Hello again folk, it feels like I keep apologizing for the long bouts between posts, alas, that’s just life getting in the way. With a new job I had started back in January of this year, things like a blog and entertainment reviews just got neglected, leading to this dearth of posts.

Which brings me to my topic for today. Having reached a level of downright hatred towards the pushy, bullyish nature of Meta and its never ending torrent of ads, algorithmic nightmares of irrelevant offers and suggested posts, not to mention the hate-filled son of X that is Threads, I informed my limited circle of connections on both Instagram and Facebook, that I am taking an extended leave of absence from social media, as a means to look after my own mental and emotional health.

Having suffered medical issues relating to stress and anxiety over the last year or two, I convinced myself to take better care of myself, much to my wife’s delight.

I’ll openly admit to a raging despisement about doomscrolling, which has turned normal people I know to be happy, stable folk, into anxiety-filled messes that struggle to find worthwhile connections with their friends online, due to the tsunami of trash one must swim through, to achieve what used to be a simple “Hey, how are you?”

Don’t get me wrong: I love cute videos of puppies and kittens as much as the next animal lover, but with so much clickbait and The Zuckerberg’s obsessive need to monetize everything, I took my own advice to friends and decided to step back from it all, to focus on what makes me happy:

1. More quality time physically interacting with my wife and my friends. Texting is basically the most sanitized means of fruitfully interacting with loved ones, and nothing beats socializing over good foods and drinks, or taking in a game with the boys and girls over a few pints;
2. Making my way back to my favorite thing, which is writing. I’m a known pop culture sponge, and I’ll always want to share my thoughts on the matter, so I’ve opted to be more active on my Instagram account about it, called @popculturein60seconds. I’ll mostly post about stuff rather than endure endless scrolling, so it’s a healthier alternative. I’ll also pledge to spend more time on this blog, writing about fun things, or what I’m reading or watching or listening to. I’ve even created a third, separate account on Instagram about my cooking endeavours, called @dommessiercooks, where I decided to solely focus on my daily mission to become a better cook. If I decide to follow anyone there, it’ll only be foodies, chefs and other names in the biz. I love cooking, and it makes me happy and healthier.
3. I’ll spend more time enjoying offline activities like discovering new live music, checking out new places in the big city, making a dent in my to-be-read bookpile, and so one. You get the gist.
4. I’ll make a concerted effort to meet more of my friends in the real world, for a cup of coffee, to reconnect with folks and regain what social media has taken from so many of us.

I’m not saying you must do the same, but I strongly encourage you to. Life’s too short to get stressed out over pointless things.

How about you? How do you deal with it all? Feel free to let me know in the comments!