A couple months ago, I read Deep Work, by Cal Newport. As you might expect from the title, Newport provides rationale and instructions on how to develop and maintain focus, particularly when there are distractions everywhere. This post is not a book review, but maybe I should write one.
Newport suggests that social media is one of the biggest distractions. Doomscrolling Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and/or Reddit can pull one's attention away from more meaningful activities that align with goals (whether professional or personal). Furthermore, connections made on these services tend to be more superficial. My paraphrase of Newport's chapters on this don't do it justice, but it made sense to me and so I took some action.
I asked myself the following questions regarding my social media:
- Do I want to have my name associated with this service?
- Am I getting benefits that are aligned with my values?
- Am I having meaningful social interactions?
Even before Elon bought Twitter, there were some really supportive communities and really, REALLY shitty ones. Of all the social media that I use(d), Twitter was by far the most interesting, professionally. Following speakers and developer reps here did provide some quality information. In the months after purchase by Elon, many brands and people fled the platform, which degraded my experience.I reflected on my experience with the platform and considered how I'd answer my questions; I answered 'No' for all three. So I made my account private, deleted the app from my phone and I'm done with Twitter.
Over time, my friends and acquaintances have fallen off Facebook. They don't post, or they only repost memes. Instead of posts on life updates, I would scroll and see endless advertisements for things I don't want/or need. During the years of the Trump presidency, I spent a lot of time commenting on political posts on Facebook. In doing so, I felt pretty confident that I was 'right' and they were wrong. I'm sure they thought they were right. I was wrong. While these discussions helped solidify views and prompted me to support arguments with facts, it did NOT fall into the category of 'meaningful social interaction'. Additionally, Facebook played a pretty significant role spreading misinformation during the 2018 election (intentionally or not). Again with the questions: No, no, and sometimes. I'm in a catch-22 with Facebook, because of the neighborhood HOA group and some of the kids school booster groups. Ultimately, I decided to remove the app from my phone and limit my use. I wish I could give up Facebook completely, but not yet.
No TikToc for me, not even going to start.
Reddit is my kryptonite as it borders on being super informative on a variety of subjects, and also a time sink for valueless memes. I have strict limits on Reddit use.
So, where do I want to spend my time and share my voice? Well here of course. What better platform to share my thoughts than a service with my own brand. I'm not fully sure what that brand is yet, but I know that I don't want it associated with social media. It also means that I'm raising the bar for anyone that wants to interact with me.
It's also a challenge to the reader to think about their values and make an intentional decision about how to spend time. If you don't make that decision, someone will make it for you.
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G. Scott Walters
Full-Time Geek
Full-Time Geek
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