โIโm quitยญting social media.โ
The othยญer day, I stumbled upon the artยญicle โGoing PostalโโโA psyยญchoยญanaยญlytยญic readยญing of social media and the death drive.โ
In the artยญicle, the writer Max Read tells us about his relaยญtionยญship with social media in light of readยญing โThe Twittering Machineโ by Richard Seymour.
And yes, Read tells us that heโs quitยญting social media.
Here we go:
Why Read Is Quitting Social Media
Readโs artยญicle is well-writยญten, both poignant and enterยญtainยญing. And he does a treยญmendยญous job of conยญveyยญing his thinkยญing on the subยญject. The trope โIโve had enough, and hereโs why Iโm quitยญting social mediaโ has been an interยญnet staple for years, but Readโs take is a classy blend of wit and cool.
Despite disยญagreeยญing with Readโs conยญcluยญsion, I enjoyed the style of the artยญicle wholeheartedly:
โI quit Twitter and Instagram in May, in the same manยญner I leave parties: abruptly, silently, and much later than would have been healthy. This was sevยญerยญal weeks into New York Cityโs lockยญdown, and for those of us not employed by instiยญtuยญtions deemed essenยญtialโโโhosยญpitยญals, prisยญons, meatยญpackยญing plantsโsocialยญity was now entirely mediยญated by a handยญful of tech giants, with no meatยญspace escape route, and the platยญforms felt parยญticยญuยญlarly, grimly pathetยญic.
Instagram, cut off from a steady supยญply of vacaยญtions and parties and othยญer covยญetable experยญiยญences, had grown unsetยญtlingly borยญing, its inhabยญitยญants increasยญingly unkempt and wild-eyed, each one like the sole surยญvivยญing astroยญnaut from a doomed space-colยญonยญizยญaยญtion misยญsion, broadยญcastยญing deranged missives about yoga and cookยญing proยญjects into an uncarยญing void. Twitter, on the othยญer hand, felt more like a doomed space-colยญonยญizยญaยญtion misยญsion where everyยญone had surยญvived but we had to decide who to eat.โ
The Reversal of Readโs Argument
My quesยญtion: Arenโt the negยญatยญives just as bothยญerยญsome for all types of media consumption?
For the sake of such an arguยญment, imaยญgine replaยญcing social media with teleยญviยญsion in Readโs text:
โI quit watchยญing teleยญviยญsion in May, in the same manยญner I leave parties: abruptly, silently, and much later than would have been healthy. This was sevยญerยญal weeks into New York Cityโs lockยญdown, and for those of us not employed by instiยญtuยญtions deemed essenยญtialโโโhosยญpitยญals, prisยญons, meatยญpackยญing plantsโrealยญity was now entirely mediยญated by a handยญful of broadยญcast comยญpanยญies, with no meatยญspace escape route, and the shows felt parยญticยญuยญlarly, grimly pathetยญic.
Day-time teleยญviยญsion, cut off from a steady supยญply of realยญity celebritยญies and cued stuยญdio audiยญences and othยญer covยญetable experยญiยญences, had grown unsetยญtlingly borยญing, its inhabยญitยญants increasยญingly unkempt and wild-eyed, each one like the sole surยญvivยญing astroยญnaut from a doomed space-colยญonยญizยญaยญtion misยญsion, broadยญcastยญing deranged missives about yoga and cookยญing proยญjects into an uncarยญing void. Late-night teleยญviยญsion, on the othยญer hand, felt more like a doomed space-colยญonยญizยญaยญtion misยญsion where everyยญone had surยญvived but we had to decide who to eat.โ
This type of media criยญtique stems from a proud traยญdiยญtion all the way back to Neil Postman and Pierre Bourdieu. Such an obserยญvaยญtion doesnโt weakยญen the criยญtique but hints that this isnโt a new phenomenon.
Donโt get me wrong; there are plenty of reasยญons for cutยญting back on teleยญviยญsion. My gosh, the amount of teleยญvised crap is staggering.
However, conยญtext does matยญter; if you think binge-watchยญing dayยญtime teleยญviยญsion instead of going to work and getยญting a healthy amount of exerยญcise makes you worse, then youโre probยญably right.
Thereโs No Information Overload
If youโre unhappy with what youโre readยญing and seeยญing on Instagram and Twitter, youโre simply misยญusยญing them. The same goes for YouTube, Twitch, Quora, Pinterest, and TikTok.
Even Googleโs search engine has a social comยญponยญent; stop searchยญing for (and clickยญing on) crap, and the social media algorithm will betยญter underยญstand that youโre a serยญiยญous perยญson who wants serยญiยญous search results.
โThere is no informยญaยญtion overยญload, only filยญter failยญure.โ
โ Clay Shirky
Quitting social media (or teleยญviยญsion) cold turยญkey isnโt necesยญsarยญily the obviยญous soluยญtion to your problems.
Iโm not actยญively tryยญing to be an asshole here. Thereโs a case to be made that many people are ill-equipped to manยญage their social media feeds. Many of us donโt have the sensยญibยญilยญitยญies to manยญage these โnewโ techยญnoยญloยญgiesโโโat least not yet.
I agree that the ecoยญsysยญtem with interยญconยญnecยญted devices, big data, and dopamยญine-trigยญgerยญing notiยญficยญaยญtions is more addictยญive and accessยญible than teleยญviยญsion ever. Just like teleยญviยญsion was so much harder to resยญist than radio.
Youโre Not Supposed To React To Everything
In 1998, while playยญing around with my Nokia 1611 durยญing class, my hisยญtory teachยญer gently reminded me that the most sigยญniยญficยญant disยญadยญvantยญage of being a slave was that they were always accessible.
Maybe this is a cruยญcial point.
It might be that some genยญerยญaยญtions have yet to underยญstand that youโre not supยญposed to reply to all emails, comยญments, phone calls, text mesยญsages, and DMs. The mindยญset, โOh, I got a DM; it might be importยญant,โ will pull anyยญone into digitยญal enslavement.
If you try to conยญtact someone who isnโt paid to answer and you canยญnot pass through their filยญters, itโs not on the recipยญiยญent for โnot pickยญing upโ. Itโs on youโโโthe sender. If not, your inbox and your feeds will become everyยญone elseโs agenda for your timeโโโif you let it.
In our wired world, when anyยญone can so quickly conยญtact anyยญone anyยญwhere and at scale, itโs just difยญferยญent now. I even have a perยญsonยญal phone policy to that effect.
If youโre a Fortnite streamยญer using the Twitch social platยญform, there are built-in funcยญtions to allow the audiยญence to pay for a chance of getยญting the streamยญer to notice your mesยญsages. And othยญer social platยญforms (even Facebook) folยญlow suit by impleยญmentยญing new ways for influยญenยญcers to get paid.
Weโve gone from โThanks for callยญingโ to โThanks for replying.โ
Whoโs the Bigger Fool?
This reversal might seem absurd to some, but the underยญlyยญing logic is evidยญent to most interยญnet-savvy demographics.
Donโt get me wrong; this isnโt an older-people-just-donโtโget-it rant. That would be unfair. Those who grew up without social media have no playยญbook and, more importยญantly, no older genยญerยญaยญtions to learn from.
Max Read goes on to write:
โThese people, with their just-askยญing quesยญtions and vapยญid open letยญters, are dullards and bores, petยญtiยญfogยญgers and casuยญists, cowยญards and disยญsemยญblers, time-wasters of the worst sort.โ
If this is true, and it might well be, what do we call those who allow time-wasters to invade their social feeds? I donโt have any big words, but fools come to mind.
We must manยญage our social feeds, DMs, and inboxes. Otherwise, they will manยญage us.
Thank you. Please supยญport my blog by sharยญing artยญicles with othยญer comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtions- and marยญketยญing proยญfesยญsionยญals. Please also conยญsider my PR serยญvices or speakยญing engageยญments.
PR Resource: Social Media Sharing
Why We Share on Social Media
โPeople want to be loved; failยญing that admired; failยญing that feared; failยญing that hated and desยญpised. They want to evoke some sort of senยญtiยญment. The soul shudยญders before obliยญviยญon and seeks conยญnecยญtion at any price.โ
โ Hjalmar Sรถderberg (1869โ1941), Swedish author
When we share on social media, we share for a reasยญon. And that reasยญon typยญicยญally has someยญthing to do with ourselves:
If you can get social media to work for you, great. But you should also be mindยญful not to let the presยญsure get the betยญter of you.
โA status update with no likes (or a clevยญer tweet without retweets) becomes the equiยญvalยญent of a joke met with silence. It must be rethought and rewritยญten. And so we donโt show our true selves online, but a mask designed to conยญform to the opinยญions of those around us.โ
โ Neil Strauss, Wall Street Journal
Learn more: The Narcissistic Principle: Why We Share on Social Media
PR Resource: Social Media Logic
Enter: Social Media Logic
Media logic is a set of theยญorยญies describยญing how the mediยญum affects the media. Typically, the format (as the mediยญum dicยญtates) influยญences the mediยญated message.
โMedia logic is defined as a form of comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtion, and the proยญcess through which media transยญmit and comยญmuยญnicยญate informยญaยญtion. The logic and guidelines become taken for granยญted, often instiยญtuยญtionยญalยญized, and inform social interยญacยญtion. A basic prinยญciple is that media, informยญaยญtion techยญnoยญloยญgies, and comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtion formats can affect events and social activยญitยญies.โ
Source: The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication 1Altheide, D. L. (2016). Media Logic. The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication, 1โโโ6. https://โdoiโ.org/โ1โ0โ.โ1โ0โ0โ2โ/โ9โ7โ8โ1โ1โ1โ8โ5โ4โ1โ5โ5โ5โ.โwโbโiโeโpโcโ088
As famยญously stipยญuยญlated by Marshall McLuhan, โThe mediยญum is the mesยญsage.โ What are the typยญicยญal effects of media logic on mediยญated messages?
Classic Media Logic Effects
Classic media logic is hypoยญthesยญised to influยญence the news media in the folยญlowยญing ways: 2Nord, L., & Strรถmbรคck, J. (2002, January). Tio dagar som skakade vรคrlden. En studยญie av mediยญernas beskrivningar av terยญrorยญatยญtackยญerna mot USA och kriยญget i Afghanistan hรถsten 2001. ResearchGate; โฆ Continue readยญing
The effects of the above media logic can also be recogยญnised in social media. Still, social netยญwork algorithms seem to add even more effects:
Social Media Logic Effects
โSocial media logic, rooted in proยญgramยญmabยญilยญity, popยญularยญity, conยญnectivยญity, and dataficยญaยญtion, is increasยญingly entangled with mass media logic, impactยญing variยญous areas of pubยญlic life.โ
Source: Writing Technologies eJournal 3Dijck, J., & Poell, T. (2013). Understanding Social Media Logic. Writing Technologies eJournal. https://โdoiโ.org/โ1โ0โ.โ1โ7โ6โ4โ5โ/โMโAโCโ.โVโ1โIโ1โ.70
Based on the sugยญgesยญted addiยญtions for social platยญforms, we can add four extra dimenยญsions to the clasยญsic media logic effects model:
Social media logic seems entangled with clasยญsic media logic. While more comยญplex, social netยญworks seem to ampยญliยญfy the effects of clasยญsic media logic.
Learn more: Social Media Logic: The Amplification of Media Effects