I’m sure for some people that social media has its place. Personally, I think social media like Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter have a monopoly. And they’re watching you. An article just came out about Facebook and Instagram monitoring you even when you’re not on the platform. That’s scary to me. We are moving farther and farther away from face-to-face encounters. Or at the very least a call, a text, or a video chat. We’ve replaced social media for any meaningful interactions. I get it if you’re a shut in, ill, not very mobile or don’t really know many people. I’ve met a couple of lovely people on social media and we’ve become friends. But out of the thousands and thousands others I encountered when I was on social media, nothing of real substance. Or people who were or had been real friends became only social media friends. They were too busy to communicate in any other way. And the communication was often just a thumbs up, like, quick, short comment, or a happy birthday after they had been reminded by the app. It feels just too insidious for me. We are being watched all the time in so many ways. Through our big screen TV or Alexa or even our cell phone. There’s very little privacy and there’s very little one-on-one interactions. It’s incredibly addictive and people have told me again and again they just can’t live without it. No, you can’t live without air, food, or shelter. You can live without social media. At the very least you can live without being on social media hours and hours every day announcing every single facet of life. I’m a big fan of Cal Newport, who has never been on social media. You can find him online – his website, blog and his TEDTalks. He’s brilliant, well-adjusted and has no problem in his relationships, work or avocations. Hey, if Stephen King has decided that Facebook is not for him it’s time to sit up and take notice.