Like any good addiction, I may return no matter how sure I am, presently, that I am better without it. My artistic expression has always had a supportive audience. It may not have been a large audience, but the people in my life share my core values and understand the importance of inclusivity. Quality rather than quantity of friends means I don’t add strangers on Facebook, at least not before connecting, and rarely do I come across people I find interesting enough to send friend requests.
Not my First Rodeo
For reasons I’d never stopped to identify, on two other occasions, I had to run away from Facebook. Both times, I stayed away for a few months despite the unsolicited emails informing me of the activities of the individuals I’d messaged most, and how much I was missed, and who I should wish a happy birthday, and whose friennaversary I should celebrate, and how much Facebook cared about my memories. They’ve made it so if you want a birthday reminder you must accept other notifications. (Birthday reminders by email have since stopped and I manually put them in my phone’s calendar). It’s all so strategically meant to keep you in that space.
There are many articles about social media’s ill-effects of addiction and reduced sense of well-being. On YouTube’s TedTalks the predominant debate against being on social media was linked to privacy issues, people being coaxed into spaces so their meta data can be collected and sold, its fragmentation of our ability to concentrate and its relationship to anxiety and depression. Arguments for its use were: you wouldn’t miss out; staying connected over large distances and however else it brings value to your life.
I found this above video Why I Quit Social Media relatable and liked the tips at the end (from about 7:00) on how to better engage with it.
Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I laugh at a post. I have funny friends. Why did I come on here over an hour ago? I am grateful my interests left no time for the other platforms, to which I’d probably also be addicted.
It is the day before travelling to Nicaragua so I can return to and have three more months in Costa Rica. I want to separate myself from Facebook again. I am concerned about being seen to abandon people with whom I have an exclusively Facebook relationship. Thinking it through, though, we will stay in contact if we want.
Daring to Post what you Feel like on your own Page
Black Mirror’s, season three, episode one’s Nosedive helps explain my clarity. However, this was the trigger: celebrating one year of veganism, I let my zeal take over, and posted some memes. One was a picture of Beyoncé, pinky finger in the air as she sipped from a champagne glass. Her granny, at Thanksgiving dinner, had asked, “How’s that tofu?” to which she’d responds, “How’s that heart medication?”
The Fall Out
The social media trolls united. They made jokes, they argued against plant-based diets. I responded calmly, understanding that people will believe what they want and do as they please. This is nothing new. Does smoking cause cancer? No. It increases your chances of getting it. Are people willing to take the chance? Many. Humans don’t act rationally.
Someone commented that I was “like one of these Christians”, because once you voice an opinion you’re “judgmental”. It was when others crossed borders to picket on my personal page, telling me to stop posting about veganism, that I looked around to find myself in the Black Mirror episode!
I’ve been increasingly concerned about how distracted humans are from what actually impacts us on a global scale (like climate change related to deforestation to raise cattle for meat consumption). This is what I will post most about. What will get ‘likes’ though, is the trite I’ll put up for a laugh. While I understand that escapism is a priority for the limited free time granted by the overlords, and that a life of drudgery means people aren’t interested in meaningful, unless it is “trending”, it’s depressing because I feel powerless to affect change.
2 stars!
In ‘Nosedive’ citizens rate their interactions with each other, resulting in pretentious, plastic people-pleasers. My posts should be of sunsets or food (after applying filters to enhance their true appearance). These spaces have been commandeered by the masses and so they are dedicated to entertainment, while the forests are in flames, deserts spread their sands, the oceans empty, the atmosphere sours and people are too afraid to look at themselves.
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