Breaking Up With Facebook

Hey friends and family, if we were friends on Facebook but we're not now, it's not because we aren't friends. If I haven't accepted a request to connect, it's nothing personal; it's not about you. It's Facebook.

The current state of society is, in part, a result of the discipleship of social media. Doom scrolling a steady stream of algorithm-fed garbage is far too high a cost to connect with friends on a social platform that buries them in an avalanche of advertisements and unsolicited materials. My mental health and well-being can no longer take the curated echo chamber of bait, bent on detaining my attention and shaping my thoughts. I'm worn down.

My first attempt to fight back was to stream down my contact list and reduce the groups I follow. In theory, I would see more of what I wanted. Instead, the machine just filled my social feed with more of what it desired I eat. Whether I wanted it or not was irrelevant.

I no longer want to be discipled by social media. I no longer wish to be part of the problem. And I am tired of the addiction and the brainwashing. I'm divorcing myself from the abuse.

At this point, I would love to terminate my Facebook account just as I have with MySpace, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Threads, Google Buzz, NextDoor, Foursquare, and the like. However, I live in a small community that relies heavily on Facebook to disseminate city information, business closures, weather reports, police updates, movie times, and much more. Furthermore, I have work responsibilities tied to Facebook. So I can't terminate the machine yet.

Therefore, I still have a Facebook account, but I use it exclusively for my life in Holdrege, Nebraska.

If we are no longer connected on Facebook, that does not mean we are not friends. It does not mean we can't connect. Shoot me a call or text. Send an email. Write a letter. I may be willing to communicate on other peer-to-peer apps, but no guarantees. If you’d like to follow me, I think that’s a Facebook option. Knock yourself out.

People were friends long before Facebook. It's debatable if they will be after Facebook is gone, but we can certainly hope.

See you out there, my friends.