It seems like every day I see another batch of articles about the power of engagement, and the benefits of being permanently connected to the latest social networks, lifestreaming feeds, or Web 3.0 applications. There’s no denying that they can be wonderful tools, but just because you can be constantly connected doesn’t mean that you should be. What I want to focus on is the power of disengagement.
More time
If there’s one resource that’s in short supply these days, it’s time. Yet for some reason, many people are willing to give massive amounts this resource to social networks without any clear idea of the benefits. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this as long as you remain aware of the cost.
But if you’ve been spending all your time on forums, Facebook, or Twitter, maybe it’s time to consider taking it back. Imagine what you could do if you devoted all that time to a business or personal project.
Fewer distractions to interrupt flow
Social networks aren’t just a time sink. They’re also amazingly adept at reducing mental flow from a stream to a trickle.
It isn’t hard to see why. Flow requires sustained concentration on a single task (or group of tasks). When that concentration is broken, it can be extremely difficult to return to a state of flow. This means that non-trivial tasks become much harder to accomplish.
The short version? Even if social media distractions take only a few seconds at a time, you can get much more done without them.
Greater perception of value
Constant involvement in the social side of the web is often touted as a way of promoting yourself to more people. It’s certainly very good at that, but there’s a downside. When people see you spending huge amounts of time on socializing, they often begin to question the value of your products, services, or even your blog posts. After all, the reasoning goes, if you’re always instantly available via Twitter or Plurk, how in-demand can you actually be?
Obviously there are exceptions, particularly if your service is social media, or if you’re an insanely social person and everyone knows it.
On the other hand, if you’re only available occasionally, and always produce something of value, people will catch on to that fact. And when you speak, they’ll listen.
How to disengage
You might think that disengaging is relatively easy. But when you’ve built up weeks or months of habits, it can be much harder than it sounds. Here are a few suggestions to make it easier.
- Hide or uninstall any social toolbars
- Delete any shortcuts or bookmarks to social media services
- Set your computer not to start social apps on boot up
The point of all this is to make it just a little bit more inconvenient to return to old habits. If this isn’t enough, you might consider installing parental controls and blocking your favorite haunts. And if you really need help, have your spouse or a friend set the password.
What do you think? Do you prefer to use the power of engagement or the power of disengagement? Why? Let’s discuss it in the comments.
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Ha, ha, that’s too funny - I get to be the exception to the rule! You made my day, Joshua.
I have to agree with you, though. Most people simply can’t afford to engage in social media the way I do. Lack of time, needing focus… Social media can be a huge distraction for many people.
It’s good to promote the contrary to what everyone is doing. Kudos to you.
What a great post! I couldn’t agree more. I’m on pretty much all these social apps, but I’ve scaled way back, and it’s amazing how your life DOESN’T implode just because you’ve spent a few minutes without Twitter.
There’s a line in Alice in Wonderland where Alice says to Humpty Dumpty, “The question is, whether you CAN make a word mean two different things,” and HD replies, “The question is, which is to be master.”
Don’t let social apps be your master; instead, be theirs.
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H Joshua,
Social networking can be a real time killer. I used to spend a ton of time on Stumble, and a little on Digg, but have now almost eliminated them all together. It gives me more time to concentrate on writing, answering comments, building my community and visiting other blogs. I find I am much less stressed and can perform better.
Great post!
Hi Joshua - Nicely post! I find that I have to turn off my wireless card so that I can’t actually access the internet…otherwise it’s just too easy to keep checking the social networking sites.
@ James: Aren’t you the exception to every rule? And just to prove your point that most people can’t afford to “socialize” like you, I don’t even bother to respond until almost a week later!
@ Kaila: Absolutely. Unfortunately it seems like being mastered by an addiction to social media is par for the course in some circles.
@ Barbara: Same here. Not so much Digg as hanging around in the comments sections of certain blogs. That’s a great way to learn when first starting out, but you eventually need to do something else. I haven’t eliminated that sort of thing entirely. I just do it in batches every few days if I have time.
@ Mark: That’s a great suggestion, Mark. Though since I don’t have internet in my new apartment yet… :-)
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