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Tim Cook: 'I Don't Want My Nephew on a Social Network' (theguardian.com)
Tim Cook, speaking at Harlow college in Essex, shared his views on the limits on technology and social media he feels should be imposed on kids. He said: "I don't believe in overuse [of technology]. I'm not a person that says we've achieved success if you're using it all the time," he said. "I don't subscribe to that at all." Even in computer-aided courses, such as graphic design, technology should not dominate, he said. "There are are still concepts that you want to talk about and understand. In a course on literature, do I think you should use technology a lot? Probably not." The 57-year old chief executive, who took the reins at Apple after the death of Steve Jobs in 2011, said the company cared deeply about children outside the classroom. "I don't have a kid, but I have a nephew that I put some boundaries on. There are some things that I won't allow; I don't want them on a social network."
He has no say in the matter.
I deleted facebook on my phone a week ago and dont think I'll ever reinstall it. those times of idle where i would scroll thru mindlessly are now spent observing the world around me and thinking about things that actually matter in my life.
I still log on via web on my laptop every 3 days or so as there are some professional groups on there that keep me in touch with some good people but outside of that I have little to no use for it - and I signed up in 2005 as a college student.
Tim is pretty wise in his advice to his nephew.
Because it makes sense to suck up to rich Uncle Tim who doesn't have a next of kin.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
While you are technically correct, the problem is that these social networks are used overwhelmingly for socially negative reasons.
It was supposed to be used for people to be able to connect and discuss. Instead it's used for profiting, large-scale social manipulation, and even outright hate. SM has taken the natural human fear of "being left out", and abused it to such an incredible extent that people en masse are getting burned out and simply walking away.
There are lots of ways to accomplish what social media was supposed to do, but without being forced to expose yourself to all the negative aspects.
I personally have given up on facebook, twitter, and well, pretty much all of them. It's just too much. I'm much less up to date with how my friends are doing, which is unfortunately, but I also feel a heck of a lot less overwhelmed by the world too.
For similar reasons I've also stopped watching and reading news. It's very rarely relevant to me. If there wasn't a local incident, they'll fill up the time with remote incidents instead, so that you are constantly bombarded by a steady stream of "look how utterly shitty the world is".
Being bombarded by negativity from all directions *will* take it's toll on you, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.