Blog #2: Why Should You Quit Social Media

        After listening to all the TED Talks I decided to direct my blog on the second video which was called, Why Should You Quit Social Media. The speaker Cal Newport formulates his talk by introducing people's concerns about not using social media. He counter argues the points being addressed and tells the audience his opinion and solution. 
      A lot of the arguments he brings up in his talk are agreeable but some, however, are not. "Cal, social media is one of the fundamental technologies of the 21st century. To reject social media would be an act of extreme of Luddism. It would be like riding to work on a horse or using a rotary phone."
(Why You Should Quit Social Media)
        I agree with Cal on this one when he says to the crowd "this is nonsense" Social media isn't a considered fundamental technology to me, more so a form of entertainment and a way to communicate with friends and family. When I hear the words fundamental technology I think of something such as AI or computer advancements rather than social media. Also, the fact that the person compared not using social media to riding to work on a horse is ridiculous. That's completely a faulty comparison especially because the two have no relation whatsoever.

Image by Vesalainen

        "Cal, I can't quit social media because it is vital to my success in the 21st century. If I do not have a well-cultivated social media brand, people won't know who I am, people won't be able to find me, opportunities won't come my way, and I will effectively disappear from the economy."
(Why You Should Quit Social Media)

        See, this is one of the few guest objections in the TED Talk that I agree with. I believe today in the 21st-century social media plays such an important role in businesses. Social media could help promote a product to the public and many people would be able to see that because of how popular social media truly is. Not only in businesses but I would say social media could help bring individual success. If someone starts a business or service social media would be able to bring exposure and help grow the person's business or service.

   

Image By Narciso

     Many people these days including me haven't considered the harms of social media. "Along with the ubiquitous smartphone use and social media use on the campus, came an explosion of anxiety-related disorders on those campuses." (Why You Should Quit Social Media) This is crazy to think about, how social media was created for entertainment and after all, it harms us by causing anxiety and depression in people. I would have never thought social media would do such a thing to people in society. Not only that but bullying on social media platforms occur frequently which could also be considered another major harm. 

        I personally don't think I would be able to stop using social media entirely because it already plays a role in my life and I've been using it for quite some time now. I've grown up in a generation where social media is a huge part of many people's lives and I don't think many people would be able to make that change away from social media. What about you? Comment below what you think and take the survey I made...

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOHgbhdmOT1SV7Jh07Z1evTYRA_K3wh4ZG8_frCUKFS76YBQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Narciso. WordCloud . 19 Mar. 2015. Pixabay Images, 19 Mar. 2015, pixabay.com/
     illustrations/wordcloud-tagcloud-cloud-text-tag-679950/. Accessed 25 Nov.
     2019.

Vesalainen, Tero. "Smartphone Screen-Social Media." 5 Mar. 2017. Pixabay,
     pixabay.com/photos/smartphone-screen-social-media-2123520/. Accessed 24
     Nov. 2019.

Why You Should Quit Social Media. Performance by Cal Newport, TED Talks, 2016.
     TED Talk, www.ted.com/talks/
     cal_newport_why_you_should_quit_social_media. Accessed 24 Nov. 2019.