When I watched the TED Talk that was assigned to this particular Table Talk, I was bothered by Dr. Cal Newport’s very uncompromising view on social media: it’s bad. Don’t use it. There’s no positive that could come out of Facebook or Twitter or any of the other social media sites. It almost felt like he was looking down on others who had these accounts, even if they used them responsibly. Coming to the Table Talk, I noticed that most people felt the same way. I particularly liked the comment that, since Dr. Newport had never used such services (as he often mentioned during the talk) he wouldn’t be able to critique social media as well as someone who had used it before. Additionally, people mentioned that social media brings them joy in the form of connecting to people who are difficult to reach otherwise, funny memes and jokes, and inspiration. That being said, he did bring up some interesting points, such as listing social media as entertainment, and its role in fragmenting our attention span. I just feel that he being far too black and white with this issue. Instead of removing social media altogether, as Dr. Newport very strongly suggests, I think it would be better for us to regulate our social media use. I personally don’t have the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram apps on my phone, despite having accounts on all of these, and it’s helped me cut down on aimless social media scrolling simply because I didn’t have easy access to it. And if I want to use FB or Twitter during a time in which I don’t have much to do, I can open my laptop and access the desktop version. I don’t think complete cold turkey removal is necessary; it’s possible to reap the aforementioned benefits from social media while limiting its effects on productivity.