Something's... different. Just a minute ago you knew where you were, but now... everything's dark. You grasp for something familiar. You could've sworn it was right there, but...

'Well, that's okay, I'll try something else.'

No go there, either. Now you're panciking. All your comfortable places, the spots you can come back to again and again are suddenly outside your grasp. You know where they're *supposed* to be but they're just... gone.

On this episode we're playing a game: what if Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and every other social network just... went away?

(Intro)

I've got a confession to make: I have a social media problem.

I'm not an influencer (though I have been called that before, which was weird), I don't have tens of thousands of followers, people don't hang on my every engagement, but I do spend more time there than I should. (Which, I'm told by a very reliable source, is precisely zero units of time.) And I think it's telling that when some folks, myself included, talk about "social media" they refer to it like a physical location. Like I just did. And that bothers me.


# PERFORMANCE

See, for me, social media is a performance. I'm less interested in doing what the experts say and trying to forge and maintain quote-unquote "real" relationships. I don't think the version of us we put forward on social media is accurate in the first place. I mean, if you've ever heard anyone use the word "curate" in relation to an Instagram account, you've run into this. Rinsta and Finsta, oh my.

Point being, let's take Facebook as an example, an ability to kind of 'vent' on social media about the constant barrage of news is a necessary evil for me. You might feel the same way, I don't know. I do feel, though, that if I were to go cold turkey on Facebook, I'd also have to go cold turkey on the majority of national and international news I digest. Imagine a balloon that just keeps getting filled without any exhaust. At some point... [[pop sound effect]]. Pop goes the Ryan. 

So, this puts me in a bit of a predicament: see, I've come to rely on those things. Remember back a couple dozen episodes ago when we were talking about the dopamine loop? I'm just as much stuck in that as the next person. I crave that Like. I need that retweet. I can't survive without a new follower!

I mean, a good portion of us does this, I think. We all know folks that just don't spend much time online and, I mean, I guess that's one way to live your life but for those of us that do, this is a real concern. 

Everything in moderation, right? And what if you blew past that long ago? What then? What if you're the kind of person that can't just have a bite of cake or a single cookie? What if your only choice... was to leave entirely?

# ALTERNATIVES

I asked a few friends about this: "If you had to give up Facebook for whatever reason, where would you go?" The answers ranged from the usual suspects (Twitter, Instagram for example) to community-based options (like Discord) to the very personal (straight-up text messages) to the  facitious (Probably fishing, one said).

In fact, while writing this episode, I removed Facebook from my phone. After my birthday, I think I'll deactivate it until winter break. 

If you can't be trusted not to eat all the cookies, sometimes you just ... can't have cookies in the house, you know?

# BUT WAIT

Now, I know it's Halloween (I believe some people call it "October") but I don't want to end on something scary and down. So remember, if social media is a way for you to connect with people, to make sure the people you love are doing okay, then by all means, go for it.

A great example of online presence that's going on right now is Trans Heart October, a streaming event led by Trans Lifeline, that's raising money in an effort to improve the quality of trans lives. It's going on for a couple more days, so if you just need a palette cleanser from the typical newsfeeds, pop on over there for a bit. Link in the shownotes, of course. 

## SOCIAL

But perhaps there's a way to reign in social media use without completely cutting it. Perhaps we can bring it back to the "social" part. So here's an idea:

Go through your social media accounts and remove *every account* that isn't an individual or group of people. Unlike all those pages, unfollow all those businesses, and so on. Keep your friends like as ... just that: friends. Follow **people**. Fight that dopamine loop. Fight the addiction.

I've been bugging the Keybase crew for a while to create their own social media network, once that focuses on privacy, security, and proof of identity. One that would be peopled by... you know... people. I'm gonna keep on bugging them until they either hire me to consult, hint to me that it's on the table, or just tell me to shut up. Until then I shall continue my campaign!

What about you? How are you feeling about your social media engagement lately?


(Outro)

Once again, thank you for listening to this little podcast-thing of mine. If you found it entertaining or informative or useful, please do subscribe and rate it on the podcatcher of your choice, whether that's iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or however you listen. And, as usual, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Twitter at newprofcast. Show notes, transcripts, and more can be found on the website at thenewprofessor.com. Until next time.