Hello New Steemit Community.
Following the Sane Progressive's lead I made it a goal for myself to leave Facebook by January 31, 2018. I am cutting it quite close, but I made it. So here I am. It is a cold snowy morning here in Wisconsin and I am recovering from a terrible bout of flu. I am going to take advantage of the nothing better to do moment and explain/introduce myself to all who will have me.
The reasons I decided to end my Facebook addiction are many. First and foremost, was the manipulation I was experiencing from Facebook. They were controlling my newsfeed, blocking my posts from reaching my audience, inserting unwanted sponsored ads based on what they heard while SPYING on me and my family conversations, and recommended posts that replaced content I actually subscribed to that contradicted my wishes. Secondly, my family and I noticed that it was becoming a VERY negative influence on me. What started out as a way to stay connected with old friends and distant family morphed into a tool for my activism. That was all well and good. The problem metastasized into a constant barrage of news that outraged me, as it should have. That outrage was followed by a realization of powerlessness and impotence which lead to long bouts of severe crippling depression no amount of funny memes or cat videos could cure. What happened next was the real surprise.
About 5 years ago I realized the psy-op was happening. So I intentionally started diversifying my news sources. MSM became almost non-existent in my feed and I began watching/reading at least one, usually two or three, news sources from foreign countries; including Canada, Britain, China, Russia, Brazil, Venezuela, Palestine, and a few others. I came across some AMAZING journalists and commentators that I had never heard of before and rediscovered a few I had previously dismissed because of the undue influence MSM had over my opinions previously. It was an education worth more than my entire time in college. I plan on sharing those sources and information throughout my time on Steem in my coming posts.
Recently we learned how the CIA actually paid for the creation and development of Google and Facebook. We have all been part of an experiment, much of the time unwittingly. I do not see social media going anywhere anytime soon. I am just not OK with giving away my power to an organization who is synonymous with the CIA.
So like a bad relationship that taught me so much about life and also about myself, I do NOT regret my 9 years on Facebook. I will miss posting selfies and cute videos of my life and I might lose contact with a few folks. That is a small price to pay for my mental wellness and freedom of thought. I am not ok with censorship. This is a warning. I will not wait 9 years to leave Steemit if it becomes a tool of the establishment. I am happy to be here for now though. Thank you for having me.
xoxo-V