Y'all Can Pry Social Media from my Cold, Dead Hands
With the latest news from Zuck, there are renewed calls for folks to leave or boycott social media, specifically Meta, which includes Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This happens every few months- people hear the latest despicable decision made by a member of the Unholy Trinity of Oligarchal U.S. Overlords (Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos) and decide that finally, they’ve gone too far; we must stop participating in their platforms and products for ethical reasons and stop putting money in their pockets¹. And I get it- these dudes are the worst and social media can have a net negative impact on your life. And as far as your scruples go, Zuck may very well have gone too far this time. But for me? Nah. I am tellin’ youuuuu I’m not goin’.
In my first blog, I mentioned having a generally positive relationship with social media and the guidelines I follow to keep my social media experience positive. I don’t fight with people; I don’t read the comments; I love keeping up with the lives of those I love. But that’s me and that works for my brain. So before I dig into this topic, let me stick my metaphorical flag in the ground and say that I support anyone who feels like leaving social media is good for their mental and emotional well-being and feels right in their soul. While I believe that there is no ethical consumption under deregulated, unchecked capitalism (more on that later), I also think that we all have to draw the lines that feel right for us. For example, I shop at Amazon sometimes for various reasons (against my scruples), but I moved my prescriptions from Walgreens to CVS because of Walgreens’s policies on contraceptives (aligns with my scruples). Similarly, if Ignition Remix by R. Kelly comes on at a bar I may shake that butt (I’m an elder millennial please forgive me), but I won’t stream or purchase R. Kelly’s music. Most of y’all probably like Harry Potter but do everything you can to boycott J.K.’s new works or buy any HP-licensed merchandise (but damn if they don’t get you with Harry Potter World at Universal Studios amirite?) See how this works? You can’t be an ethically irreproachable consumer so you have to do what feels right in your soul.
Let me say it again: YOU CAN’T BE. AN ETHICALLY. IRREPROACHABLE. CONSUMER. So stop trying to be and fight the desire to virtue signal. And give yourself grace for chrissake. It’s not you that’s bad- it’s the system. All day, every day we are all weighing personal convenience and the cost of goods against our morals; and we’re doing it in a dystopian nightmare where an apple costs two dollars, the rent is too damn high, and the average CEO makes 200 times what his workers make². The point is- I don’t judge anyone solely on where they buy things from or where they draw their lines; we are all doing our best in a world that wants us to hate each other.
Another reason I don’t judge anyone for where they consume (or staying on social media) is that, as I said, I don’t think there’s such a thing as ethical consumption under the deregulated, unchecked capitalistic society we live in. If you wanted to purchase goods from only ethical companies you would be shopping at two places- Patagonia and Penzey’s. I’m being hyperbolic of course but it is incredibly difficult to consume ethically. When you follow the thread of any business to their leadership, shareholders, Board of Directors, and acquisitions, most roads lead to villain-level greed. Below are three examples:
You can cancel your Amazon Prime account, but if you buy things from Whole Foods, Audible, or Zappos, use IMDB, Twitch, or a Ring doorbell, watch movies made by MGM, or subscribe to the Washington Post then you give money to Jeff Bezos. Don’t consume from any of those companies? How about Nextdoor, Airbnb, or Uber? Bezos owns millions of shares in these companies. The list of companies that Bezos owns or is a shareholder in will bowl you over.
You can leave the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, but you also need to get rid of your Paypal account, your Tesla, your cryptocurrency, and Open AI. Musk co-founded or has a large stake in all of these.
You can leave Facebook, Instagram, and Threads but you should get rid of WhatsApp and Messenger and get your Oculus lest you support Zuck.
It’s impossible to list all of the other examples but here are a handful *takes deep breath*: The Walton Family (of Wal-mart & Sam’s Club) have ownership in in Arvest Bank, The Denver Broncos, Providence Bank, The LA Rams, The Denver Nuggets, and The Colorado Avalanche; you can quit buying your gas from BP but good luck finding an ethical oil company because even the ones that are allegedly better aren’t; you can shop at Lowe’s instead of Bernie Marcus’s Home Depot but despite being an outspoken MAGA-head and Trump donor Marcus was also notably philanthropic (a signer of The Giving Pledge), especially towards Jewish causes and medical research; last but not least you can stop buying your clothes at the worst offenders (Shein, Cider, H&M, Mango, Zara, Gap, Old Navy, AE, ASOS, etc) but good luck finding affordable, ethically-made, sustainable clothing (or start thrifting). I could go on to other consumer categories but I won’t. The list is endless.
My point? Pick your battles. Let go of ethical irreproachability and virtue signaling and do what you can. Look at your budget, livelihood, and life, and boycott the brands and products that feel right for you.
Now that I unpacked that, let’s go back to leaving social media for ethical reasons and why I won’t be doing it. Ultimately, when I weigh the ethical and emotional cost of social media, there’s a net gain for me. I get more from it than it costs me, and that goes beyond the joy I get from staying updated on all my friends’ cute babies or discovering a GoFundMe to donate to.
I make a living not only as someone who runs a business but as someone who is a working Creative and Performer. Social media completely changed the landscape for both business owners and Creatives/Performers; it’s impossible to go back (to the old days of me standing in Dallas’ West End handing out paper flyers for my comedy show to passersby).
For business owners⁴, social media completely and permanently changed Marketing as we know it. Marketing is incredibly expensive and social media provides businesses a free platform for it. Relying solely on your website and word-of-mouth marketing isn’t enough to keep up with your competitors. One might argue that a business can rely solely on word-of-mouth and grassroots marketing efforts like the old days but in this gal’s opinion, that is incredibly tough. Nowadays, if potential customers/consumers can’t find your business on social media that might indicate that you aren’t legit, aren’t legit enough, or are antiquated. And as a woman I don’t patronize places that I can’t confirm are well-attended and safe. There are countless times when I have visited the website for a bar only to head over to their social media to get a sense of the “vibe” and clientele.
What’s more: I run a non-profit (a non-profit performance venue and training center), and I can think of countless times when social media directly led to a meaningful partnership or a donor. Social media, despite its faults, remains a place where people connect. So for the business I co-founded and still run, leaving social media means more than lost ticket revenue.
As a Performer and Creative person, the impact of social media has been immeasurable. I’ve spent over 20 years on Facebook (and 12 years on Instagram) making connections with other Creatives and Performers. My social media friendships are my 2024 version of a Rolodex. Social media (again, despite its faults) remains a place to connect and discover. I can’t even begin to count the number of creative opportunities that have come my way because of a connection on social media. Over the past twenty years, I’ve collaborated with artists and brands and been solicited for gigs, shows, and teaching opportunities because of social media and its ability to reach far behind what I can through text, email, or face-to-face conversation. Ultimately, I have made social media work for me and not the other way around.
It may sound oogey, but as a Performer or Creative, you are the product and you have to tell people about the product. There’s no easier place to promote yourself and your work to a wide audience than the free platform provided by a social media account; these platforms provide a free tool for you to not only promote yourself and your talent but also provide tools for you to create content and share it. Sure, as a performer, you can and should have a website, but social media platforms make it easy for you to easily update people and for organic discovery of your work. For working Creatives, these platforms get folks to your content, which gets folks to your live performances or IRL⁵ work, which translates to literal dollars in your pocket. That’s not to mention the fact that some Creatives create just for the joy of creating; they aren’t trying to make money or gain notoriety. And social media allows them to do that and share widely- their poetry, their graphic design, their murals, their short films, their textiles- whatever content they are inspired to create; and on social media their creation can easily be shared with others for free.
Do I think we all should connect in person and have more face-to-face interactions? Of course. We all should strive to build IRL community and relationships in this incredibly disconnected age. But that doesn’t mean we can’t also continue to connect online.
Do I think all Performers and Creatives need to stay on social media? Of course not. They should do what’s best for them, their well-being, and their conscience. But, if they leave social media then they needto promote their work fervently through other means. They will need to distribute paper flyers, send texts and emails, and promote their work in person early and often; they will have to do what we did to promote our work before social media: pound the pavement. As for me, y’all can pry social media from my cold, dead hands.
Or…until someone creates a comparable platform and we all go there together.
Notes:
¹no, we don’t pay for social media use, but as they say- “if something is free then you are the product”. Ultimately, even if you aren’t paying for a social media platform you are adding value to shareholders
² yes, I said “him” on purpose since approximately 70% of CEOs are men
³I know, I know, I just wrote about questioning what you read about people on the internet. But the proof is in the pudding with Bezos; the way he runs his companies and how un-philanthropic he is are facts, not rumors. Here are 1, 2, and 3 examples.
⁴ Business Account owners, as you may know, must have a personal social media account to hold a business profile/Meta Business Suite
⁵Mom, this means “in real life”
The Rent is Too Damn High guy was amazing.