With so much of our lives lived online, we’ve never been more connected—or disconnected from what’s most important to us.

It’s time to let go of our curated online worlds and get beyond our need for likes.

For all that we think we’re getting out of social media, we’re also getting duped. Depression, anxiety, and suicide are on the rise, and the virtual world is partially to blame, affecting our self-worth, our friendships, and our real-life decisions.
 
The truth is, life is messy, but curated online fabulousness makes it hard to let our true selves show, and it impedes our ability to have real, meaningful connections.
 
As the founder and CEO of Squad, an app company built on connectedness, Isa Watson knows firsthand why we need to learn how to be more genuine. The digital world is her lifeblood, but it’s also been an Achilles’ heel: She struggled privately with some of the biggest challenges life can throw at you, while online she seemed to be living her best life—taking fabulous trips, earning high-profile accolades, and partying with the likes of Alicia Keys. It took a personal crisis to make her realize that she needed to change.
 
In Beyond the Likes, she gets real, sharing practical guidance on:
  •  Recognizing your own damaging habits and developing healthy ones
  •  Getting over being addicted to likes and letting your true self shine
  •  Getting comfortable with discomfort to make real connections
  •  Determining when a friendship has run its course and letting them go in a healthy way
 
Drawing from a wealth of experiences including being the youngest published chemist in the world, working as executive in the upper echelons at JPMorganChase, and founding her own company, Isa helps readers better understand what constitutes success, identify what’s really important, and achieve a balance between the curated online world and the enriching, emotionally nourishing world right in front of us.

Isa Watson is the founder and CEO of Squad, the first social audio app that helps you stay in touch with the people who matter most—bringing you and your people closer than ever. A chemist turned entrepreneur, Isa is on a mission to make the biggest positive impact on as many people as possible around the globe—starting with this book. A true millennial, she knows firsthand the real pain social media can cause on our self-image, mental health, and friendships. After lots of therapy and hard lessons learned, she reflects back on her journey to finding balance—sharing her insight with us along the way. When Isa is not obsessing about growing Squad, you can find her daydreaming about her future vineyard in France or practicing her latest piano piece.