A Day Without Facebook
Did you think it was just you? Or that your Wifi went out? Did you restart your phone? Me too. But then I heard the news. And you know what? I was kind of delighted.
Remarkably, the world kept spinning. In fact there was a well-needed rain storm / lightning show in LA that night which I experienced without the inclination to capture it and share it with my friends on the east coast.
In the past I’ve witnessed people go absolutely berserk when they’ve been locked out of Facebook. It’s like they’ve been locked out of life. Someone took away their fix. Their drug. This time it was all of us at once.
And speaking of drugs, I happen to be an avid user. If you have a point of view that you believe is worth sharing and there are people who are interested in it, it’s a happy and convenient platform. Otherwise you might as well be invisible. If everyone is doing it you’re worse for the wear if you’re not.
I used to feel that way about padded work-out bras. I absolutely refused to be a part of it. Until I started feeling well, unshapely in the gym. Comparatively. So I caved. I didn’t (feel unshapely) before they were all the rage. But I digress.
Facebook whistle blower Francis Haugen testified that the platform’s business model rewards anger and fear, threatens our childrens’ safety, privacy and democracy…encourages devision and extremist behavior AND relies on constantly tweaking algorithms to keep people engaged — even if that means showing them harmful content. She says that CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t set out to make a hateful platform but he didn’t object to these practices either. Nothing we didn’t already know (Tristan Harris/The Social Dilemma).
Some of my friends who I admire madly have dumped FB and opted exclusively for Instagram. Well, IG may not be threatening our Democracy but it’s been seriously messing with the heads of teenage girls for years. And they’ve known it. And trust me, the constant compare-and-despair can be toxic for middle-aged women as well.
There was a time we survived just fine without social media. We had landlines and stationary. If we wanted to promote ourselves we found a way. I know I know I know — that’s pretty hypocritical coming from me as I promote new songs, books, Grammy Noms. I’m the Queen. But I like to think I mostly converse about a world and culture that’s interesting and strange and mad and beautiful. Someone once told me to start a blog because at least that’s your real estate. No one can take it away from you (My Space). So I did. I’ve shared it weekly on my website for 5 years. And I email it (so as not to be subject to evil algorithms) to however many subscribers have stayed with me. Then again, who who am I kidding? I share that blog on my FB feed. Is there any escaping it? It’ll be interesting to see if they lock me out this time.
Mark Zuckerberg was whining about what a financial hit he was taking from the crash. Give me a break. Some said it was FB itself that purposely caused it. Why? Perhaps so that addicts would miss them so much we’d welcome them back with open arms…turn a blind eye to the bad behavior. Maybe it worked. Cuz as soon as systems were up again we jumped back on — more enthusiastically than ever. Who knows.
How did you feel when FB went down? Did you have a curious sense of peace? Absence of FOMO? Did you feel disconnected from the world or more connected with yourself? I think it’s a fair question. I’m (obviously) asking it of myself. 😳
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