Unplug.

Today's big "Fuck You" goes to: the way people use social media. I recently decided to stop using a personal Facebook.com account, and I'll tell you why. Social networking offers a very powerful tool for communication, collaboration, planning, broad social outreach, etc. That being said, here in America, social networking/media websites are the quintessential hub for all things shallow, sensationalist, self-absorbed, trite, and distracting. Social media is essentially the social "fast food" of the Information Age.

The combination of smart phones and websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their ilk have basically rendered middle-class America a socially inept population of egocentric digital zombies, absorbing the world vicariously through a 4" screen (or regurgitating it back unto itself through the same medium). You go to social events and all you see is people staring at their phones, constantly taking pictures and videos, tweeting and posting status updates about what they are doing so that the world can all know, as if it matters. It does matter - to the author. People who are so "plugged in" feel this innate urge to catalog their lives right down to the most insignificant actions and thoughts and broadcast to the world to show themselves off, or at the other end of the spectrum, feign a social life that they don't actually have.

The long and short of it is that social networks make people socially lazy. People are never 100% "alone" or "bored" because they always have their Internet social-security blanket to fall back on. They are effectively distracted. I don't want to be that guy anymore. I don't want to be one of the ones checking my phone every couple of minutes when I'm out with people. I'm tired of wading through endless useless, shallow, mindless content to see anything worth reading, listening to, or watching.

Some make the argument "you don't have to go on and read/post things; just don't use it!" That's not the only reason for getting rid of an account. Another blind-sight of these extra-personal social networks is how much of an information security nightmare they are. You're putting so much information about yourself out there into the world open for anyone and everyone to access. Who you are, where you go, where you live, your personal contact information, who you hang out with and when, etc. Malicious parties use your account or mutual friends accounts to stalk you, slander you, and stir up unnecessary drama. Would-be employers and colleagues are able to seek out information about your personal life that you do not want solicited.

Over the past few months I've had the misfortune of spending some personal time with a few people out an about who could not leave social media alone. Snapshat, Instagram, checking in on Facebook, messaging back and forth with people, taking pictures of everything and posting them on the web, etc. Fuck me sideways. Live your life and socialize. You have real living breathing people all around you. Real experiences happening right in front of your eyes and you're only half there.

These websites have become breeding grounds for keyboard jockeys, viral hoax news, shameless self-validation, mob mentality, and a host of other socially poisonous modern cultural tropes. Fuck Facebook. Live your life in real life.