Unplugging for Productivity: How Quitting Social Media Can Improve Your Life
Social media is designed to be addictive. From biological interactions like the way notifications release chemicals in our brains to social structures that convince us the content we consume from various network tools is vital to our day, it seems as if there is no escape. Cal Newport addresses this topic in his book Deep Work from numerous perspectives in an attempt to understand how we can produce at our highest potential. One suggestion he makes is to quit social media.
This approach may seem radical at first, given the way we tend to view and understand social media, but he assures us it is not. One case study in Deep Work delves into the experiences of Baratunde Thurston. He quit social media for twenty-five days to see how it would impact his life. He notes that the first week was uncomfortable because he felt the urge to check in continuously but could not do so. After getting more used to it, he found that he was more productive at work and enjoyed more time at home with his wife and child. By freeing himself from the ever-demanding internet, he could live his life to a fuller extent.
After the twenty-five days, Thurston reluctantly returned to social media as it was necessary for his profession. Still, Newport urges readers to consider the following: is social media really as necessary as we are led to believe it is? Too many people assume that social media is absolutely necessary when in most instances, it is not. Yes, social media can offer benefits, but oftentimes, the benefits do not outweigh the drawbacks. Social media is designed to be wildly appealing in a way that pushes most users never to question the function it truly serves.
A similar example from Newport comes from his book, Digital Minimalism. He writes about how more and more professionals are turning to “dumb” phones such as Nokia flip phones, which can often only complete two functions: sending and receiving texts and phone calls. By replacing smartphones with these, users dramatically reduce their ability to use network tools and social media. While most of these platforms are available through web browsers, most people are significantly less likely to use them this way because it is less convenient.
While this approach may be effective for some people, for others, it is not practical. Many people require other more advanced but standard smartphone functions such as the use of GPS or alternative messaging systems that are only available as apps and therefore not compatible with flip phones. For people in this situation, Newport recommends digital minimalism.
Devices have been developed so that one material thing, like a smartphone, can serve nearly infinite functions. By minimizing the use of a smartphone, you are lessening its ability to create disruptions in your life. In his writing on this topic, Newport references renowned minimalist Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists. He, along with Joshua Fields Millburn, encourages people worldwide to embrace minimalism in their material lives to make more space figuratively and literally for happiness.
Nicodemus and D’Avella encourage people to approach minimalism for the first time with a packing party. In this situation, you pack everything you own into boxes as if you are moving but continue to live in your home. Over a period of time, the things you need to live comfortably become very evident, and the things you have just for the sake of having them remain in the boxes (and most often are either sold or donated). Newport suggests applying this to social media as well. In this digital packing party, you would delete all social media (and other nonessential apps such as games) from your phone and see if any of them are truly necessary.
After interviewing people who do not have social media on their phones but still have somewhat active accounts, Newport found that the mobile apps are generally not needed. In most cases, if the social media content is necessary for some purpose, accessing it through an internet browser on a computer or laptop is equally effective. These people tend to use the platforms for between thirty minutes and an hour each week, whereas users of the mobile app spend about that much time in a single day.
Social media is most frequently used to fill small gaps of time between more significant events. As such, the concept of sitting down at a computer or laptop with the purpose of consuming this content is generally unappealing unless the information is truly needed.
