Reading time: About 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about social media versus the phone…
When I was a teenager, we had one phone in our house, albeit with three extension lines. For seven people!
My father also ran his business from our house and used the same number. As you can imagine, competion to use the phone was fierce.
I reflected on those days after reading a recent Cal Newport post on what he called Addictive and Extractive technologies.
Newport considers the traditional landline to be addictive (think of your teenage self talking to friends) versus Instagram, which he considers extractive. Here’s how he puts it:
“You might enjoy aspects of this app: the occasional diversion, the rare update from a cherished friend. But with these joys come endless sorrows as well. The scrolling can become worryingly addictive, while the content tends to devolve into a digital slurry—equal parts mind-numbing and anxiety-inducing.
“Unlike the straightforward benefits of a landline, it soon becomes clear that this tool doesn’t have your best interests as its primary goal. It’s using you; making itself just compelling enough that you’ll pick it up, at which point it can monetize every last ounce of your time and data. It’s what we might call an extractive technology, as it seeks to extract value from you instead of providing it.”
When my kids were teenagers, we bought them cellphones when they turned 13 so we could help them stay safe and rescue them with car rides if necessary. Now I wonder if that was the wisest choice.
Social media has had a way of taking over our lives. It appears to serve our interests, when in fact, it mainly serves the interests of the companies that run it and make it so highly addictive. If you’re looking to find more time to write, consider cutting back on social media.
