About a year ago, I quit the whirly hurly-burly of social media. I had had my fill of this toxic 21st century phenomenon and decided that my life would be nicer, calmer, more productive and generally all-round-better without the entrenched arseholery of Twitter, the pointless faux-networking of LinkedIn or the constant data-mining and social manipulations of Facebook.
And, by and large, it was the right decision. It freed up time and mental energy for other things and the amount of generalised idiocy (corporate or individual) that I encountered on a day-to-day basis was greatly reduced.
“But Adrian!” I hear you cry. “You’re back on Facebook again aren’t you? So you were talking rubbish! Ner-ner-ne-ner!!”
True, I did return to Facebook just over month ago. There were two main reasons for this. First of all, during these strange times in which we find ourselves living, it offered a quick and easy way to keep in touch with family and friends. Not just far-flung family and friends either, but also those folks whom I would normally have been able to pop and see in person but who have been rendered off-limits by the assorted lockdowns and other restrictions that we are all having to endure. Secondly, I was painfully aware that, by removing myself from social media generally, and Facebook in particular, I was leaving all the heavy lifting to Glenda when it came to sharing what we do and promoting our artistic ventures. It’s an unfortunate truth that running any kind of business today pretty much requires a social media presence of some sort, Facebook, Instagram, etc. So I was feeling a little guilty that I’d effectively left Glenda to deal with all that while I was sailing along serenely having nothing at all to do with Mark Zuckerberg’s sordid empire.
In the end, these two factors were enough to persuade me to join Facebook again. I’m treating it slightly differently this time and, so far, it appears to be working rather better for me. I don’t know whether it’s the way I’ve configured my account, but I’m seeing less advertising, less extraneous crap and more good stuff. Not sure how long that will last, but it’s quite pleasant while it does.
Nice to have you back and loving the Forge posts.
Thanks Margaret – as I said, it’s actually quite good to be back in a way. I don’t know why my Facebook news feed seems to be so much better than it used to be, but I approve!
We missed you! Nice to see you back. X
Thanks Val. The break from it all was good, but it was time to stick my head back over the parapet…
It’s good you’re back, Adrian.
It’s never straightforward, is it?
A couple of months back I wrote a post about the strained relationship I have with FB, that has become far more strained since Covid.
https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2020/07/that-strained-and-toxic-relationship.html
I’m a social being, and I’ve really been struggling with Lockdown and Social Distancing.
In addition to being needed for my live video podcasts, Facebook has become my window on the world, while at the same time it is also full of bile and poison.
Welcome back!
It’s so important to find the right balance
Balance – that’s the secret alright in so many things. The positive side of returning to Facebook is that it does make it easier to keep up with what people are doing. But, as you say, it can be a strained relationship!
Thanks Liz!