I have been a technology “early adopter” all of my life. And I have been a “social media” adopter since its inception. Indeed, I joined Twitter in the fall of 2006 (shortly after its launch in July 2006). I was also an early adopter of Facebook. And in the early days, I (and many others) thought of these platforms as the eventual successors to email. But as of this moment, I am now one of the large stream of people abandoning these platforms.
Why am I abandoning these platforms? They do have some value, right? As a technologist, they do “connect” me to other technologists. But it seems that even as I become more connected to many of these platforms, I am becoming even more disconnected from the community in which I live.
At the same time, these platforms are becoming more of a personal threat. This week, we learned of yet another data breach at Facebook. I am sure that there are millions of people that have been compromised – again. After the first breach, I could make a case that Facebook would improve their system. But after the numerous and unrelenting breaches, I can no longer make a case that I am “safe” when I use these platforms.
Finally, these platforms are no longer fostering unity. Instead, they are making it easy to be lax communicators. We can abandon the civility of face-to-face dialog. And we can dismiss those with whom we disagree because we do not directly interact with them. Consequently, we do not visualize them as people but as “opponents”.
Social media was supposed to be about community. It was also supposed to be a means of engaging in disagreement without resorting to disunity. Instead, most social media platforms have degenerated into tribalism. And for my part in facilitating this devolution, I am exceedingly sorry.
I will miss a lot of things by making this stand. Indeed, my “tribe” (which includes my family) has come to rely upon social media. But I can no longer be part of such a disreputable and inharmonious ecosystem.
Hopefully, I won’t miss it too much.
By the way, one of the most important benefits of disconnecting from the Matrix is that my personal life, my preferences, and my intentions will no longer be items that can be sold to the highest bidder. It is well said that “if you are not paying for the product, then you probably are the product.” So I’m done with being someone else’s product.
As for me, I am taking the red pill. Tata, mes amis
#FarewellFacebook