Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It
By CAL NEWPORT NOV. 19, 2016, The New York Times
A. This idea, of course, runs against our current understanding of social media’s role in the professional sphere. We’ve been told that it’s important to develop your so-called social media brand, as this provides you access to opportunities you might otherwise miss and supports the contact network you need to get ahead. Many people in my generation fear that without a social media presence, they would be invisible to the job market. In a recent New York magazine essay, Andrew Sullivan recalled when he started to feel obligated to update his blog every half-hour or so.
B. My second objection concerns the idea that social media is harmless. Consider that the ability to concentrate without distraction on hard tasks is becoming increasingly valuable in an increasingly complicated economy.
C. At the moment, this makes me an outsider, but I think many more people should follow my example and quit these services. There are many issues with social media but the argument I want to make here is more pragmatic: You should quit social media because it can hurt your career.
D. Professional success is hard, but it’s not complicated. It requires that you master a useful craft and then apply it to things that people care about. This is a philosophy perhaps best summarized by the advice Steve Martin used to give entertainers: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” If you do that, the rest will work itself out, regardless of the size of your Instagram following.
E. I think this behavior is misguided. In a capitalist economy, the market rewards things that are rare and valuable. Social media use is decidedly not rare or valuable. Any 16-year-old with a smartphone can invent a hashtag or repost an article.
F. So, if you’re serious about making an impact in the world, power down your smartphone, close your browser tabs, roll up your sleeves and get to work.
G. A common response to my social media skepticism is the idea that using these services “can’t hurt.” However, my critics note, why not also expose yourself to the opportunities and connections that social media can offer? I have two objections to this line of thinking.
H. I’M a computer scientist who also writes books and runs a blog. I should be a heavy social media user, but that is not the case. I’ve never had a social media account.
I. Social media weakens this skill because it’s engineered to be addictive. The more you use social media in the way it’s designed to be used the more your brain learns to crave a quick hit of stimulus at the slightest hint of boredom.
J. First, interesting opportunities and useful connections are not as rare as social media proponents claim. My research on successful professionals underscores that this experience is common: As you become more valuable to the marketplace, good things will find you. To be clear, I’m not saying that new opportunities and connections are unimportant. I’m instead saying that you don’t need social media’s help to attract them.
