every day, writing, which we never really got into. That there's. There's more to come on that. A lot of writing, a lot of prayer that me and Summer prayed through with you know what looks next during the next season and you know, obviously, three years ago I stepped into a pastoral care role. All these things happened from a point where we put the phones down, we put the social media down and there was so much clarity in that time media down and there was so much clarity in that time. And I would say too, when you know, bringing me back into it through the podcast, there was still clarity, but just you don't realize it, just little by little. So use this last week. I think if we do another week, you see a lot less than I would have done.

Justin: 25:28

But I'm a huge SEC fan. I know we've talked about this on the podcast. I love college football. It would be my hobby when it comes to Alabama football and just anything. Sec I'm obsessed with it. I love articles, I love listening to anything, and so we've had this recent development where there's a rumor that North Carolina may be joining the SEC at some point there's like a gentleman's handshake, kind of quiet under the table.

Justin: 25:56

Yeah, I love. So I'm nonstop right now in my free time I'm listening to, I'm watching YouTube videos on anything SEC, yeah, cause, once again, there's about a million people who have podcasts on every conference of every, and I'm just trying to see, do they?

Rhett: 26:12

have. There are podcasts about podcasts. There are literally people sitting talking about and analyzing and talking about how much they either love or hate different episodes of podcasts.

Justin: 26:22

It's the breaking news mentality that happened when we went into. It was in 2003,. When we went into Iraq or not, where did we go in 2003? You're asking the wrong bro. I think yeah, when with? Iraq with saddam hussein. Okay, after the um 2001 9-11 attacks and we ended up going to war in 2003. I remember hearing that's when breaking news became the thing everything's breaking news. When, when we were, when we were young breaking news was like when the Challenger exploded the spaceship that went and you would hear about it that night.

Justin: 26:57

And so now, when we started going to war, you would hear that Fox News, you know, and it was like breaking news.

Rhett: 27:08

Yeah.

Justin: 27:09

And that began to happen every hour, now it happens every minute. And that began to happen every hour, now it happens every minute and to this day, that sound happens almost every time it comes back from commercial break.

Rhett: 27:20

And CNN, msnbc.

Justin: 27:21

They all have their version of it. But breaking news, it kept you on alert and people didn't realize it. But it creates these anxieties and it's almost like if you told me like let's go on this mission trip to you know, let's use Israel. In my mind I'm like picturing us kind of hunkering down because I'm picturing missiles flying everywhere and I'm sure there is stuff going on but we can almost put so much danger because we're only watching news clippings. It'd be like thinking I'm going to go to Africa and you're only picturing, like this, lions and you know what I mean Tigers, all this stuff when there's these driving cities.

Rhett: 28:05

Why is there a Starbucks in Africa? I don't understand. I thought this was Safari.

Justin: 28:10

It's like. But the breaking news, the news puts all, it puts you in the most terrorist ridden spots and you picture that everything looks like that. Yeah, and I'm sure you know the other countries.

Rhett: 28:21

The media is painting a picture of how they want us to see the world Right.

Justin: 28:25

So everything's breaking news and, in the same way, we now have on our hands these devices that we're looking at all the time, it's all breaking news. We can see our friends constantly breaking news I went to Chipotle today for lunch. Breaking news I just played at this amazing conference. Yeah, breaking news, everything's breaking news and it's going into these different branches of all your relationships, until you're now like, well, I need to create my own breaking news.

Rhett: 28:57

Now it's all AI breaking news, which is so fake and phony you have to decipher was that even real now versus was that AI? Because it looks so real. I have to like go into Google and get like three pages deep sometimes to find out that that was just. That was unreal.

Justin: 29:12

That was not real. Yeah, I'm looking for a six finger on somebody to show that it's AI, you know? Yeah, it's, it's it's getting ridiculous. Wow, that tiger just ate that guy. Oh, how did he do that? Then he has a third foot coming out of his stomach. It's like, oh well, that's probably AI when the tiger looks at you and like kind of looks his chops and smiles and winks at the camera and I'm like that might have been it.

Rhett: 29:42

But it's so intriguing and it sucks you in. And again, I'm not I'm not trying to demonize social media, but what I am saying it is an absolute 100 percent distraction to keep you away from all that God is calling you to be and everything he wants to do in and through your life, whether it be creating a business, being the best dad, being the best mom, being whatever it might be. And so it's just like I don't want to play that game. I want to know that I can live my life and be productive and fulfill all that God has designed me in these very short. You know moments, hours, minutes, when you break it down, of how much life we have on this planet before we go meet him. You know face to face, and I want to know that I maximize that and I didn't get sucked away into the noise of something that was truly meaningless and pointless, that didn't add any value, that added more anxiety.

Rhett: 30:36

Friends just want to take a moment and say, if you are enjoying today's conversation, could you do us a huge favor. Would you take a moment and copy the link from your favorite podcast platform and share it with a friend? Email it to a friend. How about airdropping it over to your buddy or your sister right now. Man, that would mean so much to us. Thank you, all right, guys. Back to the conversation. We've got friends who aren't on social media. Oh yeah, let's take J-Ray. He was on this conversation with us a few weeks ago. He's not on social media and I did not know that. And I'm like, how do you do that? I mean, that's great, I'm proud of you. It's been years, yeah, and and and. It's just, how do you? Because in my world I'm like well, you know, as a pastor, you've got to be online. People got to be able to connect with you. You got to like you buy it. But it's like, really, really really like.

Rhett: 31:25

I mean, that's what we buy into thinking we been that has been told to us, so it gets back into what's reality and what's not yeah and then, so it's like it might be true, I think, but I would like to be the person that's successful without it.

Rhett: 31:42

And then people are like but you're on it all the time, like, no, I don't even know what's happening online. Sorry to break it to you, I don't know what they're doing or what they're not doing with whatever, and the team is that's working on whatever that is. You know. I would love for us just to come in, have our conversations and really focus on creativity and not creating a quote show but like there are performance aspects of who we are to, where we've got these creative ideas and go, man, how fun would it be to have this skit or this or that or another to add a little bit more entertainment value to what we're doing, and that's what makes this fun.

Rhett: 32:17

This is a very life-giving, fun part of what we do? Yeah, absolutely. But it's like we're not able to do some of those things because we are only limited with the time that we have, and this is a hobby. But I would love to be able to get to the place where social media is just doing whatever it's doing, but having somebody to do it. So I guess here's the bottom line. If you're listening to this today and you're really good at social media and you love what we do and you want to partner with us, hey, email us info at armchairauthenticcom. Yes, Because we need some help. And if you're wondering if we've got money to pay, we don't, so we'll work that out somehow.

Justin: 32:47

We'll create some We've decided not to let the funds go to you Funds. I like that, our funds.

Rhett: 32:55

But all that to say, man, like, yeah, I just for my life, though I would love not to be on it. But then the sense is well, how will people know what I did if I don't have it?

Justin: 33:08

You know what I mean I think those are the words so like how can my friends know that I had a good time?

Rhett: 33:12

doing this or that, and then something to celebrate. But then again it's like, yeah, but does everybody really need to know that you did all that stuff? And you know what I mean. It's like I don't know.

Justin: 33:21

I'm still convinced.

Rhett: 33:31

No, but no, we do it anyway, we do it anyway, I mean, you were talking about something, you did. Yeah, sure, I should be able to post this, but at the same time it's like I'm not going to post it.

Justin: 33:39

Well, yeah, because it is, I think, our culture right now, because you're conditioned, I see enough stuff where it might be someone I know or someone I don't know, but they're doing something very, they're family or something. And you see a picture and you think it just I guess it goes in and puts it in your mind that when you go do something similar you just have a natural reaction of, yeah, let's post this. And so I ended up having that battle of the mind, which it's funny that we say battle. It really shouldn't. But I think that's the addiction part that we got to admit. We all have a touch of it and some more than others. But you still got to at least look and say do I want to take this picture? And I have to have these conversations. I'll even do it with Summer and I'll say is this really that? It's not even important, is it?

Rhett: 34:31

And she's always my level headed person saying like I wouldn't do that, I'm like, yeah, but the fact that we even have to take the mental energy to think about that, yeah, but that's where we are.

Justin: 34:40

It's because, but it is because it's some place. I've given it the priority to give it mental energy. Yeah, and you can go back and I'll keep referencing when I took the two, two and a half years off before we launched the podcast. I hate to keep saying that because it's not the podcast fault no but there, once you stop like it, it's like an addiction.

Justin: 35:08

It's like when you're for me, it's like being on sugar. If you were to get off for a week, it finally, after you go through a week of withdrawals, it finally just goes away. And you might have moments of weakness where it pops back in there. But it's the same thing with this. Once I withdrew from it I almost forgot it was there, because I remember getting back on to social media and when I first signed in, first of all it had to know that it's me, because it didn't recognize me. Why aren't you signing in from this device? Who is this dead person coming back to life?

Rhett: 35:44

The last was like two iPhone models ago, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. Then this one and who's trying to sign in?

Justin: 35:52

So when I finally was able to get back to my accounts. Yeah, I had all these messages first of all. Did you respond to all of them? No, yeah, tons of stories where you can't even see the story anymore. Yeah, you were mentioned in a story you were mentioned in a story. Yeah, yeah and it takes me back two and a half years, I guess whatever event whatever event I went to, oh yeah, and instantly the curiosity is like wow, what did I miss? What?

Rhett: 36:18

did they mention?

Justin: 36:20

I can't even go back and find what they mentioned. Who is that person that mentioned me? Oh, I know him, I know her and, without even realizing it, I'm already kind of into the well, I don't want to miss a mention next time. And so now that I'm having access, you begin just to naturally do it, and I think it just takes a lot of self-control or admitting that you almost have to get back at that place where you can just put it to the side.

Rhett: 36:48

I've deleted my Facebook twice and deleted it long enough to where it completely forgot me and erased everything. I've done it twice and I'm at that place now to where I want to do it again and just be like I'm out. You know, and it's not because I've got some weakness of like. You know, I'm drawn into things I shouldn't be. You know, no, it literally. Well, you know, I don't mean deep level sin issue, that's not what I'm saying Right, I'm just saying it's just, it's so distracting, but isn't that?

Justin: 37:17

isn't that the deal? Yes, there are weaknesses. We got to be careful of yeah, yeah, yeah.

Justin: 37:22

That our eyes and our temptations could see, and I think that's the thing we normally watch out for that and keep such high alert. So my eyes are very guarded what it will look at and it knows I know what my weaknesses are. We've talked about these. We both know each other's weakness. But, getting back to this other thing, you might be so focused to watch out for that and you're giving your time to these other things that seem nice and innocent. The fact is, your time is going to something that really it. It doesn't matter. You're just locked in on something and now you're dealing with.

Justin: 38:00

I've never compared myself in these kinds of ways, or man. I've never felt less than and no one's doing anything. You're, you're giving yourself an unfair um. You're just putting something in front of your eyes that seem it's all greatness. You know, let's use our world. It could be someone who's a pastor, it could be a musician, it could be any of these things. You're putting goodness before your eyes, but you're doing it past moderation, Right, Exactly, Exactly, and that is I mean it's like eating food Like food is good and eating healthy food is great, but if you overeat healthy food, then it becomes bad.

Justin: 38:38

Yeah, right it's true.

Rhett: 38:41

I mean, it's the discernment, it's the discipline and at the end of the day, I would say, you and I are both very productive, for sure. But I'm saying, when I look at my life and I begin to analyze it and dissect it, I look at it and I realize that I could be more productive. Yeah, I'm already getting great things done. But I look at my life and go but how much more could I accomplish if I didn't have this distraction? Yeah you're doing an audit. It's an audit.

Rhett: 39:10

It's that mid-year-ish, you know we're past that mid-year at this point to go, and how am I, how is this affecting me mentally, how is it affecting me spiritually, how is it affecting me even physically? Because am I taking an hour in the morning when I should be walking? Well, I mean, think about if you just took an hour and you walked a slow pace, I mean you're close to three miles, two miles. If that at an hour, if you walk really really really slow.

Justin: 39:36

And if you're just sitting down imagine the scripture reading Exactly Of just implanting these stories in your mind.

Rhett: 39:44

Exactly so. Imagine the time it took for you to scroll of nothingness and you come out of that zone. You're like, oh, like. You feel that little, that cloud of fog. Imagine investing that same amount of time into reading john, the book of john, or reading, you know, just a book. Yes, the bible's great, but just imagine reading another book and what it does for your health and your mental health, you know, and your ability to really focus in on you. Yeah, vitamin D outside.

Justin: 40:15

You know when, when we're getting, when we're getting close to this is when you go watch on family movie night a movie that it used to just seem like hyperbole, and you go watch WALL-E.

Rhett: 40:25

Well, yeah, I haven't seen that movie.

Justin: 40:27

And there's the moment where they have where the spaceships you know are taking all, all the people and by this time it's like everybody's just so overweight they're laying on a chair over. Yeah, and it's even before. I mean all the iphones, I mean it's probably right around when they're created, yeah, but people are just plastered to this permanent the computer does everything for them. They sit in a drink?

Rhett: 40:49

yeah, would day. Would you like a drink?

Justin: 40:51

Yeah, would you like this? And no one has had human contact until the point where they accidentally, like they touch fingers. Ooh what?

Rhett: 40:59

was that when they fell out?

Justin: 41:00

of the chair and it woke them up from their slumber. And they couldn't walk and we used to think it was so goofy. But you can watch that and it's come alive a lot more, oh, but you can watch that and it's come alive a lot more. Oh yeah, because, yes, maybe it hasn't made us where we can't walk around anymore. It's close, but how our minds? Yeah, just think about it.

Justin: 41:17

I know this is fun to have these talks and this has been our fun little social media episode, and next week we'll have a different one for you. Yeah, but it's interesting how you gave this example a few episodes back you can be watching. Just go to a public place, because when you're not actually the one doing it too, look up from your phone and try to just be the intellect for a moment that's going to study your room, watch how many people are all staring at our device. I mean, it really is.

Justin: 41:49

If we can come out of our Wally slumber just for a minute. Yeah, and I know we're sounding like the social media police.

Rhett: 41:56

We're not. We're not demonizing it, we're just very aware we're in it with you, yeah.

Justin: 42:00

We're trying to at least have our little pinky-de-pinky moment and I felt a human contact and it woke me up. Chance from your scrolling, just like from my my break from my scrolling. Look up and let your mind get out of a fog for a moment and just try to see if you can count how many people are in some kind of conversation with each other, with each other or just actually admiring the beauty around them.

Justin: 42:23

Just do it and see, and I would bet it's not going to be. The percentage is not going to be nearly as high as people who are naturally yeah, and it can't be people who are working, it has to be people who are just at their leisure.

Rhett: 42:35

Yeah, the people that are working are behind the counter and serving you, of course, and by the way they're looking at their phones once you leave too.

Justin: 42:43

But it can't. Be people working, just looking at your leisure, just people who are walking, appreciating company and just the surrounding.

Rhett: 42:50

who?

Justin: 42:51

are walking appreciating company and just the surrounding. It used to be so normal and something is lost in this, and I know we can't put our finger on it yet, but we're losing something and it would seem, if you're the one who can still be locked in with humanity, you are the masterclass of the very thing you're watching, wanting to be on social. You will be that person just by being normal.

Rhett: 43:15

Just look at your own family, take it in, not you or me, but you the listener, our friends. So for Linda and I, when we're at a table at a restaurant or eating or whatever it might be, we've got this unspoken rule. It's not a rule, it's not like we're like, oh, we, oh, we're not gonna look at phones, yeah, but like if there's a moment where I see my son or her on it and I'm just sitting there, I'm like, oh, are we gonna be that family?

Rhett: 43:37

yeah and that's my little way of going. Uh, I'm not just gonna sit here and we're all gonna look at our own phone and not talk to each other. So we literally, you know every once in a while somebody will look or show something, but like we're not living on our phones, we are being very intentional in learning how to have dialogue and conversation which is so silly to say learning how, but like we're going to continue to cultivate eye contact and like listening skills, understanding skills.

Rhett: 44:08

you know, and we've done this, you know, even when my son was younger, and iPads and all that stuff was coming out, we're like, we're not no offense to anybody that does that, or we have family members that do. I get it, but like, as for me and my house, right, we were going to be a family that could go out to a restaurant and eat and not feel like we have to have a screen or device in front of us and learn the art of that. And so you know again, we're not demonizing social media, we're not demonizing screens. But, as for me, when I begin to do that the deep work, if you will I recognize that there is a lot more in me to offer, you know, in productivity, beyond where I'm already producing. When I look at, oh man, almost four hours of screen time, or or Facebook, I'm like golly, that's a lot of that's, that's a lot of time that I could be playing piano, writing a song, reading a book, throwing football with my son.

Justin: 45:08

Yeah. Hanging out with people you know, whatever, Writing those priorities like what would it look like?

Rhett: 45:13

Or working on a dream on the side, of just investing that into what could be if Dreaming, sitting on my thoughts, talking to the Lord.

Justin: 45:22

Or just protecting your mind, or yeah, just protecting, like someone's influencing the way you think.

Rhett: 45:28

Hey guys, red here Just want to take a moment and say thank you to every single one of you who have taken the time to follow influencing the way you think. Find us there at Armchair Authentic. Or you can go on over to X. Find us there as well, at Armchair Auth Pod. That's Armchair Auth A-U-T-H-P-O-D. All right, now back to the conversation.

Rhett: 46:02

Charlotte Gamble preached a message. She was just saying we disagree on a lot of things, but can we at least agree on the value? You know, like love for God, yeah, all right, we all might have different opinions around that, but when you come into the true value, the essentials, you know um, and then volume like there's all these different volumes in the world that are vying for our attention, yeah, and so. But like the phone, the scrolling, the algorithms, I think those are volumes. And so when I know my value and our values, well then, I know the volume that needs to be there too.

Rhett: 46:39

I'm becoming more aware, whether it be this elevated hobby that we have with this podcast, or whether it be being the best dad or best husband and, you know, person we can be, you know, follower of Christ. Love for God, whatever it might be in your own context, like that's our value. So what volumes are too high via Facebook, instagram, x, social media, whatever? What volumes are too high that need to be brought down so that my value is actually lived out? So the volume of the value is more important than the volume of things that aren't really that important. Yeah, and I don't know. Man, it was a great message. I encourage you to go back and listen to it.

Justin: 47:20

She always has an on-time word for me, yeah, it was great.

Rhett: 47:23

So what is as we wrap this?

Justin: 47:25

up. What's our challenge? Do we want to come up with me and you, and then, if you're listening, maybe y'all can check it out, because here's what I know. What do you know? Here's what's going to happen during the weeks that my little summer series I post every Wednesday. Is it wrapped up?

Rhett: 47:40

Well, the summer series will be wrapped up the summer series of you posting the worship moment, the weeklies, because I'm doing that for the catalyst, for that was for the school, that for the catalyst for that was for the school and I know you have so many people who are watching that and listening.

Justin: 47:54

That's great too. Love that. But the mission for doing that and then it can swap up, but still being able to do that Nothing's wrong with doing that. But for us, when I'm talking about it, how do I do that? And then kind of zone out until I lock back in on those right times and then kind of zone out until I lock back in on those right times. So what's the challenge that we want to try out this week? And we can report back a couple of episodes from now.

Rhett: 48:20

My challenge would be that three and a half hours goes down to one hour Average Of total time. Yeah, of total time Of your, that seems impossible Of the socials Of social. Meaning after seven days, it would be a total of one hour.

Justin: 48:40

Got it, so I'm going to put that in the To me. I have to categorize that as the Instagram Facebook. Yeah, all three X. I'm never on X, not the YouTube stuff for me, because it's college football season. This is where I get to lean in on that. Yeah, yeah, okay.

Rhett: 48:58

So I don't know. And the other thing is, I would be really interested is if we did not do socials period for Armchair Authentic, we kind of mentioned that. We just don't do it and just see, does it really affect anything?

Justin: 49:13

yeah you know you know.

Rhett: 49:15

But then the argument is I think how many people would have actually known that we were doing this had we not had facebook and instagram to at least let people know we're doing something.

Justin: 49:24

Well, it gets back to the, you know, to the reason of we are not naturally self-promoters. That's really tough, and so the word of mouth I'm not as good at, yeah, and you know, I think I got to improve on that stuff, making people aware about word of mouth.

Rhett: 49:39

Yeah.

Justin: 49:40

I think it's okay, Cause you got to know your, your um motivation, when you say that.

Rhett: 49:45

Yeah.

Justin: 49:46

Uh, but, but yeah, I mean. But once again, there are people who have followed the account that you do have to look at and say, if they've taken the time to follow, does that account at least need to post?

Rhett: 49:58

Yeah, Curious what people's thoughts would be on that.

Justin: 50:02

So letting the account maybe post every Monday, but what if Rhett and Justin didn't have the follow up post?

Rhett: 50:09

Yeah, the post is really just awareness, you know, of letting people know, hey, we're-up post. Yeah, the post is really just awareness, you know, of letting people know, hey, we're still doing this. Yeah, but I don't know if it really makes a difference.

Justin: 50:17

But if it comes from just the, it makes sense that the armchair authentic count account would still post, I guess.

Rhett: 50:26

Yeah.

Justin: 50:27

Or if there's some kind of maybe not the post, but some kind of interaction that greets them every week.

Rhett: 50:33

Yeah.

Justin: 50:34

Hey guys got a great episode for you and it's more focused towards them, not the outer audience.

Rhett: 50:41

Yeah.

Justin: 50:41

But there's someone who would come and say, Justin, I know this world, that is not how it works. And I would say, well, I don't know how it works.

Rhett: 50:49

I think that's the clue. Well, I don't know how it works, I think that's the clue. But, going back to, if you really love this and enjoy it and you like the show and you want to be a part of this and help us get better, email us at info, at Armchair Authentic, and let us know. Do I?

Justin: 51:03

remove my app for the day.

Rhett: 51:05

Oh, you're removing it. Are you like deleting it?

Justin: 51:08

I usually do that Are you reinstalling?

Rhett: 51:09

it Every time? Do you have to put in your password and username every time when you reinstall it, or is it just remember?

Justin: 51:14

I've got to put it in all my stuff.

Rhett: 51:15

Okay, See, that's where I'm like. I don't remember, I don't, I wouldn't. I've got three or four different ones how do you do it? Do you just hide it? I mean listen, guys. Thanks so much for being a part of this conversation with us. I know Goodbye.

Justin: 51:33

Facebook.

Rhett: 51:34

We're living in a crazy world, a crazy time.

Justin: 51:37

Yeah, Justin's just going over his phone. This is my weekly thing, by the way. Okay, On my great weeks it stays out. Goodbye.

Rhett: 51:45

Facebook. Love you guys. Thanks so much. Have a great one and more content to come See you next week. Bye On the next episode of Armchair Authentic.

Justin: 51:55

All right, Rhett. So we talked about getting our buddy Mark on the episode today.

Rhett: 51:58

Yeah.

Justin: 51:59

So here goes the call. I think he's expecting us to call what is up.

Rhett: 52:03

Mark, how are you doing bud? I'm great. How are y'all Good Doing good man? To be honest, what number was I? Was I like? Second choice, fourth choice, first choice only choice for the day that is today. How about that? I mean, that's rolling the dice. I got to tell you because if I wasn't available, you'd be a freak, have you listened to our podcast? We will find something to talk about.

Justin: 52:26

It might be inflation. I noticed that yesterday. We're going to find something to talk about. We will find something to talk about. I remember me, you and Rhett, connecting over coffee a while back and we were all giving updates to our life and you began talking about some updates to the podcast.

Rhett: 52:44

You and Justin talked just for a second on just nonsense. I'm going to EQ you just a minute. Auburn football.

Justin: 52:50

How's Auburn looking this year? That's not nonsense.

Rhett: 52:54

That's sort of nonsense, man, we cannot wait for that conversation, but until then, we hope you have a wonderful day, stay safe and we will see you next Monday for a new episode of Armchair Authentic right here with your friends Rhett and Justin. We'll see you soon.