01/27/2025
This will be my final week on Facebook. It’s been a long time coming, and to be honest, I’ve justified staying on there for years under the guise of supporting various businesses and friends. However, I’ve realized that neither my businesses nor my professional life benefit from this platform. Unless you’re pumping money into advertising—something I haven’t done in years—your efforts are largely ignored.
But by 2011, things started to change. Advertisers flooded my feed, and, I grew disillusioned with what Facebook had become and the negative impact it had on my well-being.
Then came the 2016 election and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which highlighted Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation. Platforms like Facebook knowingly allowed Russian bots, fake accounts, and scams to invade their space, prioritizing profits over accountability. The result? A deluge of misinformation that fueled countless conspiracies, deaths, riots, and a societal shift toward a post-factual world. Figures like Trump, Musk, Rogan, and RFK Jr. have thrived in this environment, leveraging disinformation to amass followers and power.
Social media’s impact on our mental, physical, spiritual, and societal well-being has been catastrophic. Doctors, scientists, watchdog groups, and governments have called for fact-checking systems and the removal of harmful content. Yet, the platforms remain deeply flawed. Algorithms create echo chambers that perpetuate harmful cycles, particularly affecting vulnerable groups like teenage girls struggling with mental health and body image issues on Instagram, which Facebook acquired in 2012.
I also believe these algorithms influenced the 2024 election, spreading divisive misinformation to young male, Latino, Christian, and pro-Palestine voters. Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter turned it into a propaganda machine, contributing to Trump’s narrow victory in key swing states. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg’s actions—donating to Trump’s inauguration, cutting jobs, dismantling Meta’s DEI program, and eliminating their fact-checking division—underscore the Broligarchy's agenda. Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos seem to be aligning with MAGA principles for tax breaks, deregulation, and personal gain.
I can no longer support a platform that exacerbates societal divides and makes me feel worse about myself and the world.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to focus on:
* Creating instead of consuming
* Getting my news from credible, fact-checked sources
* Reading books instead of endless online content
* Thinking critically and making informed decisions
* Investing in my local community
* Reconnecting with friends and family
* Spending more time in nature
* Traveling to new destinations
* Prioritizing my mental, physical, and spiritual health
The one good thing was the Birthdays and how I always knew to say it to you. I will spend this next collecting them, so I can carry on the tradition. If you wanna help a fella out, send me your month and day & email.....
lots of love everybody!!
