For years, people considered me out of touch and old fashioned for refusing to have anything to do with Facebook or smartphones or this whole “social media” thing. Only now are people beginning to realize how pernicious and Orwellian these platforms are.

The whole concept of “social media” – especially Facebook – is anathema to me. I can’t understand why people bitch and moan about privacy when they voluntarily broadcast every minute detail of their personal lives to the entire world. They sure don’t mind having the most intimate conversations in crowded elevators or in line at the grocery or on the bus or walking down the street. I know, because I have to listen to their noise pollution wherever I go.

In that world, there is no privacy. Everyone knows everything about everybody else, all the time. How can these folks complain about privacy?

The idea of FACEBOOK always creeped me out, and I cannot for the life of me understand how people can post the shit they do online and actually believe it will remain private. And what’s with the obsession young people seem to have with posting nude pictures of themselves online? I don’t get it.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like promote an imaginary social networking culture that is based on narcissistic, anti-social, amoral values; one that has reshaped social relations into an insular and exclusionary environment, marked by triviality and “fake news.” It is a world saturated with commercials and pop up ads and product promotion. There isn’t a whole lot else being promoted.

The “information superhighway” has become the information supermarket. Let’s face it: people aren’t using this technology to make them smarter. They use it to buy stuff. Every corner of the internet is now saturated with commercials and pop ups and scrolling ads tailored to my specific google searches. It didn’t used to be like that.

Why would anyone believe that Facebook – or any social media platform, for that matter – was set up to do anything BUT mine personal data from unwitting citizens and share it for a price with the entire world? That is really the whole point of ‘social media.’ It was never about “connecting” with friends and family: it was about connecting you to products.

And to track your every move!

It’s pretty hard to decrease your screen-time in an age where virtually everything is available online…especially if you have access to the Dark Web. There must be some sort of addictive element encoded in the hardware. Everywhere people go, no matter what they’re doing – they’ve got their heads down, eyes glued to a tiny screen. They appear to be oblivious to the world around them. No wonder so many people plunge to their deaths or get hit by cars and buses and trains…they simply aren’t paying attention to their surroundings.

Millennials – who have grown up addicted to social media – have no concept of privacy. They think it’s normal and acceptable to sacrifice their privacy for the sake of “convenience” or whatever. Big Brother is a mere heartbeat away, but they can’t see it coming. Anyone who thinks that the convenience and the self-gratification that social media provides is worth sacrificing our privacy – and indeed, our culture – is allowing Big Brother to walk right through the front door.

Most people have already forgotten that back in 2017, AMAZON announced that it actually wanted people to allow them to unlock their front door and deliver packages when they are not at home. Like, what could possibly go wrong, right?

In the fight against supposed holiday season “porch pirates,” in October 2017 Amazon launched a brilliant new delivery system to allow its couriers to leave packages inside your residence when you are away from home. The entire process is recorded on a camera that uploads to the “cloud.” For the privilege, Prime Members can fork out 250 bucks for the Amazon Key In-Home Kit, which includes Amazon’s new Cloud-Cam and a compatible smart lock.

Funny how that whole concept was sucked down the memory hole so quickly. Give it time. It will be back.

Social media is helping to fuel the rampant narcissism, the depression epidemic, increasing teen suicide rates in America and elsewhere. American society suffers from anomie, a condition in which meaningful social ties are severed in the service of greed, consumerism and the accumulation of wealth – and serving those who are devoted to that pursuit. Family ties – ties to social clubs, ties to the broader community, ties to the nation itself – all of these are sacrificed in order to buy more stuff.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like give people the means to broadcast information and expose every detail of their mundane lives. Posting selfies, writing opinions and then sitting back to see how many ‘likes’ you get is a pretty vacuous existence, after all. But in that realm, even a negative reaction is better than no reaction at all. These social media platforms encourage people to become more self-absorbed and anti-social in their everyday lives. And it’s clearly killing society.

This is why the Narcissist-in-Chief loves Twitter: because no matter what reaction he gets, it’s still about him. Part of the reason why he attacks the MSM is because he fears being ignored by them. So it’s no surprise that a nation of narcissists voted for one.

So, why do people spend so much time staring at little screens? Because they have no meaningful ties to other human beings, that’s why! Is it any wonder so many of us are struggling with anxiety, depression and issues of ‘self-esteem’ when all we see is a mass of propaganda promoting unfulfilling, vacuous lifestyles?