Derek has challenged me to go on a 30-day social media detox. I’m going to do it in 2024. That will mean no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads or LinkedIn for a month. No Randy Rainbow, Holistic Psychologist, Anthony Jeselnik or Michael Rappaport. No updates on Cuddles’ fascinating (sort of) life or sharing something clever Derek said. How will I ever go on?! This cold-turkey & temporary quitting won’t happen right away. Erin and I have already promised to do a Facebook Live session on our Gracefully and Frankly podcast Facebook page in January. It will happen at 6 pm EST on January 15th in a celebration of our first year as podcasters and the wonderful listeners who inspire us to do it. We will take questions and suggestions and whatever else comes up. Erin and I will be together with our friend Anita in California at the time. So, the detox won’t happen in January. There will never be a “good” time to avoid social media for a month. And that’s kind of the point. It’s woven so tightly into my consciousness. I enjoy it and kind of resent it. I enjoy hearing from people I no longer see every day, watching their life events and their kids growing up. I resent the occasional unfair leap that people sometimes make. “Oh, if you like THAT then you must be like THIS (which is always something they hate).” And I can’t stand it when someone posts a photo and doesn’t identify the supposedly famous person they’re with! Just put it in brackets and write, “for the dum-dums who don’t know” – I don’t care! But please don’t assume we all live in your world. ~end rant~ Bots, Trolls, and Decent People, Too I make a lot of satisfying and happy interactions on the social networks. I’ll instantly block dimwits, trolls, and dum-dums as soon as they reveal that they’re going to mess with my otherwise mostly harmonious experience. But sometimes it’s still too much. Too much intrusion, information, opinion, involvement. I got on social media for my work as a broadcaster and I’ve stayed with it as a content creator, podcaster, and author. Plus, it can be fun. I’m torn. But I do agree with my husband that I need to take a break and prove that it isn’t running me, instead of the other way around. Part of the issue is the convenience provided by my smartphone. I’ve been practising leaving my phone in another part of the house. Most times, I come back to it and find that nothing much has happened. Smartphones and social media have created a false sense of urgency about ordinary things. I developed this habit when I was in the business of breaking news. I’m not in that business anymore. Little by little I’ve whittled my news services down. I have only a couple of apps and I never – I mean never – watch TV newscasts. (Sorry TV friends. I still respect what you do!) I subscribe to only a couple of newsy newsletters that are as unbiased as I can find. Generally, I know what’s going on. But always keeping up to date on the nuances of every story? Those days are long gone. Canadian News Will Return It’s been a bit of a relief to not have news stories posted on most social media. As you might remember, social media companies reacted to Canada’s Bill C-18 by banning Canadian news on their sites. I agree with the federal government’s stance. The bill requires those massive non-Canadian social media companies like Meta (Facebook) and X (Twitter) to pay media outlets for the use of their content. It’s like compensating song rights-holders when their music is used. Google and the feds have already come to an agreement of about $100-million a year. It’s inevitable that the other companies will relent, and news will return. But it was nice while it lasted. I know this detox won’t be easy. Creators developed Meta and X with our brains in mind. We get a tiny rush with each like, comment, or retweet. When someone famous responds to us directly, we never forget. (I’m talking to you, Lewis Black, Will Forte, and Sarah Cooper!) Checking social media isn’t how I spend most of my time. But I do spend too much time doing it. So, I’m due for a cold-turkey break. I’d love to know whether you’ve tried a social media (or Internet) detox and what it was like. It seems pretty straigthtforward to me. I’ll probably need to remove the apps from my phone to avoid temptation. Beyond that, it will be a test of my willpower. What This Means for You, Dear Blog Reader Avoiding social media means I won’t be sharing this blog for 30 days, either. But I’ll still be writing it. If you’d like to get notified of a post, just subscribe at the bottom. It’s free. It will always be free. No salesperson will call. You won’t end up on a list, or get anything spammy. When a new post is published, an email will arrive. End of story. 😊
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