17 May 2018

There's part of me that just wants to go on sabbatical, and drop the Facebook posting...

I don't put a lot of time and effort into it, and most of its unedited, raw, first drafts. Some would suggest it would be far better to journal that stuff, and maybe "share it with my circle of five" (who are...?)

I try to retort that I need some sort of audience,to try to hold me accountable, and journaling alone would not expose the fallacies to me... however, again, "using a megaphone to share what might best be whispered"

Yeah, I am fairly convinced that Facebook is limited in what it can effectively communicate. (I like the idea of wide broadcasts of general news, mind you - helps minimize distortions after repetitions) Still, I use it, because typing is convenient (there's this thread through my life about how difficult it is for me to be vocal in conversations over 3 people in size)

The giants, right: Facebook, Amazon, Google... modern-day monopolies taking over our lives, "one bite at a time". If this was not a first draft, I might cite some Ted Talks pointing to the research, etc etc...

I don't want to be chained to technology. I don't want to be forced to interact with you via a newsfeed, or a hopeful swipe right. I don't want my only incoming calls to be robo-calls, trying to sell me on wildly mismatched products. I don't want our only interactions to be in the context of Special Interest Groups.

Yet, I don't know my current neighbors. I don''t make time to make phone calls (or visits) - partly because I doubt who still answers their phones... Basically, I don't talk to strangers; and it feels like everyone is becoming a stranger. (Preaching, again)

Still, back to the beginning, I vacillate... I want to share my life with you, but I don't want to do it through Facebook.... or other internet sites. I'm going to cut back on what I post - eliminate the personal details that are a bit alarming, at times. Just share random memes, and post the "that's nice" comment on the pictures of your children, and your pets, and your meals. If I really gain momentum, I'll try to stop posting, all together, and become one of those profiles with a post, once every couple of weeks, mostly created by friends tagging me.

I'll probably also go through another wave of unfriending, soon. No bad feelings - I just get the impression that some folks use this as a placebo to claim that they'e staying in touch... (there's another word besides placebo, but not thinking of it... never was very verbal).