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Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

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Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#101
"the ability to concentrate without distraction on hard tasks is becoming increasingly valuable in an increasingly complicated economy. Social media weakens this skill because it’s engineered to be addictive."

Interesting viewpoint. Does the author really follow this? Has a webpage, blog and an archive that stretches for 91 pages ~ http://calnewport.com/blog/archive/ Not a good sign if the author thinks you should quit or limit your social media contact. I don't care if the authour justifies this as necessary. It's a sign that ignoring the real problem doesn't seem to work.

The Internet is addictive. In fact I've spent a bit of time writing my own tasking system to tackle this problem. In writing up an accompanying blog post on distraction and focus I found the GTD, work hard, achieve more in less time frenzy isn't new. It pre-dates the Internet by decades. Take Charles R. Schwab, owner of Bethlehem steel, someone who Thomas Edison described as a hustler. Schwa hired the best productivity guru he could. Ivy Ledbetter Lee. Lee proposed a very simple technique to focus and work on. Then charged Schwab USD$20,000 for the effort. You can read more in this article, "Ivy Ledbetter Lee" ~ http://jamesclear.com/ivy-lee

Quitting social media is a temporary fix as you'll probably find other ways to distract yourself and avoid work. The deeper problem is realising the Internet is very addictive and find coping mechanisms to counter the side effects.

While reading up on the problem of Internet addiction and digital works, I re-read the article pg wrote on this topic, "Distracting Distractions" I found an update on his suggestions: "The strategy described at the end of this essay didn't work. It would work for a while, and then I'd gradually find myself using the Internet on my work computer."

It is a problem that could yield some interesting work.

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not really what he said. He said that a Trump victory makes some people fearful, and he wants a workplace that fosters the opposite of that, and that if you cannot foster an inclusive and diverse workplace that you are not welcome. I don't think what he did say was quite eloquent and it was clearly emotionally heated, but it didn't imply nor state that Trump voters are unwelcome.

"... and these views, have no place at Grubhub. ... If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here." Obviously only excerpts from the full email[0], but seems to contradict what you just said pretty heavily. If I was someone who voted for Trump that worked at Grubhub, I know that I would have been afraid for my job after that email. Possibl…

Again, nothing in here is referring to a Trump vote or people who voted for Trump.

It's referring to things like ridiculing or mocking minorities, immigrants, and disabled people. Which I think we can all agree are things that Trump did and have no place in a workplace like Grubhub, no?

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#103
post #35

This part really resonated with me: > Consider that the ability to concentrate without distraction on hard tasks is becoming increasingly valuable in an increasingly complicated economy. 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 — persistently throughout your waking hours — the more your brain learns to crave a quick hit…

> I've recently been finding it really hard to concentrate on my work I've overcome my Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter problems, but I can't seem to shake Hacker News.

The actual inventor of Hacker News, Paul Graham, hasn't commented for over a year:

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pg

Considering that he was very very active on HN in the past (karma 155077), I wonder what his reasoning is to cut back?

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#104
"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." -- without the tabs open I hardly can work anything these days, sigh. But yes I agree that social media attention decreases my long-time-focus-capability gradually and it is terrible.

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#105
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a girlfriend at one point who used her mandatory volunteer time at her Christian company to make calls for Planned Parenthood. So proud she stuck to her beliefs despite pressure to do otherwise.

> mandatory volunteer time Why work at a Christian company if you find their beliefs oppressive? I say this as someone who thinks there is a thin line (a birth canal) between infanticide and a legal abortion. And there's always the option of working at common ground. Instead of picking a point of contention, serve at a food bank. Nobody objects to those.

I expect you know the obvious answer, because it's the best available compromise.

For example, the mandatory volunteer time may not have offended any principles and come with higher pay.

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#106
post #86

More importantly social media is bad for your mental health. It hits the brain in many of the same ways as the 'news' and those intentionally boring phone games. It causes dopamine dysregulation which leads to a dependency. Consider the anxiety you feel if you need to go to the bathroom and cannot find your phone. This dopamine dysregulation destroys your mood and motivation. Being social is a good thing. However com…

>Consider the anxiety you feel if you need to go to the bathroom and cannot find your phone.

Is this a real thing?

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#107
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've recently been finding it really hard to concentrate on my work I've overcome my Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter problems, but I can't seem to shake Hacker News.

I use https://freedom.to/ to block HN on my phone and laptop when I need to.

Thanks for the recommendation, but why is it a subscription service? Does it work like a vpn or something where they host servers to support this kind of traffic blocking?

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#108
post #22
post #4

There is also another aspect. In theory your personal life and work are separated. Your religion or political opinions should not matter at work. But many people (sadly even on HN) think it is ok to fire people, based on their opinions.

> fire people, based on their opinions. Lest we forget: - Brendan Eich, former CEO of Mozilla, fired for a donation, - Douglas Crockford, uninvited from NodeVember, the general opinion is that he said something that a woman didn't like, - Tom Preston-Werner, co-founder and former CEO of GitHub, upon an unproven accusation, - And all people and the 2 colleagues who have been fired in smaller companies, in smaller even…

[deleted]

Re: Quit Social Media, Your Career May Depend on It

#109
post #58

Quit the NY Times. Your election may depend on it.

Consider reading the HN guidelines, unless you are actively trying to get hell banned. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Please explain what guideline this comment violates. I was serious. Quitting the NY Times is the only way they will realize that they made some huge mistakes in the elections coverage.

NY Times was made to look like a fool by this election. Their arrogance will be their downfall. And keep in mind I'm a hardcore liberal, and always valued sources like NY Times. Now I think they are a joke with how they didn't take Trump seriously.

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