When I look around at the people I regard as great contemporary writers, I see that ninety percent of them do not have social media accounts. Thinking about this makes me realise how disappointed I would be if any of them did. If Wendell Berry started tweeting links, or Mary Oliver began sharing petitions on Facebook or Cormac McCarthy began posting pictures of his breakfast, I think my world would end.
I didn’t miss Facebook. I was relieved not to have to face the ranting and click bait. So will I continue to use Facebook? For now, I think, yes. But:
- I’m going to set a time limit. No more than a half hour of social media a day.
- If you want to keep up with what Kelly and I are doing the party will be on Root Simple not Facebook. I’m going to use Facebook mostly to send people to this blog.
- Call it passive aggressive, but I’m going to unfollow “friends” who post nothing but divisive click bait.
- I may unplug on Sundays entirely. I’ve got some dense books to read.
I want to give the last word to Root Simple reader Federico, who uses Facebook to post pictures of his amazing sketchbook (I’d miss seeing those images if I deleted my account). Federico suggested some rules for using social media based on Michael Pollan’s food rules: “Post positive things. Mostly yours. Not too much.”