I have been on the internet since 1998 roughly. I have seen many means of communication come and go. I have used one tool for communication more for the last 10 years than any other tool. I used Facebook a bunch when I first got on the service but eventually pulled back my usage. I opened a twitter account and never really figured out how to use it as a user to engage but I scroll randomly. I sporadically will post and then just scroll again. I was a big fan of Google+ (plus) but like many things by Google it went away for no real good reason. I then went without social media mostly for the longest.

I recently made my way back to Facebook. As I figured out how to use it after being a once to twice a year user I then accepted a few people as friends that I engage with in different activities I participate in. I still do not just accept friend requests so many people are just left as ‘Requested’ but after changing the settings so that I am no longer getting notifications for every single post that my friends and family make it is a bit more functional. BUT my feed on facebook is total trash. I am constantly given OLD posts from friends and family but mostly because one of their friends commented on it, I am also given plenty of posts in which they are either links to instagram posts or videos. I have to ‘unfollow’ people just to get other people to show up in the feed.

But the most disappointing part about my feed is that people that I view as friends often post some of the most passive-aggressive posts that speak of unseen bias and on some posts hidden racism / anti-blackness. I have had many conversations with people about different topics BUT the hardest conversation is about the subtle nature of anti-blackness and the things that we do that help push it forward and not allow it to be a issue that is resolved.

I see posts about police, military, political, medical, religion and such and too often people think that they are on the right side of what they are saying but they never consider the anti-blackness of the messaging that they are conveying. People individually say they care and love but they ultimately vote collectively the opposite of their words.

No matter your views on any topic you are free to have them and share them but you also are free to accept the views of others, you do not have to accept them as your own but you can accept them as others. I heard a video on a lesson in a children’s class about 30 seconds and it made so much sense. If someone can fix something in 30 seconds it is worth sharing with them whatever it is that is ‘wrong’ but if they cannot fix it in 30 seconds it is better to do it in private if you have a relationship with them or leave it alone if you do not know them. Think about it. If someone can wipe something off them or adjust it then share but if it is a fixture of them then leave it alone. Amazing how we learn lessons on how to be good or even better people yet we often fail at these basic behaviors.

Okay that is all for now. I am in and out of social media because the more I see of ‘friends’ the less I tend to like them.