A Rare Ode to Social Media

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

With the news of Elon Musk buying Twitter, the pros and cons of social media are yet again in the news. Depending on which direction you lean—right or left; those standing tall in the middle don’t matter—Musk’s intrusion on Twitter is either the worst thing that’s ever happened or the funniest. While I’d suggest that the fate of Twitterdom isn’t as important as any self-absorbed blue-check-verified Twitter user might believe, it has led me to envision a sort of fantasy—one in which each of our narcissistic billionaires (I'm looking at you Bezos and Gates) buys a major share of a social media outlet and drives it to ruin in his unique way. Musk is killing Twitter for liberals; I imagine Gates could kill Facebook for conservatives and who knows what damage Bezos could to do TikTok kids. Fire everyone, piss off your advertisers, threaten to remove the direct lines of communication that make users most happy. Ah, that would do it, and it would help humanity in ways most folks haven’t considered.

I’ve been watching the world for a while now, and there’s no doubt that the rise in anxiety, social disorders, and insane thinking in our societies today can be pinpointed to the rise of the smartphone in our pockets. Not necessarily the social media apps themselves, but the constant stream of data we allow into our lives. This is causing measurable brain damage at a mass scale. Spend one moment on Iain McGilchrist’s website and you’ll understand the picture. A simple example: I’ve heard many folks mourn the loss of friends since Covid hit the scene. The losses have been tragic for some, not only because they had a disagreement with someone about how to manage the whole affair, but because the other person has demonized them while also demonstrating neurotic and violent behaviors never seen before. Most folks assume this is because the other person has been indoctrinated by misinformation. This could be true, but what if the real issue is the amount of information the person has consumed?

I had friends send me fear based information on a daily basis from both sides of the argument; those who would tell me to never leave my house again or I’ll die of Covid or worse, and those who told me that if I took the jab, I’d suffer immeasurable damage. The fear and anger from them felt very similar, to the point where I had to ask both types to stop inundating me with their information. In all cases, those who consumed the most information to back up their side were the most hysterical in their actions and the cruelest to those who disagreed with them. I propose the act of consuming whatever reports you seek each day makes you less reliable, because your very brain is affected by the overload of information. By over-stimulating the left hemisphere of your brain, you’re permitting a bit of brain damage that can lead to violent, over-reactive behavior in the name of whatever cause, or book, you believe in.

As Covid lockdowns began, I published an essay about this issue based on Dr. Leonard Shlain’s pivotal book, The Alphabet vs. the Goddess. His theory is this—every time there is an advancement in communications technologies (from the written word to radio and television to the internet to social media) there are decades of violence that follow. One basic example is the violence that followed the invention of the printing press in the form of the Reformation. I predicted in the summer of 2020 that unless we unplugged, unless we stopped watching TV and YouTube all day, unless we stopped scrolling the Twitter feed demanding for justice, we would only fall more and more apart within our minds, and thus within our society. Two years later, it is as predicted—in the new normal no one trusts the other, everyone is on edge, and most of us assume the other is the one who is broken. Alas, what if we’re all broken?

The data suggests we are exactly that—we are broken within our very minds, at the place where information is processed. Here’s the kicker, NO MIND is safe. The best we can do is be aware of the vulnerability. Be aware that every moment spent online or watching TV or even listening to podcasts for hours is damaging our brains. Small doses, breaks or fasts (see Tiffany Shlain’s 24/6 for the Tech Shabbat concept), and it turns out, time in nature, are excellent practices for balancing our right hemisphere in the age of left-brain information overload.

It is here then, where I find myself at paradox, for while I know the real danger of this phase of the information age, I also find myself defending the very beast I seek to reveal. Since the summer of 2020, while trying to manage my own relationship with the gigabytes of data swirling around my life, I have found Facebook to be the greatest of tools for navigating the turmoil of losing my home to wildfire. There are many ways it has benefited me, and I thought that rather than only bitch about the demise of society due to our addiction to likes, follows, and comments, I would list out the best things to happen to me online, for some of it has been a godsend.

There’s no doubt now that we need some sort of reform within the online world of information. According to Shlain, it takes a few generations for the human brain to upgrade to the new form of communications and only then can society begin to benefit from the progressive improvements said technology brings to the world. Perhaps then, the place to start is to look at the good this latest form of communication has brought? Then we can go forward with an idea of how we want it to continue in our lives.**

Facebook Groups are Powerful in Eco-Disaster and Recovery

In August of 2020, I’d already deleted my Facebook app. I have IG and Twitter, as a novelist they are important channels for connecting to readers and other writers, but it’s always been Facebook that my personality enjoys so much that hours pass while I’m scrolling in my “book” of choice. Thus, to save my brain from the obvious damage my online life was doing to me, I got off Facebook and hoped to never look back. I made it one measly month, for the night of the fires, I was back on the Slice (short for “A Little Slice of Heaven”), a Facebook group for those of us living in the Santa Cruz Mountains. From the evacuation notices to the progress of the fires, this group saved lives. Our community was able to help rescue pets and get supplies to the folks who stayed behind to defend their homes. In my case, I learned that I’d lost my home almost immediately and that my chickens had survived but were behind the road blockade and in need of food and water. I wasn’t allowed home for almost two months, what was I to do? I posted about my dilemma on the Slice and found a neighbor who had remained behind. He took care of my chickens until I was able to get up there and rehome them myself. This would not have been possible without a tool like Facebook.

We’ve continued to use Facebook to help since then. We have groups for each insurance provider and type of loss (total or partial). In these spaces we helped each other with the brutal task of navigating insurance after a disaster and banned together when needed. We have rebuilding groups where folks share information about the county codes and permitting process. We have groups for total loss survivors to share their sadness and grief on an ongoing basis. Hell, there’s even one for the entire state of California, a group that unfortunately grows larger each year.

I also appreciate how you can use Facebook to mark yourself safe during a disaster and give updates easily to all parties who are interested in your fate. I was able to keep connection with a dear friend during Hurricane Ian using Facebook. Given the current ecological collapse, this ability to organize and share information with each other is one I think we need to make sure continues in the sanest manner possible.

Facebook Marketplace is the Future of Stuff

When you lose all your belongings, especially during a pandemic, you gain a new perspective about stuff. My insurance would replace all that was lost yet getting a couch in this age is nearly impossible. Three-month delays are standard. When I moved into my home in Chicago, I had to beg the seller to leave behind a bed and a few barstools, so I’d have a place to sit and sleep while setting up shop. I had nothing and couldn’t get a bed delivered in time. She sold me the set for super cheap and as I put on my new bedsheets that first night in the condo, I had a sudden realization—every thing we need in the world has already been made. Every. Single. Thing. The trick was to find those who no longer wanted what I needed. Enter Facebook Marketplace. I’ve written about my delightful experiences in this space. I’m addicted, I’ll admit it. I was able to furnish an entire condo using this tool, I only bought the linens and kitchen gadgets new. I did the same with my THOWs in California. I’m not sure I’ll ever go to a furniture store again. I’m even using it to acquire Christmas decorations for this year—I’ve been able to find the same garland I lost in the fire as well as a beautiful fake tree with lights and dozens of ornaments. This is handy since both items are already on backorder from my preferred vendors and Christmas delivery isn’t guaranteed. The pandemic lockdowns have broken the supply chain for new goods. In the end, this may be the best thing that ever happened to the planet, and tools like Marketplace are the way to move goods from one home to another. What a boon for all of us.

Facebook Made Moving Home Seamless

Facebook has allowed me to keep in touch with people from all phases of my life—grade school, high school, college, all my employment places, family, as well as girls I went to gymnastics with. I’m from the Chicago area and one of the outcomes of losing my home in California to wildfire is that I now have homes in both states. Returning to Chicago was so easy and I credit a lot of this to Facebook. Our time commenting on one another’s posts and scrolling on each other’s walls has kept us up to date. From meeting an old college friend for dinner to the kindness of an old high school friend bringing together people from various aspects of my life to celebrate and discuss my latest novel, Facebook made it happen. I also love using Messenger to make the first approach—“hey, I’m moving back to Chicago and I’d like to see you.” It’s even better for creating a group chat to get a whole passel of us to meet up (I’m looking at you Water’s Edge moms…you’re next on my list 😉)

I want to bemoan Facebook for all its evil, yet I can’t ever forget how important this tool has been for connection. We think our social media interactions are superficial, but after the past two years of my life, I’m convinced that without it, things would have been much more difficult. Given the vitriol of our national dialogue, I know we must do something about the way we use social media to distort reality, however I don’t think the way forward is more content approval, rather; it’s about a national campaign of awareness that our media consumption is contributing to brain disorders while also taking a deep dive into what aspects of our new communications technologies are beneficial. This is the middle way, the neutralization of the binary, and the best path for evolution.

** I use Facebook in my essay because it’s my social app of choice. A look at the pros and cons of each platform is necessary if we really want to reform social media.