Anotedphilosopher’sargumentforsigningoffsocialmedia…andenjoying‘thebrieftime’youhaveleftAlaindeBottonisabeloved(andprolific)popphilosopher,withashelf-fullofbooksandtwoverypopularTEDtalkstohisname.SowhentheSwiss-bornauthortweetedtohis443,000followersonMondaynightthattheyshoulddeleteTwitterforthesakeoftheir“innerconversation,”manytookhiswordsseriously—promisingtodeletetheappfromtheirphones,respondingwithimpassioneddefensesofthemedium,and,ironically(!),retweetingdeBotton’smessageindroves.NottobedisloyaltothemediumbutdeletingTwitterfromatleastyourphonereallyimprovesmentalhealthandinnerconversation.Maybethatresponseisn‘tallthatsurprising.Increasingly,itseemslikeanxietyaboutsocialmediaisasmuchahallmarkofmodernlifeassocialmediaitself:Wehave“digitaldetox”retreatsandsummercamps,appsthatforceuserstosignoffFacebook—evena“NationalDayofUnplugging,”celebrated(ornot)onMarch7.DeBotton’scritiqueofsocialmediafitsneatlyintothattradition.It’scrowdingoutcontemplation,hesuggests.It’sfillingourshortliveswithmeaninglessclutter.Butunlikethealarmistsandtechnophobespreaching“unplugging,”deBottonhasamorenuancedtakeontheissues.HeusesTwitterfrequentlyhimself—justnot,apparently,fromhisphone.Hisso-calledSchoolofLife,aninstitution“devotedtodevelopingemotionalintelligence,”teachesclassesonInternetdating—inadditiontomoreanalogself-helptopics,like“howtospendtimealone.”DeBottonisn’topposedtotechnology,he’sjustanadvocateformoderation.Which,whenyouthinkaboutit,makeslotsofsense.WecontacteddeBottontofurtherexpandonhisphilosophyofsocialmedia.Whathehadtosaywas,frankly,prettycompelling:Twitterisofcourseawonderfulthing,butitisalsothemostappallingdistractioneverinvented.Itsoundssoharmless.Butitwantsyounevertobeintouchwithyourselfagainandnevertohavetimetocatchupon‘updates’fromthepersonyoureallyneedtokeepclosetoyou:yourself.Itdeniesusthatpreciousnon-specifictimeinwhichyoucandaydream,unpackyouranxietiesandhaveaconversationwithyourdeeperself.Therearecountlessdifficultthingshidingaway...
