The Breakup We All Need

I've been on social media for over half of my life. And truthfully? A lot of good has come from it. I love connecting with people, sharing my life, and keeping in touch with friends in family while I'm rotting away in a hotel room across the world. It's an incredible tool when used appropriately.

But it was getting to be too much. I had already stopped posting as much on Facebook, only when it seemed right and not random. When Twitter went to hell because of that crazy man (I had literal Russian propaganda pop up on my feed; that was the end of that), I was devastated— I always said they'd have to pry that website from my cold, dead hands. Bluesky emerged as an alternative, and it feels like early Twitter. And of course who could forget the dopamine rush of Instagram and TikTok (which I deleted completely as well).

Enshittification happened. The apps never end, much like my scrolling, and soon it would start to cost me my mental health. I don't think I have a bad life, but the constant comparison where everyone is always glitter and rainbows just doesn't match with reality. I at least try to paint a realistic picture.

New Year's Eve, I bebopped through PDX on a work trip. I stopped at the Powells with the intention of getting a new journal and a book to change my life. Due to construction, their selection of journals was nonexistent. But this book caught my eye: How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price. It's not a very long read, but it is rude and terrifying about how much we (gulp, I) use our phones.

And to therapize myself, I think it comes from the need to be connected. Of course, we all want that, but I'll take it a step further: I'm a news and weather junkie, and I've always been in tune with what's happening. I remember as a kid not wanting to watch movies because— what if something happened in the world? They can't break through via VHS or DVD to tell me what catastrophe just took place. Perhaps my own lesson here is to let go and let the world do what the world is going to do.

So I'm taking a leap of faith. And I'm not doing it as exactly prescribed. As I've mentioned before, social media is a salve for me when I'm halfway across the world and missing my people. But I only need to miss a select few.

My phone doesn't live by my bed as I sleep anymore. I've used an actual alarm clock to wake up when needed. My social media use is way down, as I only check it when I'm on my laptop. I've kept the messaging apps for obvious reasons, and I try to reach out when I'm not out and about in the world.

As far as 2026 starting out, I was hopeful, though that's waning quickly. The glamor is over: we lost our China routes, so I'll be a real freight dawg, flying mostly domestic turns in the middle of the night. Furthermore, I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed next week and have a terrible schedule next month. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, but I have no big plans to look forward to, no man on my mind, or no big changes on the horizon— yet.

I'm not a tech person, and AI is not in my direct purview. I know it's incorporated in my life somehow behind the scenes, but it's imminent for all of us. Just like social media (and aside from all the water consumption), it's not inherently bad or good. It's a tool. But I do know that as we become the product in this late-stage capitalistic hellscape, community will be the commodity. Your interactions with people in real life will be (and are, currently) more important than what you read on your screen, even this one right now.

I've set it up where you can comment on my posts, and I'd love to stay connected. I've also been emailing the old fashioned way, so feel free to drop me a line— I have a ramshackle contact page listed at the top!

All that to say, my word for this year is "clearing." Clearing my mind, clearing space, and clearing the energy. And if you come for me, I'll clear you. Period!

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