5.4 Staying in it

To flee from social media, or stay in the mix? For now, I'm not conceeding the ground. I'm in.

I think Mark Zuckerberg is an odd stew of icky and weak. (Let’s remember, Zuckerberg’s path to wealth and power started when he stole a misogynistic tool with which to ‘rate’ college girls.) I think Elon Musk is dangerous. I know social media and its dopamine driving algorithms help spread fear and anger, their lax oversight allows for the broad communication of lies, and their porosity allows foreign agents to wreak havoc on our democracy.

Many people of good conscience are leaving social media platforms.

But for now, I’m going to stay.

I want to stay in touch with family, the old friends with whom I’ve reconnected, the colleagues I’ve met along the way. I want to capture moments of my life and create a record of it. I want to contribute to and amplify the reach of my communities, including the organizations and institutions I engage and support with my time, attention, and sometimes money. I want to be in conversation, especially with those who I may agree with on certain issues even if I disagree with them on others.

I matter. Community matters. Celebrating life matters. Being in relationship matters. Civil discourse matters. I refuse to be isolated, depressed or fearful, to have my world narrowed, to be shut out of collectives and movements.

And I don’t want to concede the territory - virtual though it is - to those politicizing discourse, amplifying the echo of the right-wing chamber.

So -

I am learning and trying to avoid what actually generates revenue these platforms. I’m not clicking through on advertisements; I’m happy to step out of the media feed and open a new browser and tab through which to peruse the latest thingamajigs.

I’m going to continue to post what’s important to me: recapping news events, national and local; my opinions; my suggestions for social action. I’m going to post what I think is funny, even if my wife and kids tell me there’s just _no way_ anyone else is going to get the joke, and even if they do, it’s not that funny.

I’m going to comment on other people’s posts. I’m going to amplify the things with which I agree, call people in, invite people to share. I’ll point out when I disagree - not with name calling, maybe with questions. Perhaps this will allow me to engage people? If nothing else, I hope it challenges and thereby blunts the onslaught of one-sideism.

I’m going to try to create a record of facts. Others will do so for the historical record; I want to highlight facts that I think other people need to see.

I hope to engage those with whom I agree on some issues, but disagree on others, to model civil discourse.

Maybe I’ll see you online. If so, I encourage you to comment on my posts, just as I’ll do the same with yours. If not, I hope still to engage, maybe even in real life.

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