The Return of Privacy

After years of total strangers being able to privately contact me at any hour of the day or night, I have finally decided to remove social media apps from my phone. Now, I’m not saying that I’m giving up on social media completely because marketing and attention whoring are a huge part of my job, but that’s where it should stay. At work. The question is: can I pull this off in modern society? Here’s a better question: could you?

I have nostalgia for the days when you could leave the house without an electronic tether. Also, others possessed the moxie to take care of their own problems without reaching to the masses for attention. We went fishing, hiking, or driving to unwind from the day. Now the day finds and follows you with little chance of escape. What’s worse is that people don’t even need your phone number to contact you.

The cell phone craze began in the mid-nineties and never slowed down. It was cool at the time but unnecessary. Like everything else in my early twenties, we did so for attention. Plain and simple. The car, the job, the possessions, and the clothes were all to get noticed, get laid, get married, and die happy. News flash: none of that shit made us happy. At least not at first. I’m genuinely happy in my marriage, but I can’t say the same for the three failed attempts that came before it!

If this is some kind of trend, I haven’t noticed it anywhere. The masses aren’t jumping ship from social media as far as I can tell. It’s just something I want to do.

My name is written in books all over the world and has been for the last fifteen years. Because of that, random people on social media can hit me up and strike up a personal conversation at 3am if they choose. Now, why in the hell would I want that? Why would anyone? Do you know how horrible it is to get a video call request while taking a shit? I do, and there’s no warning. You think it’s a phone call and it turns out to be a video conference. I can hold in farts long enough to complete a short phone call, but there’s no hiding the turtle head poking out from between my legs while seated atop the porcelain throne.

There was a time when my inner narcissist wanted this type of attention, but that time is long gone. I’ve managed to get rid of every other vice in my life such as alcohol, nicotine, and soda. Now, social media addiction is my only vice, and it’s one I need to separate myself from with a quickness. My sanity is on the line here.

I want to see if it’s still possible to downshift in a world which demands instantaneous gratification. I’ll check my Facebook, Twitter, etc when I log onto my laptop for work, but I’ll be damned if I’ll live a slave to the tiny computer in my pocket any longer. I want to prove to myself that I’m stronger than the need to interact with someone else’s family drama or whether some like-minded group enjoyed the latest Marvel film. Why do we need to know this bullshit at the drop of a hat? We don’t.

Remember silence? Remember isolation? Remember not knowing?

I’m determined to find out all over again. Want to join me? I don’t care to know because that’s your choice.

See what I did there?

Peace…