5 ms·

"I don't have one because of principles" is an excellent answer. It's the answer I give whenever someone asks me for anything social media related whether the c

"I don't have one because of principles" is an excellent answer. It's the answer I give whenever someone asks me for anything social media related whether the context is social or professional. You may be surprised to hear that I've experienced zero consequences for it.

pc86 11y ago
> You may be surprised to hear that I've experienced zero consequences for it. That you know of. The most common negative response would most likely be an eye roll and going elsewhere/talking to someone else.
- ryandrake 11y ago
  If someone's actually going to refuse to interact with me simply because I tell them that I don't use social media sites then well, I'm probably better off and not missing out on much.
  - pc86 11y ago
    I was referring more to taking a principled stand on LinkedIn, of all things.
    - chucksmash 11y ago
      Exactly this. There are times when people are talking to you but not asking for your personal philosophy. I'm prone to this particular mode of conversation (telling people the "why" or "how" when they asked about the "what"). If it's pertinent to the conversation then share it but don't talk at people about your well reasoned views or you risk being "that guy".
      - throw128121 11y ago
        In this case you do have to give an explanation, because it's expected by the conformists.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
octo_t 11y ago
as far as you've noticed although its obviously impossible to prove a negative. But you won't notice you've not received offers of employment on linkedin (because you don't have a linkedin account) or missed out on social events on facebook (because you don't have a facebook account - and won't necessarily see the photos/aftermath statuses etc).
- tonyedgecombe 11y ago
  But he would notice if he didn't have a job or an active social life which is the real point.
  - braythwayt 11y ago
    THIS. Imagine you tell me that by not joining a certain club in my town, (golf anyone?) that I’m missing out on job opportunities, social events, even marriage possibilities. Well, yes, obviously I am not doing some of those things with my time. But I’m doing other things with my time. So in what sense am I “missing out?” I’m only missing out if I know for fact that I would gain a deeper sense of satisfaction from those other things. And if I’m currently happy, the onus is on the person telling me that I’m missing out to prove I’d be better off joining the club. Naturally, if my days are empty and my heart sad, that’s different. But coming back to LinkedIn, the simple fact is that lots of people who aren’t on LinkedIn think they’re doing just fine.
- vitd 11y ago
  By that logic, you can't know that being on LinkedIn or Facebook hasn't had negative consequences for you. Perhaps companies are googling you and finding your profiles and being turned off, too!
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
bshimmin 11y ago
I'm slightly on the fence with this one. Often employers are looking for someone "normal" who will fit into a team in a "normal" sort of way; and having a LinkedIn account is certainly "normal" (given the number of people who have them). On the other hand, obviously some employers are looking for someone weird and exceptional, and, on that basis, are prepared to have to deal with Richard Stallman and his problems with parrots (https://groups.google.com/a/mysociety.org/forum/#!msg/mysociety-community/zkyZpOXjgoQ/_8xyXSxv9zYJ https://groups.google.com/a/mysociety.org/forum/#!msg/mysoci...). Secondly, you absolutely do not want to start ranting about "principles" or "ethics" during an interview - or being overtly negative about fairly common-place things - unless you're pretty sure they're looking for RMS and your beard is looking exceptional that day. But, all that said, I think you could probably get out of a "Why don't you have a LinkedIn profile?" scenario in a fairly anodyne way just by saying something like, "I'll be honest, I used to have one, but I got sick of the spam."
- mhurron 11y ago
  I have literally never been asked about LinkedIn in an interview. What other high school cliquey things do you expect on an interview?
  - bshimmin 11y ago
    I've definitely been asked by potential clients if they can look at my LinkedIn profile to get an idea of my background and the sort of companies and projects I've worked on in the past (and I've even had clients ask that about other members of my team too).
  - dagw 11y ago
    Not at an interview, but I've certainly been asked about it in the informal social conversations that often are the precursors to eventual formal interviews, and people often seem skeptical when I say I don't have one (much in the same ways some people might react skeptically if told that someone doesn't have a github account).
    - 11y ago
ryandrake 11y ago
You can also say, "I played around with it in the past but it's not my thing, and I don't keep it up to date" if you're worried that the recipient is going to think you're a weirdo for not participating in the latest social media fad. Works with "Are you on Facebook?" too.
- tunap 11y ago
  Most people never believe me when I tell them Fecebook banned me for being too old. No skin off my ass, if 'social media'(sic) participation is given weight in critical decision making our values are obviously incongruent & we are better off going our own ways.

pc86 11y ago

> You may be surprised to hear that I've experienced zero consequences for it. That you know of. The most common negative response would most likely be an eye roll and going elsewhere/talking to someone else.

ryandrake 11y ago
If someone's actually going to refuse to interact with me simply because I tell them that I don't use social media sites then well, I'm probably better off and not missing out on much.
- pc86 11y ago
  I was referring more to taking a principled stand on LinkedIn, of all things.
  - chucksmash 11y ago
    Exactly this. There are times when people are talking to you but not asking for your personal philosophy. I'm prone to this particular mode of conversation (telling people the "why" or "how" when they asked about the "what"). If it's pertinent to the conversation then share it but don't talk at people about your well reasoned views or you risk being "that guy".
    - throw128121 11y ago
      In this case you do have to give an explanation, because it's expected by the conformists.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]

octo_t 11y ago

as far as you've noticed although its obviously impossible to prove a negative. But you won't notice you've not received offers of employment on linkedin (because you don't have a linkedin account) or missed out on social events on facebook (because you don't have a facebook account - and won't necessarily see the photos/aftermath statuses etc).

tonyedgecombe 11y ago
But he would notice if he didn't have a job or an active social life which is the real point.
- braythwayt 11y ago
  THIS. Imagine you tell me that by not joining a certain club in my town, (golf anyone?) that I’m missing out on job opportunities, social events, even marriage possibilities. Well, yes, obviously I am not doing some of those things with my time. But I’m doing other things with my time. So in what sense am I “missing out?” I’m only missing out if I know for fact that I would gain a deeper sense of satisfaction from those other things. And if I’m currently happy, the onus is on the person telling me that I’m missing out to prove I’d be better off joining the club. Naturally, if my days are empty and my heart sad, that’s different. But coming back to LinkedIn, the simple fact is that lots of people who aren’t on LinkedIn think they’re doing just fine.
vitd 11y ago
By that logic, you can't know that being on LinkedIn or Facebook hasn't had negative consequences for you. Perhaps companies are googling you and finding your profiles and being turned off, too!

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

bshimmin 11y ago

I'm slightly on the fence with this one. Often employers are looking for someone "normal" who will fit into a team in a "normal" sort of way; and having a LinkedIn account is certainly "normal" (given the number of people who have them). On the other hand, obviously some employers are looking for someone weird and exceptional, and, on that basis, are prepared to have to deal with Richard Stallman and his problems with parrots (https://groups.google.com/a/mysociety.org/forum/#!msg/mysociety-community/zkyZpOXjgoQ/_8xyXSxv9zYJ https://groups.google.com/a/mysociety.org/forum/#!msg/mysoci...). Secondly, you absolutely do not want to start ranting about "principles" or "ethics" during an interview - or being overtly negative about fairly common-place things - unless you're pretty sure they're looking for RMS and your beard is looking exceptional that day. But, all that said, I think you could probably get out of a "Why don't you have a LinkedIn profile?" scenario in a fairly anodyne way just by saying something like, "I'll be honest, I used to have one, but I got sick of the spam."

mhurron 11y ago
I have literally never been asked about LinkedIn in an interview. What other high school cliquey things do you expect on an interview?
- bshimmin 11y ago
  I've definitely been asked by potential clients if they can look at my LinkedIn profile to get an idea of my background and the sort of companies and projects I've worked on in the past (and I've even had clients ask that about other members of my team too).
- dagw 11y ago
  Not at an interview, but I've certainly been asked about it in the informal social conversations that often are the precursors to eventual formal interviews, and people often seem skeptical when I say I don't have one (much in the same ways some people might react skeptically if told that someone doesn't have a github account).
  - 11y ago

ryandrake 11y ago

You can also say, "I played around with it in the past but it's not my thing, and I don't keep it up to date" if you're worried that the recipient is going to think you're a weirdo for not participating in the latest social media fad. Works with "Are you on Facebook?" too.

tunap 11y ago
Most people never believe me when I tell them Fecebook banned me for being too old. No skin off my ass, if 'social media'(sic) participation is given weight in critical decision making our values are obviously incongruent & we are better off going our own ways.