An article in Forbes suggests that people without Facebook accounts may be viewed with suspicion. This is based, largely, on: a Slashdot story (flagging a German news story), a woman who wrote to an advice column, and anecdotal evidence of job seekers and employers wondering aloud "about what it means if a job candidate doesn’t have a Facebook account".
The Forbes author says:
The idea that a Facebook resister is a potential mass murderer, flaky employee, and/or person who struggles with fidelity is obviously flawed. There are people who choose not to be Facebookers for myriad non-psychopathic reasons...but then goes on to add:
But it does seem that increasingly, it’s expected that everyone is on Facebook in some capacity, and that a negative assumption is starting to arise about those who reject the Big Blue Giant’s siren call. Continuing to navigate life without having this digital form of identification may be like trying to get into a bar without a driver’s license.
OK. I buy some of this. It is the 21st century after all. Most people have a cell phone, a home computer, some sort of web presence. If you don't use the technology, people wonder about you, just as (back in the 20th century) they would wonder about you if you didn't have a television, a telephone, a bank account or a drivers' license.
Then I read another article that took things one step further, saying:
Great – so here we are again. More evidence that to “fit in” you have to do what everybody else is doing. It’s just another variation of the idea that you must conform to extrovert standards to be considered “normal.” And that bugs the hell out of me.
As an Introvert myself (and a huge fan of social media) I'm offended by this summarization.
Feel free to tell me that there are 24 hours in a day and you chose to use yours in other ways - knitting, reading poetry, building model airplanes... and I'm with you.
But please don't tell me that "as an Introvert" you "don't have the energy to read and reply to all of that" because that's not true. You have as much energy as you want to expend, because it's all under your control: how much you read, when you read it, how much you post, when you post, where you post. It's all up to you.
Think of another example where interacting with other people is entirely under your control. At a party? (hah.) At work? (rarely.) At a family gathering? (give me a break... please!)
Please don't tell me that Facebook "makes your private life too public”. No one can make your private life public but you (or possibly members of your family who share that life). Not Facebook. Not Google. Not Twitter. You control how much you make public. Stop blaming the technology.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+... social media should be an Introvert's dream communication environment. You control the situation. The only people (actual physical people) around you are, again, under your control. Post at night? Fine. In the morning? Also fine. From the couch? With a cat on your lap or a dog on your feet? Excellent. Walk away when you wish, come back when you wish. Who even knows if you're currently online?
Take your time in crafting a post or a response. You can think everything through before you respond.(And you don't have to talk, either.)
My personal theory is that there are more Introverts involved in social media than Extraverts. Keep in mind that Social Media sites are created by techies - and a LOT of techies are Introverts! I would guess that many Extraverts are more likely to check in briefly, then head out to somewhere that has Real Live People and Sound! (Most of my Extravert sister's posts are "check-ins" from some place where she is, with at least one other person.)
Introverts and Extraverts aside, lets get back to the question of whether lack of an online presence is (or should be) viewed with suspicion. Should an employer judge you if you don't have a FB account or a web site?
Perhaps.
- If you're looking for a job in Technology, you need to understand that world, and these days, the Internet world is a very large subset of the Tech world. If you want a job with a company that creates or uses social media, or web sites, or anything Internet-related, you'll probably need to explain why you don't participate in the world that company supports.
Are you on Facebook, Twitter, Google+? Do you have a blog? Do you have a computer at home? Do you use it in your off hours? Do you use email? Are you Internetworked?
- This is the 21st century. Even if you don't want a job in Tech, most companies these days have a website. Most people use email to communicate. Most people use computers. Not being part of that group will make you stand out, and not in a good way, just as not having a telephone in 1980 would have made stand out, or not having a television in 1970 would have made you stand out.
If you have decided to walk away from technology, you'll stand out. You'll be an outlier. This doesn't mean you're a sociopath, but you're still an outlier. Not everyone can be Henry David Thoreau (and he, at least, wrote a book about it.)
This has nothing to do with Introverts and Extraverts (who each make up approximately 50% of the population). It has nothing to do with personality traits. This has to do with people who have made a conscious decision to not participate in something that a very large number of people around them participate in.
Society doesn't like outliers much. It ... wonders about them. That's sad, perhaps. But it's always been true.
My suggestion? Try it. Get online. Start a Tumblr account. Create a Facebook or Twitter profile. Connect to a few people. Start by just _reading_. If you post, stay low key. Don't post anything you wouldn't want your boss or co-workers or a neighbor or your mother to know. Don't post at all if you don't have something you want to say.
Remember that you don't have to write something every day (or at all). You don't have to read everything that comes down the stream. You don't need to "keep up". The only person controlling how you interact is... you.
You might enjoy it. Especially if you're an Introvert.
See also: http://ideas.time.com/2012/08/16/gadgets-are-great-for-introverts/ by Susan Cain
Posted by: Vicki | August 16, 2012 at 17:48