Kicking the habit

So I’ve finally done it.

I’ve kicked Facebook.

It’s been poisoning my brain, my relationships, and my life in general, for too long.

It had to go.

For what it’s worth, Twitter has gone too.

There was too much shit. Too much negativity. Too much curation of my world view by a faceless algorithm. And I don’t want to be told what to think by code written by someone who probably has no social skills and can’t use a washing machine.

On the whole, Facebook seems to have taken it fairly well. It’s either that, or an unexpected benefit of not monitoring the email account I’ve got linked to Facebook.

Twitter, on the other hand, has been needy as hell. I’m literally getting several emails a day telling me all the things I’ve missed, in some desperate attempt to make me come back.

But it’s not going to happen.

For the first time in ages, I can think clearly. I don’t go to bed angry at people I haven’t met for saying or doing things that don’t really affect me. I don’t find myself wondering constantly how to word what has just happened in real life into a snappy one liner that will maximise interaction.

I feel like I’ve walked out on a relationship that was making me ill. It wasn’t easy, and there was a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on, but three weeks on (yes it is only three weeks, but when you’re as addicted as I was, three weeks is a bloody long time) I’m in recovery.

So what happens now?

Well, I’m going to focus my time on things that actually add value to my life. Try and rebuild proper face to face relationships with people that for too long I’ve only communicated with through the medium of an occasional ‘like’. I’m reading. Constantly. And I’ll be writing. Because for some reason I still feel the need to share with you the things that fall out of my brain. If you want to stay in touch, check out my blog occasionally. Comment if you want, that’d be nice. Maybe, you know, call me. That’s even better.

If you’ve been thinking about doing this too, I recommend giving this book a read. I was sick of the drama anyway but this book sealed the deal.

10 thoughts on “Kicking the habit”

    1. Mate, I don’t doubt this for a minute, but if you’d ever seen my knitting you’d know better than to suggest another craft based hobby…

  1. Well done Tom. I think about this often and then chicken out. It’s a horrible habit that too many of us need to kick. I hope you, Ash and I can make sure we have each others details so you/we can keep in touch and one day arrange that elusive Cardiff catchup.
    Well done for being stronger than i am!

    1. Do it, Helene. Social media is changing the world, and not in a good way. I sound like a mad conspiracy theorist now but I really believe that to be true! And yes – how about we exchange actual email addresses?! Me and Emma are in Cardiff first weekend in October for a run if you’re about?

  2. Nice one. I think I need to follow suit. It’s one am and I’m angry because I’ve been in a pointless argument with some pothead I’ve never met over whether cannabis is a bad thing. It’s an impossible argument to win, because he is going to defend his habit at all costs, so we’re going round in circles and I don’t even have the excuse of being stoned to justify my involvement in the nonsense. Thank you for your perspective. I’m going to try to sleep now xxx

    1. And the thing is Donna, Facebook is a business. They make money by selling the opportunity to connect with engaged users who share specific interests. They sell this opportunity to advertisers, and they’re not too picky about what’s being advertised, so this opportunity can be used to manipulate how you think and feel.

      The algorithm now knows that you become particularly animated/engaged in conversations involving the word ‘cannabis’, and sentiment analysis will show which side of the argument you’re on. In order to continually ramp up your level of engagement, you’ll find more and more such posts and comments appearing in your news feed. Your world view is being skewed.

      Just opt out of the manipulation game. It’s so freeing,

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