Patrick Gillooly and Cal Newport both offer interesting insights about the effect that social media has on one’s career. In their article both published in the New York Times journal the two debate on whether or not our careers are dependent on social media or not. While Patrick Gillooly defends the idea that one’s career may be dependent on social media and that we should not abolish the use of social media, Cal Newport defends is argument that social media has no significant role in influencing our career and that we ought to quit using social media.
As a director of digital communications and social media at Monster, Gillooly argues that using social media will advance our careers. He argues that we should not quit using social media because our career is dependent on it. The author cites various examples to support his claim. One of the most intriguing examples that fascinates me is the justification behind the idea that social media is the hub of our careers with regards to how social media helps individuals find their careers and as well as job opportunities from social sites such as Facebook. According to the author also social media enables one to find information he/she might not find anywhere else, in short his argument here is that social media provides useful information for career choice. Gillooly provides a good argument with evidence-based analysis. Cal Newport on the other hand argue against Gillooly’s argument and instead cites that we should quit social media because it is harmful to our careers and that we are better off without social media. He supports his claims by citing how social media has made us lazy thinkers and how it has taken away our attention (Newport 2). The author argues that social media takes all the attention that could have otherwise be utilized in developing our careers. Newport provides an example of an individual who could barely last two hours without a post on social media. To him social media has deprived us the attention that we would have otherwise channeled into building our careers.
In my own critical analysis, Patrick Gillooly offers a better argument as compared to his counterpart Newport. He presents is argument in a coherent and cohesive manner in that he raises his claim, supports it with evidence and also recognizes and acknowledges the fact that his claim might have limitations. He is also smart enough to acknowledge his counterpart’s argument and acknowledges that though he agrees with him that social media has its fair share of challenges and issues, he suggests that this issues can be addressed and that the remedy would not be to run away from social media. His argument that social media provides career opportunities for individuals is supported with evidence of the various job opportunities created by social media platforms such as Facebook (Gillooly 3). The author’s argument that social media provides a platform where information can be gathered for the enhancement and development of one’s career is also justified as it is rational and logical that most of the information we get from social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. His argument that instead of running away from social media, we should initiate ways to handle the challenges posed by the media is also justifiable and hence am convinced by his argument.
Works Cited
Gillooly, Patrick. "Don’t Quit Social Media. Put It to Work for Your Career Instead." The New York Times, 3 Dec. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/jobs/dont-quit-social-media-put-it-to-work-for-your-career-instead.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FPreoccupations"action=click"contentCollection=Job%20Market"module=Collection"region=Marginalia"src=me"version=column"pgtype=article. Accessed 9 Apr. 2018.
Newport, Cal. "Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It." The New York Times, 19 Nov. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/jobs/quit-social-media-your-career-may-depend-on-it.html?contentCollection=smarter-living"hp"action=click"pgtype=Homepage"clickSource=story-heading"module=second-column-region"region=top-news"WT.nav=top-news. Accessed 9 Apr. 2018.
