The Undiscovered Country

A Possible Goodbye

After eight months being away from social media, it’s time to take some stock.

The first few weeks was a bit difficult (as I’ve described in previous entries). Now the thought of returning makes me cringe. Mostly.

I miss my friend’s and family’s posts. To know what they’re up to and the interactions we used to share. In some ways I even miss the arguments and debates on the issue or outrage of the day.

I miss the discussions on the groups I belong to.

The only thing I don’t miss is the time-suck and the anger and frustration I used to feel when my words seem to make no difference (even though my brain kept reminding me that no mind was ever changed by social media debates or arguments).

People keep saying we need alternative social media platforms due to Facebook and Twitter (to name the most obvious) canceling accounts and deleting posts that don’t adhere to current narratives. Oddly enough, many of those complaining are the ones who refuse to leave themselves (and I count myself among them). The main reason being because all their friends and family are still there.

The addiction factor cannot be discounted either, but how many are willing to admit it?

Being away for so long, I can now see that as a rather weak reason to stay on a platform that has no use for me and my opinions other than to make money off of me via ads and data-mining analytics.

As if there are no other ways to keep in touch...

So when my year is up, will I be brave enough to delete my accounts? As of now, it’s about 50-50.