Not A Funny Post

I have deactivated Facebook. I've done this several times before, usually for not too long. I feel like this time is different though. I have some animosity towards Facebook and Instagram. (Oh yes, I deactivated Instagram too, and it's even more unlikely that that one will ever be re-activated. Such a waste of time.) I was thinking this morning about my latest hatred of Facebook. The last thing I posted on there a couple weeks ago was a post asking if any of my Facebook friends wanted to go birding with me the following Saturday. Of course no one could (and only one friend actually responded with words, saying he would have if he wasn't busy with work). Everyone else just responded with "likes" and one friend replied with a gif of a bird or something. This was the thing that really drove me over the edge and convinced me that Facebook was poison. I decided that I hate "likes." What a vague stupid response to anything. What does it mean when someone "likes" my post about asking if anyone wants to come with me to do something? What does that mean?! Does it mean they want to come with? Does it mean they like that I'm going birding? Does it mean that they just automatically hit "like" when they see a post of mine because HOLDEN ALWAYS HAS SUCH QUIRKY POSTS?! No one knows what it means. For me, it used to be a good thing to have likes on a post. It made me feel good for a split second. Wanting those likes is what has driven me to whip out my phone every 2 minutes, checking for likes on my latest post. The desire for likes has driven the addiction to social media that I have been a slave to, along with millions, maybe billions, of other people. I'm really trying not to be self-righteous about it. If I was trying to be self-righteous, I would've announced something on Facebook about my departure. Fortunately, I was so mad from the bird post that I had no time to compose any thoughtful post about the danger of social media. I just de-activated, and I've had no desire to go back. I sometimes wonder if I'm missing anything on Facebook. I also wonder if some of my friends think I've blocked them, because deactivating just makes your profile disappear (although I'm still on Facebook messenger). But the curiosity of knowing what may possibly be going on in my friends' lives pales in comparison to the overwhelming feeling of disgust I have for this platform. Facebook claims to have a noble mission, one of connecting everyone and bringing people together. Testimony of people who have worked there, though, (or do still work there, in the upper echelons of the company) attest to the devious engineering designs, which are so engineered to get us addicted, because our attention equals their profits. The technology is not neutral. It is designed to be addictive. That doesn't mean it's all "pure evil" or that you can't use Facebook for useful practical purposes. It still does depend on how you use it in your daily life. But for me, mindless swiping in my news feed, and that hunger for more likes, eventually has come to a head. It is likely I will reactivate Facebook at some point, mainly for the purpose of posting bird photos to bird ID groups to get identification. I feel like this is a pretty good use of social media. But perhaps the longer I stay off of it, the more useful and practical my time on it will be when I eventually return. Some might ask why I don't just delete Facebook. I'll tell you why. I have a lot of photos on Facebook that I don't have anywhere else. I also have a lot of funny posts that I like to go back and read every once in a while. If I delete, all that is gone forever. The one positive thing I can say about Facebook is its ability to quickly recall things (like posts and photos) from years past. Within seconds, I can go back to my timeline from 10 years ago and scroll through to see what a moron I was back then, when all my posts were written in third person for some strange reason. If there was an easy way to download all these photos and posts on my timeline, I would definitely do that, and then delete. (if anyone knows if there's a way to do that, let me know). Again, don't get me wrong. I am not judging anyone on their Facebook usage. This experience has been a completely personal one, where I realized how terrible Facebook made me feel, how "likes made" me feel, how much time I wasted scrolling mindlessly. In fact, just to be writing this post, I suppose someone could read this and think I'm being self-righteous. I really am not. I don't even think anybody reads this blog anymore, except people who just want to sell me viagra. I just needed an outlet for a couple minutes. Goodbye.

Skies of Blood

I enjoy looking up at passing airplanes. I always wonder where they've come from and where they're going. I have an app that I point at passing planes and it answers these very questions. I also wonder who is on these planes. Unfortunately, my app won't tell me that. Welmp, this is where I end the blog. My well of creativity ran out months ago. Sorry guys.