Social Dilemma

Ok. I'm stealing the title from the movie, but it's apt. I recently watched the movie of the same name on Netflix which got me curious about the book “10 arguments for deleting your social media accounts”, which I got in audiobook form and have been listening to. These pieces of information have scared me. Our devices are listening to us, watching us, and ultimately analyzing every bit of data they can. To what end? Commerce for certain. But what other things? How ensnared are we?

So I've analysed my own use of things like Facebook, instagram, Youtube and other poorly named social media. Yes, I am a social media addict. No, I would not easily come to that conclusion. Why? Because others are way more addicted than me. Which is assinine reasoning. Addiction isn’t in relation to others use, it's related to my use and how it affects me.

Two big places I've seen effects. My primary relationships and reading. I don't think I've really read in 4 years, yet I'm an avid reader. Or I was! My relationships with humans has degraded enough that I question how much of my addicted space is related to my recent separation. Assuredly, it's not the one thing that led to its demise, but I can see places where the slow degrading process of late night youtube led to some lost connections.

So, I’ve gone cold turkey with the intention of deleting my social media at the end of the month. All of it. I'll still have an online presence. Here on my website for sure. On other more responsible platforms like diaspora and ello. What I've noticed already is that I'm reading again. I'm more present. I'm getting bored and not searching for a device to fill the boredom. And I'm loving it. I feel like I've more time, like I'm more present, like I'm waking up.

And I wasn't even addicted!