Social Media changes

Back in 1994, I saw my very first web browser (probably Mosaic, but I would end up using Netscape Navigator pretty quickly). I had developed a web page in 1995 - at the time connected to my student account at University of Missouri. Then I migrated my web presence to Geocities, where my web page would remain until that became untenable. I regularly relied on Usenet for information and communication with people who had shared interests. Then I tried my hand at blogging. My original blog was mothballed a long time ago. It was a mess. It just needed to disappear. I enjoyed MySpace at first. Then I ended up on Facebook - my account was set up back in the day when one required an invite to create an account. I would find my old school and college friends and become immediately disappointed. Twitter became arguably my favorite spot - initially for self-promotion for my academic output but also as a space to be informed and to connect with people who shared similar academic and political interests. Twitter was great until Elon Musk came along and took it over. Since then, I've been looking elsewhere, with mixed results.

At this point, I think I am concentrating on three platforms, each with probably somewhat different purposes. To get what Twitter once offered, I am now using Bluesky and to a lesser extent Mastodon. I've mostly rebuilt my old network between those two platforms. I showcase my photography on an Instagram account. I do follow some news feeds dealing with facets of geopolitics on Telegram, but I don't use it to socialize. Twitter is dead to me at this point. I still have my account, but it is set to private and I really doubt I'll be posting there again. I still keep a Facebook profile only because I have relatives who keep on insisting on using the app. I keep thinking that texting can be handled by good old-fashioned SMS, but apparently I have been outvoted. Otherwise, aside from this blog and my academic blog, I think I am pretty much set for now, at least until something else goes sideways. So it goes.

In the three decades that have passed since the internet really became a part of my life, I have gone from being an optimist to being rather jaded about the internet as a means for communication and information. I used to believe in the power of the internet to foster understanding and to bring people together. Instead, we have been bombarded with disinformation and division. I can't control much, but I can control what I communicate and what I allow myself to be exposed to. And let me close with one more thing: there is a lot to be said for turning off the computer and the mobile devices and just living life. Unplugging periodically seems to do my physical and mental health a world of good. Maybe that will be your experience as well.

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