I’m no a full two and a half weeks into my fast from Social Media. A few random thoughts:

The fact that Facebook, You Tube etc were used as vehicles of communication around the Terror attack at a Mosque in New Zealand is indicative of how far we have come from the early days of social media. What was originally a platform for sharing of news about ones friends, has now moved to a forum for the spread of hate speech (I signed up for Facebook in 2007 to view photos and updates of my son’s year abroad in Argentina). This most recent and tragic event, is yet another example of how antisocial Media tools are being weaponized to spread vicious lies and horrific hate speech.*
I genuinely wonder about it’s overall value in my life.
For the most part I’m not missing Facebook, Twitter, etc. Though I admit the photo based Social media platform Instagram is the one forum I am most tempted to engage.
Because I’ve removed all the apps from my phone, my screen time usage is down 50%.
The extra time I now have means I’m engaging in more reading and more writing.

While I’m still planning to return to some modified and lightened use of Social Media when this fast is concluded on Easter Sunday, I currently am harboring even deeper suspicions of what positive use it may have in my work and personal life.

*To be clear, I have not watched any of the online videos but read about this in the Boston Globe.