I remember in the 1990s when the Internet was new. I told my parents that it was a wonderful thing. I mentioned that soon encyclopedias would be accessible with the touch of a finger. They just sighed and smiled.

I forget when Facebook first came out, but I know that I had an account, and like most people I wanted to have lots of friends. It was nice to be able to contact people I knew in High School, but then a funny thing happened. It all seemed empty, and when the political fighting started, I sighed and smiled and logged off for a long time.

That’s the extent of my social media activity. I have never been interested in Tik Toc or even Twitter. I still use Facebook from time to time, family stuff. I unfriended a bunch of people I didn’t even really know after learning that a lot of scammers pretend to be people I know. I remember a former coworker sent a friend request, so I accepted. I asked this person if they remember some other coworkers. They did not respond to my question, but they did ask a favor, something to do with an email address. I unfriended them quickly.

I think the reason my parents sighed and smiled was because they knew human nature. As an old man myself now, I can see it. Nothing ever really changes. Scammers and propaganda roll with the changes. The only reasons I still use Facebook from time to time is that deleting an account seems undoable. I’ve tried. Another reason is some of my family members still use the Messenger part, so I keep it for them.

I have an ongoing conversation with my living brothers that has lasted years–not on social media but just by chatting via our phone numbers. We share photos over the phone and skip the social media part.