Cold Turkey

By Hank Silverberg

I did it. I stayed away from social media for an entire week! Some of you, or at least those over 50, might not think that’s a big deal, but in today’s world, for someone who has worked in “the media” for 40 years, it is. 

The experiment began right after I filed my blog last week. It was inspired after I had a stupid argument on Facebook with an old friend which left him very angry and me very frustrated. The subject of the argument is irrelevant. In fact, I am still not sure what we were arguing about. 

So, I decided it was time to go cold turkey on social media. For seven whole days I did not read my Facebook newsfeed or post anything. I did not read tweets, retweet or post anything there either, and I avoided LinkedIn too, even though I need it to help evaluate how many people actually read this blog. 

I went back to the way it was in the "old days," watching two national news broadcasts (CBS and NBC) and avoiding cable news. While waiting for my car to be repaired (a subject for another blog), I did something I hadn’t done in years. I picked up an actual newspaper and read it. Except for the obituaries, I read every word of the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star. On the second trip to the repair shop (long story), I read much of the Washington Post. I read the contents of these papers on line all the time, but something about holding that newsprint, and smelling it, relaxed me. The news was the same, the latest crime stories, plans for new highways or what Congress is NOT doing. I confess I avoided any story with the words "Special Counsel" in it.  I see baseball box scores on line every day,  but looking at them in the newspaper brought back visions of my childhood before cable TV, when sometimes you had to wait until the next day's paper to get the details behind the final score. That's if you didn’t hear the game on the radio.  

I found it hard not to check social media. I had one breakdown when I saw a post from my daughter updating her job status. I went in, only to discover it was the promotion she had CALLED me about earlier in the week. She called instead of texting me. That in itself is the subject for another blog post. 

So, what did I miss? A quick glance on Saturday morning when the embargo ended was enlightening. 

  On Facebook, all I really missed was a few pictures of my extended family up north at the annual Passover Seder, which I could not attend this year. Surprise, the grand nephews keep growing. My daughter had posted some pictures of the Seder at our house, but I was there, so no big deal. There were also several requests, forwarded by my friends, from various Democrats seeking money for their campaigns. Sorry. Not interested in wasting my money at this point in time. 

On Twitter, I missed more whining from the President of the United States. 
______________________________________________________

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

Only high crimes and misdemeanors can lead to impeachment. There were no crimes by me (No Collusion, No Obstruction), so you can’t impeach. It was the Democrats that committed the crimes, not your Republican President! Tables are finally turning on the Witch Hunt!

9:47 AM · Apr 22, 2019 · Twitter for iPhone

______________________________________________________

Also on Twitter, there were some very uninformed, stupid comments from Ann Coulter and her critics, and some press releases from my Congresswoman and both Virginia Senators. 

On linkedin I missed a few people promoting their latest project or praising someone else’s. 


There was very little on any of the social media platforms I found worthy of sorting through a week late other than those pictures of my grand nephews from that Seder. 
I did find a post where someone I didn't know, in a thread about the measles outbreak that I had participated in, made fun of my name simply because I posted an article from ABC News debunking his faulty theory. He said that the outbreaks were all connected to illegal immigrants. The article said they traced the outbreak to  patient one--a legal visitor from Eastern Europe.  

 Here’s what I did miss. I  could have used the almost daily debate about the troubles of my Red Sox and the barbs with fans of the Bronx team. (I never use the "Y" word when referring to that team.) And I like the intelligent exchanges with friends and former colleagues about important news stories. I didn’t miss the nonsensical insults, rumors, and fake news posted by many people on both Facebook and Twitter, and the uninformed and often vitriolic insults that go with them.  

  Perhaps this experiment didn’t last long enough. Maybe I should try it for a month? No, I don’t think I could handle it.


Note to Readers:

I write this on a Sunday morning, the day after another violent attack on a Synagogue—this time in California. Once again Jews have been the target of someone inspired by the right wing to commit violence. I note that the 19-year-old suspect, whose name I will not use, is also a suspect in a fire set at a California Mosque.

Despite the daily confrontations in Gaza and the West Bank, Jews and Muslims in the United States have a great deal in common.

Both minorities are the targets of increased violence by right wing extremists. It’s time for the two groups to put aside the politics of Tehran and Tel Aviv.  We need to work together in the great melting pot which is the United States to combat a growing threat that harms us all.  It's also time for law enforcement and the Justice Department to focus as much on right wing extremists in the United States as they do with radical Islam overseas. 


 (Your suggestions and comments are welcome)



(you can buy copies of my book at Amazon.com, BB.com or hanksilverbergbooks.com or  email me at hsilverberg@gmail.com for details on how to buy a signed copy at a reduced rate)