Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media? And it seems like you won’t quit? Or maybe you can’t quit? Just scrolling and scrolling. Looking, waiting, watching? Some good stuff, some bad stuff, some funny stuff, some horrible things. Scrolling, scrolling,….scrolling.
Yeah. That was me after this past election period. I was a scroller and I hated myself. I hated Trump, I hated Russia and Putin, I hated the sexual deviant, GOP cabinet picks of Trump. I hated the world that Trump will rule. My world and my life were filled with hate. I felt programmed.
Google AI suggests that “social media is a collection of technologies that allow users to share information, ideas, and content through virtual communities and networks”. Supposedly social media helps friends and family stay connected and share experiences, ideas and dreams, etc. Which is a nice idea, ….if only partly true.
Consuming social media lead me to anxiety I am pretty sure. Anxiety? What the hey? Why would I have anxiety? I am a Montana country boy born and raised. Why the fuck would I have anxiety? I blame social media and foolish news cycles. I have had enough. I have to make changes. Social media is bad shit, and not healthy.
I was born in the 60s and grew up during the 70s and 80s. Good years when we read newspapers, books and magazines – because there was nothing else unless you went outside or watched the boob tube 24/7.
I remember getting my first personal computer in the late 80s. It was an IBM 286, that had to be ordered and pre-paid before it was assembled at the IBM factory and sent to the customer. I was a late blooming undergrad at the University of Montana. It was a big deal to have a personal computer at that time. The top of the line was an IBM 386, which basically had more ram and hard drive memory than an IBM 286, if I remember correctly. It was time of excitement. Computers were a new thing learning how to use DOS and 1.44 mb discs was cutting edge.
During the 1990s and on through the 2000s, personal computers capacity, capability and usefulness increased, as well as the user’s abilities to manage it. But for sure, each year between 1990 and 2010 saw more and more people with both a work and personal computer. Computers became an important personal item. Both for work and also for pleasure – sending emails, designing, writing, research, working on photos, etc. Computers were a part of the daily life in an important way, but were turned off at the end of the day.
Social media was always part of the computer landscape, whether in work or only through a personal computer. But again, at the end of the day, the computer was turned off. And people went out side and enjoyed life (or not).
Since 2010, improved hardware and faster wireless communication have bolstered the growth of the smartphone industry. As of 2014, over a billion smartphones are sold globally every year. In 2019 alone, 1.54 billion smartphone units were shipped worldwide.[2] As of 2020, 75.05 percent of the world population were smartphone users.[3]
Smart phones provided portability of social media,… and the ubiquitous presence of smart phones requires instant answers and continual connectivity. There is no longer structured downtime. We have to program ourselves to disconnect from the internet.
I am intent on finding the peace I use to live with. I have stopped using social media and I am disciplining myself to read books. I am finding my way back, little by little. Step by step. Poco a poco. No hay prisa (there is no hurry). Fuck social media. Yeah. Fuck social media. Finding my way back to normalcy. I hope. I believe.
And now, there are no fact checkers at FaceBook?
Hahahahahahaha Really funny shit. I will stay away.
High Desert Explorations 