I deleted my Facebook … well, it’s in the process of deletion. I have to wait a certain number of days before it becomes official, but whatever. My mind’s been made up. Instagram is going to follow shortly, which actually pains me a bit more, seeing as it was how I was primarily displaying my artwork, but hey, a girl has to boot Meta at some point her life. I figured now was as good a time as any.

Just so we’re clear, I am making a statement by removing myself from much of social media (I’m on Bluesky mostly and TikTok every now and then, if that doesn’t get banned). I’m tired of already rich assholes monetizing my likes, passions, and interests, just so they can make more and more money that they hoard. My actions will likely not make that huge of a dent, but I want to live honestly and purposefully.

Part of what I’m doing this year is divesting from fast … well, anything. I’ve canceled by Amazon account, I’m trying to shop locally when I can, I’m reactivating my love of reading and just living simply. I even started getting rid of streaming services! Take this week’s Snowpocalypse (which ended up not being as bad as everyone thought it was going to be, although it has yet to hit the East Coast, which looks to be a wee bit worse than we got here in Middle Tennessee); I spent the whole of two days just kind of existing without much connection to others. I made a kickass pork stew that I’ll be raving about for weeks, and my house is the cleanest it’s been since I moved in. I’m thoroughly enjoying Red Sonja: Consumed, and the little treadmill I’m using meets all of my needs (it even has an incline!) for improving my health, which has definitely declined the past two years. All of this is, of course, just another aspect of investing in myself.

So much of the last four decades of my life has been trying to meet expectations of others. Granted, a lot of that was my own misconception that people cared about what I was doing, when in fact, mostly everyone was truly focused on what they thought everyone was judging them for. All I’m saying is, I’m abandoning that old way of thinking and inviting in a new way.

And one of the ways I’m doing so is by removing myself – and my information capital – from an abusive system that rewards constant consumption and has little regard for other people. Of course, leaving the internet behind completely is, in today’s world, impossible, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.