Who is Jaron Lanier? He is a computer scientist/philosopher and author of the book "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now." The 10 reasons being:
- You're losing free will
- Quitting social media is the most targeted way to resist the insanity of our times
- Social media is turning you into an asshole
- Social media is undermining truth
- Social media is making what you say meaningless
- Social media is destroying your capacity for empathy
- Social media is making you unhappy
- Social media doesn't want you to have economic dignity
- Social media is making politics impossible
- Social media hates your soul
Honestly, I don't quite disagree with him but I also can't help but to roll my eyes. At the end of the day, social media is what you make of it.
I don't disagree that if we as a society were to do away with social media as we now know it (manipulative business model) that we would be better for it. But I don't see that revolution happening anytime soon. I think people will always use it so we need to learn to work with it.
Plus, I personally am a big fan of social media. Here's my personal take on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Facebook is a great way for me to keep in touch with friends and family that aren't near me. I moved 1200 miles away 5 years ago now, so I miss out on lots of friends/family's birthdays, weddings, having kids, holidays, etc. With Facebook I can see these updates in a hassle-free way for both them and me. We're all busy and it takes a lot of time to reach out to everyone to tell them news one on one. I am not saying we shouldn't do that for those you're really close to (I loved that one of my good friends called to tell me they were having a baby before they put in on FB), but a FB update is an easy way to keep people updated on plenty of things that don't need a personal call. I can't keep up with everyone individually via texts and calls (I don't have the time) so FB let's me keep my ties. And when I go home we gather and we discuss the really important stuff and it feels like no time has past.
Twitter is easily my favorite social media, even more so now that I'm in grad school. I don't really use it for friends; I connect with people here that I never would in person. I "meet" other scientists and learn about their fields and opinions on how to deal with stresses in academia. It's great! I find it inspiring, motivating and sometimes a place for me to just yell into the void (hey, sometimes you just need to vent).
And lastly, Instagram. I hate IG. I deleted my account a few years ago and have never looked back. I had it for a few years and felt pressured to post photos of how great my life was (and it was/is) but the pressure of having to post annoyed me. It felt so fake. Also I'd fall down rabbit holes of scrolling through memes when I had better stuff to do (now I procrastibake and procrasticlean instead which are both better IMO). So I made the decision to just get rid of it. And this is what I meant by before when I said social media is what you make of it. IG didn't work for me, and that's okay. I deleted it because it mostly only added stress and guilt to my life and why would I want that? But if it works for you, you do you.
TL;DR You gotta use the right tool for the job, so decide what that job is for you and if social media fits that roll and you enjoy it, use it.
P.S. I feel I should mention I do call and/or send snail mail sporadically to my good friends. I don't think social media could ever replace real connections but I think it keeps the doors open for them so that you can be thoughtful when you have time instead of it being a stressor.
Plus, I personally am a big fan of social media. Here's my personal take on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Facebook is a great way for me to keep in touch with friends and family that aren't near me. I moved 1200 miles away 5 years ago now, so I miss out on lots of friends/family's birthdays, weddings, having kids, holidays, etc. With Facebook I can see these updates in a hassle-free way for both them and me. We're all busy and it takes a lot of time to reach out to everyone to tell them news one on one. I am not saying we shouldn't do that for those you're really close to (I loved that one of my good friends called to tell me they were having a baby before they put in on FB), but a FB update is an easy way to keep people updated on plenty of things that don't need a personal call. I can't keep up with everyone individually via texts and calls (I don't have the time) so FB let's me keep my ties. And when I go home we gather and we discuss the really important stuff and it feels like no time has past.
Twitter is easily my favorite social media, even more so now that I'm in grad school. I don't really use it for friends; I connect with people here that I never would in person. I "meet" other scientists and learn about their fields and opinions on how to deal with stresses in academia. It's great! I find it inspiring, motivating and sometimes a place for me to just yell into the void (hey, sometimes you just need to vent).
And lastly, Instagram. I hate IG. I deleted my account a few years ago and have never looked back. I had it for a few years and felt pressured to post photos of how great my life was (and it was/is) but the pressure of having to post annoyed me. It felt so fake. Also I'd fall down rabbit holes of scrolling through memes when I had better stuff to do (now I procrastibake and procrasticlean instead which are both better IMO). So I made the decision to just get rid of it. And this is what I meant by before when I said social media is what you make of it. IG didn't work for me, and that's okay. I deleted it because it mostly only added stress and guilt to my life and why would I want that? But if it works for you, you do you.
TL;DR You gotta use the right tool for the job, so decide what that job is for you and if social media fits that roll and you enjoy it, use it.
P.S. I feel I should mention I do call and/or send snail mail sporadically to my good friends. I don't think social media could ever replace real connections but I think it keeps the doors open for them so that you can be thoughtful when you have time instead of it being a stressor.
Super cool! A related article in the Atlantic, specific to academia:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/the-young-academics-twitter-conundrum/525924/
Interesting article, thanks for sharing. I think it is important to be aware of your institution's social media policy. I know different universities and companies have different ideas of what is acceptable or not. Also this makes me think of Dr. Beth McLaughlin (@McLNeuro) and her being outspoken on #MeToo in science on Twitter and then recently denied tenure at Vanderbilt - while it's controversial if the two are linked, we don't live in a vacuum...
DeleteYes i completely agree with his message as well, although there were sometimes some extremes he went on and on. I personally enjoy Facebook more than ever, but I have, like you mentioned, felt pressured to post anything about my life, so now I rarely use it. I have never understood twitter but lately because of this class it is not as bad ... as long as you follow the right people i guess, hahaha. Thank for your insight, i really enjoyed it !!
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