I vehemently disagree with the assertion that all social media is a net negative on one's life. First of all, there are many people who make a living off of so

I vehemently disagree with the assertion that all social media is a net negative on one's life. First of all, there are many people who make a living off of social media, and HN itself is social media which for me personally has had a very positive impact on my life. But let's ignore this for a second. Social media simply allows one to expand their network and influence way beyond what one could accomplish solely offline. This means being exposed to opportunities that one may have never encountered via p2p word of mouth alone, whether that be job postings, business opportunities, potential clients, business partners, knowledge, motivation, etc. Social media of course can be a toxic waste of one's time (eg. the default Reddit homepage). Social media addiction is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. If you're compulsively checking your Facebook/Instagram every 5 minutes then that's probably a serious problem (unless you make a living off those platforms) that needs to be addressed. For the rest of us who maybe check it for 5-10 minutes in the evenings during our downtime, it's not really a big deal. Also I'd imagine that the author is a huge recipient of the positive end of social media even if only indirectly, his blog articles and such being shared through social media in order to market his book. I discovered his work over a decade ago through his blog which I used to actively follow. So it's a little bit hypocritical of him to knock on bloggers. But I totally agree with his observation that as a whole we're losing our ability to focus, and social media addiction is a serious problem.