Lately I've been feeling increasingly uncomfortable with my relationship with social media, and with Facebook in particular.I do see the many positive aspects of being in contact with so many people, so much of the time. But more and more I've been feeling that these interactions have been cheapened, commercialised, hijacked and even corrupted by the "click and share" nature of these modern formats. I feel like the biggest effect of my interacting with Facebook, is that much of my day is spent thinking about things that don't really concern me, and that have no real impact on my actual life or relationships.
More and more, I find my Facebook persona becoming more reactionary, more inflammatory, and less...me, from post to post and from day to day. With horror and shame, I admit that Facebook is the last thing I see before I turn out the light, and the first thing I reach for each morning.(Yes, even before coffee!)My heart literally races when I hear the "blip" of a notification alert or the whistle of a new message landing in my inbox!
As I read back over my posts from the last few months, I see that despite the occasional meaningful or useful post, the majority of my material is crass or easy jokes, personal jabs, or political and religious cheap shots, often aimed at provoking people into engaging me in a Facebook sparring match. In hindsight, I can report that I rarely walk away feeling good, or vindicated in any way. Rather I see how this crap has served to create needless tension between me and often very dear friends, because we end up arguing about topics that without Facebook, we would never enter into in our face to face dealings.
So what to do about all this? Well, I've thought long and hard. My foray into comedy and my work with a couple of good causes, as well as my (very minor) celebrity in the cycling community has caused my friend list to swell massively lately. I have to say upfront that I feel honoured and flattered that so many people want to be in contact with me, and to hear my mindless ravings. I also worry that my opinionated way of "sharing" online has probably offended people who really weren't asking for it. For this I am genuinely sorry.
So here's my plan. In the next day or so, I'm going to take a break from Facebook. I'm not going to pretend that I have the self-control to do the "fuck this, I'm outta here!" thing that so many try, and almost all fail at. Instead, I'm going to go back to blogging. My personal email is on the bottom of the page. I will always reply to any genuine message I receive, as soon as I can. So if you like, subscribe to my blog. Send me an email. If you like, call me. I'm pretty free with giving out my phone number. Lets actually hang out!
What am I hoping to achieve? Well, firstly, I hope to spend considerably less time looking at my damn phone. Second, when I take the time to sit down and write a post, I want it to be something that adds to my life, and to the lives of people who read it. I may still from time to time touch on controversial topics, but hopefully in such a way as to start a constructive dialogue. Not to just provoke or annoy.
But mostly, I want to free up time to work on the things that really matter. Being consistent with my martial arts training. Becoming a better writer, and not always looking for the easy joke or jab. Actually playing lego or ninja's with my son, instead of checking my phone every five minutes. Waking up and having a coffee and a conversation with my wife, and not staring at a glowing screen before my eyes have properly opened.
There's every chance that I'll fail miserably in this endeavour. In that case feel free to laugh at and tease me. In the mean time, hit me up on my email bjkid72@gmail.com. Lets really talk. Let's not pretend that because you're on my friends list, that we're actually involved in each other's lives. I'll happily give my phone number out to any real friends, and we could arrange to actually hang out!
So until I next have something worthwhile to say....
Later folks!
Love
Billy.
