I do love your sardonic writing style, Bret, and you inspire me to get off Facebook, as I did the W.P. after Bezos capitulated. But it is hard asI have jr. high school and high school, as well as university friends I would otherwise no hear from. We re-found each other through the app and I love seeing what they are up to!
I use Facebook judiciously, and have since I finally gave in a couple of years ago to the nagging of several old friends with whom I'd lost contact. (I never saw much reason to become an unpaid content provider for the likes of Zuck.) I don't use Facebook as a news or information source, nor do I post outside my circle of Facebook friends, who all were my real friends before Facebook. I don't use any other so-called social media, and see no reason to. I sure as hell wouldn't use any of it for "news." This kind of discernment is another benefit of having grown up in the "old media" era, I guess.
I had lots of friends, and many had strong political opinions. Leading up to the election, my news feed was so full of negativity, I felt I had to pull away.
PS: Try not to feel too bad about not being noticed when you disappeared from Facebook. My four year hiatus , back in 2017 received a similar response, and I even had announced my departure. My close friends continued to be in occasional contact- but that was it! I take some comfort that they were there, through thick and thin.
You have lots of presence online, so many of your readers and friends were connected elsewhere from the Faceplant mire.
I jumped ship off of facebook and instagram 3 years ago. That's how I lost track of you, Bret. I've never been on tik tok and have frequented youtube sparingly. I let a bunch of people know via an email, and told them I would stay in touch by writing occasionally, when I had something to say or a link to share. And I've done so occasionally, taking care to not be a pest. I write essays occasionally on stuff I've been thinking about, or experiences I've had as a part-time music therapist, or playing catch with my grown son, or teenage grandson. So far, only a few have asked to be removed from the mailing list, and every so often, I receive a note of appreciation.
This meant that I had to think about what I had to say, rather than being a merry quipster, hunting for the tiny dopamine rush generated by the likes. Sure, I miss the vagaries of my friends' lives, but I don't have to see a photo of their lunch, which irritated me so often.
I also began reading deeper stuff: novels, mostly, but non-fiction and science, as well. For the first time in many years, I stopped scanning the words and the distraction of links and sidebar material. Most mornings I get in an hour or two of reading, when the world is still quiet.
I don't miss much of the social media whirl. Time is the most precious non-renewable resource, and at 76, who knows how much is left?
I'm glad to be reading your pieces here, Bret. You're a fine writer and share ideas that make me think!
FB serves a lot of my needs for connection; I like getting to "peek in" on friends and acquaintances, and I appreciate reminders of events, birthdays, etc. Being on FB helped me weather the pandemic and I'm grateful for that. I learned the hard way (twice!) to avoid clickbait and ads that were "too good to be true", and I never relied on social media for anything approaching actual Truth! But FB has allowed me to champion music, friends, stuff worth sharing with the world and I'm not ready to give it up. I promote my husband's compositions with Sound Studio Publications (he says FB is "against his religion"), my friend Regina Harris Baiocchi Fan Club and my teacher Celebrating Hale Smith, Composer - all 3 are pages that I created on FB. Bluesky struck me as bogus when I checked it out. Instagram can be fun but not as many of my pals are there as are here on FB. For now, I'm sticking with FB, with or without fact-checking! Ultimately the heart knows what is true! ❤
I do love your sardonic writing style, Bret, and you inspire me to get off Facebook, as I did the W.P. after Bezos capitulated. But it is hard asI have jr. high school and high school, as well as university friends I would otherwise no hear from. We re-found each other through the app and I love seeing what they are up to!
Keep 'em comin'
Cool. Hasta manana.
I use Facebook judiciously, and have since I finally gave in a couple of years ago to the nagging of several old friends with whom I'd lost contact. (I never saw much reason to become an unpaid content provider for the likes of Zuck.) I don't use Facebook as a news or information source, nor do I post outside my circle of Facebook friends, who all were my real friends before Facebook. I don't use any other so-called social media, and see no reason to. I sure as hell wouldn't use any of it for "news." This kind of discernment is another benefit of having grown up in the "old media" era, I guess.
I had lots of friends, and many had strong political opinions. Leading up to the election, my news feed was so full of negativity, I felt I had to pull away.
Great piece and congratulations on pulling the plug!
My sentiments exactly on Facebook, Zuckerberg and TicTok.
My presence on FB is very spare due to the many points you so brilliantly articulated.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts as it further confirms my dark suspicions of where it’s all headed.
PS: Try not to feel too bad about not being noticed when you disappeared from Facebook. My four year hiatus , back in 2017 received a similar response, and I even had announced my departure. My close friends continued to be in occasional contact- but that was it! I take some comfort that they were there, through thick and thin.
You have lots of presence online, so many of your readers and friends were connected elsewhere from the Faceplant mire.
Honestly, I don't miss it.
I jumped ship off of facebook and instagram 3 years ago. That's how I lost track of you, Bret. I've never been on tik tok and have frequented youtube sparingly. I let a bunch of people know via an email, and told them I would stay in touch by writing occasionally, when I had something to say or a link to share. And I've done so occasionally, taking care to not be a pest. I write essays occasionally on stuff I've been thinking about, or experiences I've had as a part-time music therapist, or playing catch with my grown son, or teenage grandson. So far, only a few have asked to be removed from the mailing list, and every so often, I receive a note of appreciation.
This meant that I had to think about what I had to say, rather than being a merry quipster, hunting for the tiny dopamine rush generated by the likes. Sure, I miss the vagaries of my friends' lives, but I don't have to see a photo of their lunch, which irritated me so often.
I also began reading deeper stuff: novels, mostly, but non-fiction and science, as well. For the first time in many years, I stopped scanning the words and the distraction of links and sidebar material. Most mornings I get in an hour or two of reading, when the world is still quiet.
I don't miss much of the social media whirl. Time is the most precious non-renewable resource, and at 76, who knows how much is left?
I'm glad to be reading your pieces here, Bret. You're a fine writer and share ideas that make me think!
FB serves a lot of my needs for connection; I like getting to "peek in" on friends and acquaintances, and I appreciate reminders of events, birthdays, etc. Being on FB helped me weather the pandemic and I'm grateful for that. I learned the hard way (twice!) to avoid clickbait and ads that were "too good to be true", and I never relied on social media for anything approaching actual Truth! But FB has allowed me to champion music, friends, stuff worth sharing with the world and I'm not ready to give it up. I promote my husband's compositions with Sound Studio Publications (he says FB is "against his religion"), my friend Regina Harris Baiocchi Fan Club and my teacher Celebrating Hale Smith, Composer - all 3 are pages that I created on FB. Bluesky struck me as bogus when I checked it out. Instagram can be fun but not as many of my pals are there as are here on FB. For now, I'm sticking with FB, with or without fact-checking! Ultimately the heart knows what is true! ❤