I made a drastic decision about Facebook today: I am taking control of my life back from social media. From now on, I will use social media for marketing and to communicate with friends about plans, but nothing else.
This is the announcement I typed up, and will post once per day for a week to make sure all my friends know.
Feel free to borrow this for your own purposes if you would like to join me in taking your life back.
**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**
Effective immediately, I will no longer (or at least, very infrequently) use FB for entertainment or scrolling or sharing. I will use it for communication between friends, invitations to events, the odd crowd-source of important questions, and probably some social media marketing as the start of my On Campus web comic draws near.
WHY? After several articles and books that reminded me what life felt like before the internet, I am truly alarmed by how the internet has taken over my life. I’m grateful that the internet allows me to share my writing (and soon comics) widely, but I don’t want to use it for anything beyond that–at least, not right now.
HOW TO CONTACT ME: I will still check my Facebook PMs and event invites, because that’s how a lot of social planning happens these days. I just won’t be commenting on your stuff or throwing lots of “shares” and statuses at you anymore. Don’t worry; if you need to get ahold of me or invite me, I’m still here.
A WORD ABOUT CONNECTING WITH ME: I feel social media and texting have removed a lot of personal connection. 15-20 years ago (even 10 years ago), if I wanted to speak to someone, I would call them, or maybe even show up at their house. Today, the ease of social media and texting establishes a buffer between people. There’s a quickly-growing, unspoken “rule of thumb” that you should connect with someone in an indirect way first if possible, through a message or text–this is becoming the polite “first step” to reach out to someone without forcing them to actually talk to or respond to you in the moment.
I am opting myself out of this unspoken rule. Therefore, if you want my phone number, PM me and I will give it to you. If you call me instead of texting, I will answer you or call back as soon as I can, and I will not act like it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable to talk to you directly, even if we have never gotten to the “calling” stage of our friendship before.
I will still respond to texts and Facebook PMs; that’s still fine. I just want you to know that you don’t have to reach out indirectly with me. I want to hear from my friends, coworkers, family, and acquaintances. You’re not a bother.
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