Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man

It will be hard, as I enjoy reading about everyone’s lives, news shares, birthdays, and more on Facebook. Instagram is where I get a lot of my baking ideas. Messenger is how I communicate with a group of guard parents. It will be hard, but it must be done.

I can no longer support a company who supplies news and social posts that chooses, and defends, allowing posts advocating violence and blatant lies. The damage, from Facebook, and I would include YouTube, TikTok and SnapChat, and until recently Twitter, to our electorate and democracy by not monitoring and yes, policing, posts has been immeasurable.

Facebook in particular, in allowing private groups that advocate discrimination and violence towards minorities, is reckless and unethical. YouTube and TikTok are also complicit in helping extremists to radicalize our youth and citizens. They believe it isn’t their place to censor these posts on free speech grounds. Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten there are limits to free speech that has been upheld by the Courts.

Although I am but one person, I will make my stand. I would hope many hundreds, or thousands, or even millions would follow suit and stop using any platform who believes they have no say over who uses their platforms and how. They do and it is outlined in their user agreements.

They just choose to look the other way so they may continue to collect ad fees to enrich themselves at a cost to the very country in which they are permitted to operate. It is a choice to do, or not do, the right thing for the common good.

Mark Zuckerberg and the other leaders of social media consistently choose to help their pocketbooks rather than the common good.

It will be hard, but I think a trial separation is in order. I invite all of you to also take a trial separation to get Mr. Zuckerberg’s attention. If you want to find me, I’ll still be on Twitter and posting on this blog.

It will be hard, but it can be done. I will see how it goes this week in terms of watching to see if Mr. Zuckerberg will do the right thing and label egregious content. He doesn’t have to take it down (unless it is telling people to commit violent acts, or trying to suppress voter rights), but it does need to be labeled and fact checked.

I am but one person, and I will make my stand.