The One Platform I'd Pull The Plugs On

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If I have the power to ban any social media app, it will be Facebook. I really can't quite place it, but there's just something about Facebook that shows people running and reasoning with their emotions rather than sense.

Notably, Facebook is not entirely bad because I have had solid connections from there, but as I grew in maturity, I have come to see Facebook as a platform of nitwits (No offence intended).

You know I have had friends delete their Facebook profiles, and when we communicate via WhatsApp, and I ask why, some will just tell me they outgrew it. But then, others tend to be more specific, amongst which was an old acquaintance.

We had lost contact for years till I found him on Instagram. Although I didn't drop a message then, he would go on to contact me via WhatsApp after a while. Upon comtact, I had inquired about his Facebook profile, and he informed me that at his current stage of life, he can't just be seen engaging on Facebook due to how quick they are to insult.

At first I thought, "Oh, he's just being egocentric," but then after he analyzed the situation for me, I saw sense in it, and even I started to withdraw from there.

So, according to this my friend, he has a driver, a housekeeper, a security guard, and a cook. He also told me about the amount of respect that he commands and then cited that like his domestic help, there are people not on his level who equally have a Facebook account and would be quick to abuse him over his opinions. Something they won't dare in real life.

He concluded by stating, in order for him not to bring himself to roll in the mud with people of lesser social status plus IQ, he decided to keep his distance.

I mean, I can't blame him because I have had my own fair share of downgrades and attacks from trolls. I remember my early days on Facebook; I was young and filled with energy, and for someone who holds strongly to her opinions, I was ever ready to defend them and slam anyone back with abusive words if they came at them. My partner at the time did have his reservations over my conduct, and he would seldom complain about it to me.

It wasn't until after I had graduated uni that he (my partner) reminded me of my upgrade. In his words, I am way above the people that I argue and curse out with. According to him, if such persons see me offline, they won't be able to cough, much less speak, so why do I downgrade myself to their level to prove a point? He would often quesion me.

Well, as a previously stubborn female, I didn't listen to his counsel until it actually started playing out. I would meet some of the people who knew me from Facebook, and they were usually overwhelmed to speak, as they say I look nothing like my online personality and activities.

At a point, it got really embarrassing when upon inquiry, they'd say I'm more calm, mature, and responsible in person. I would often get these reviews because at the time I did gather over 15k followers, and I was almost becoming a public figure till I reduced my activities.

One paramount reason why I took a break from Facebook was due to an online brawl. I had just gotten done rolling in the mud with a Facebook user who insulted me over an opinion I shared on my profile. I was going to block the person afterwards to prevent him from coming at me again. But then, I thought to check his profile.

It is worth noting that I do not usually bother to check profiles before blocking but on this particular occasion I did, and when I saw the person I had just had an exchange of verbal abuse with, I became really embarrassed because he was way younger than the last born of our family and still in secondary school.

That encounter really shook me such that I started pondering on the words of my ex and that of my friend. I was more angry at myself for letting on such insults from an individual who lacked the understanding of the message embedded in my post. Lessons were indeed learnt and thankfully, I was introduced to Hive, where my thoughts are being read and respected.

I do have intentions of returning to Facebook, but only when I have rebranded and cultivated a more mature approach to handling trolls.