I’m making the pronouncement now (cue the horns) that I’m taking a year off from Facebook in 2019 (which is TOMORROW (how can that be???)). The fact is, since mid-2015 I’ve become completed disenchanted with Facebook. It breeds contempt. It breeds disrespect. It breeds antagonism. It breeds mistrust. It breeds so many negative things that it’s hard to weigh that against the few positives and consider it worth continuing with. I know people on there who are nice people in real life but for some reason on Facebook feel it’s okay to be just plain mean to people who have differing beliefs. It’s horrifying and sad and is a case study for why social media is awful.
And sure, there are also nice people in real life who are lovely on Facebook – I get that – but it’s too much work to weed out the people who are so negative all.the.time. without feeling guilty about unfollowing or unfriending them and causing offense. You may ask how will I get my fill of cute cat videos, or adorable dog videos, or babbling baby videos? Well, I guess Instagram will take up that banner of responsibility in 2019. As for long-distance family, we’ll have to rely on Cootiehog, Instagram, and email (or *gasp* the phone (note to family: don’t call me – I hate talking on the phone)) to share news.
I’m also on Twitter (as Cootiehog) and have been able to create a very nice, friendly group of people that I follow. Especially during the Christmas season it was so wonderfully peaceful and positive and encouraging. I know Twitter gets a bad rap for being a bastion of horribleness, but it’s all in who you choose to follow – and I’ve been very pointed in who I choose to follow on Twitter. The result? I don’t hate Twitter.
As for Facebook, I’ve taken semiannual sabbaticals over the past few years, which have been awesome. A couple times a year I remove the Facebook app from my phone and delete the link from my browser bookmarks, and for 4-6 weeks I live a life mostly social media free. And it is glorious.  I think the time has come to remove myself from Facebook for *more* than just 4-6 weeks. It’s time to leave Facebook for a full year. I’ll be here at Cootiehog instead, taking a more active role in blogging (something I’ve been doing a lot in 2018 since my July/August FB sabbatical). I’ll keep my Facebook page active but only so as to post my C-hog stuff there, but other than that I won’t be actively using Facebook in 2019.
And after a year, who knows? I just might shut down my FB account altogether.
