When the Social Network is Anti-Social

After more than a decade on Facebook, I made a decision. It wasn’t an easy one but after a few days, I realized that it was the correct one. I left the largest social media site ever created. What was once a place to connect, promote, and share with many like-minded people has become little more than a dumping ground for irrational fear and misplaced anger. In the last few years I watched as people who had known and associated with each other for years, suddenly fall apart due to disagreements over current events and political allegiances.

It had become a cesspool of endless arguments and debates. Something I took part in of course, but in recent months started to step away from as it became obvious that no minds were being changed and those that had drawn their line in the sand weren’t about to cross over to the other side. Now, of course, I have a philosophy and political ideology, I’m not what some would call moderate or apolitical, but there comes a time when it dawns on you that the future isn’t in the next big fight over the latest meme.

So what now? How does one change hearts and minds? Well, in short, you can’t. Look around you. Does it look like the country, the world, or the universe care what you think? Are the facts, numbers, and history you know make a difference no matter how right you are or how many people you “pwn”? Take a look at the interactions you’ve had up to date. I‘d be willing to bet that your superior talent for articulation has done little more than to reaffirm the other side, regardless of what that side should be. It’s human nature to feel that your point of view is the only possible explanation, the other must be evil that should be vanquished by your mighty keyboard. No, there is another way.

Shifting the focus to the things that you possess are the things in your life that you can control. You own yourself and the product of your labor. So use that self-ownership and take inventory of your stock. Make it work for you and pour all your energy into improving those things. If you know, continue to absorb more, if you feel the need to share your ideas, create your platform to do so, but stay away from the mental suck that is Facebook discourse. It has lost it’s intended purpose and become a force for fear and intimidation. Everything you put into that platform is free labor for their revenue purposes, and they give little back. Your thoughts and words should be yours to share or sell to whomever you choose and on your terms.

So in summary, yes I am leaving Facebook, but I will still have a presence through my business pages and advertising when I have new works completed. I will not, however, be active in my normal profile and timeline. It is boarded up and condemned. Possibly forever as I focus on more productive ways to change my culture.

So what's next. I'll still be on Twitter and going to do some work on Twitch and YouTube, plus ... YES I PROMISE TO WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!