If you've talked to me in person about Starting Gate or have been following my social media accounts for a bit you're probably aware that I am dropping Facebook and Instagram (I dropped snapchat months ago and never joined tiktock). Deleting my accounts (as much as they'll let me...) and I don't have plans to return but I'm also not going to say I'll "never ever go back." The top reasons I've heard for people leaving Social Media are these: 1. "I can't stand political posts." 2. "I spend too much time on there." Thats it. Those are the only reasons I've seen people use to leave social media. Here are the reasons they actually stay or they go back. 1. "I just feel left out... #FOMO" 2. "I have a lot of childhood friends on there I don't want to lose touch with." 3. This one is never said out loud but did you know that you actually get a dopamine hit (the happy feel good hormone) in your brain when someone likes your post? Facebook has algorithms to show you things in your feed you agree with so you'll hit that like button and encourage the original poster to continue to use the platform like a drug. Because thats what its become to some people... its like a drug that they can't shake even when they've tried to quit a hundred times. My reasons for leaving social media are actually unrelated to any of the above. Well, getting some time back from scrolling will be a big benefit. I am ditching these platforms because of what's happening behind the scenes. Those same algorithms that cause people to stay and continually hit that like button and interact and crave more interaction have key words they they search out. Key phrases and even styles of posts and especially in 2020 a lot of key words and phrases are making censorship come alive in the United States of America. And thats where my biggest issue lies. I am a firm believer in the Constitution of the United States and its pretty clear in there that we as citizens get freedom of speech to say what we want where we want. So when companies start hiding (shadow banning) or straight up deleting posts or profiles of information/people that goes against the mainstream narrative, I see that as a direct offense to what this country was built on. Wheather or not I agree with the words or people being removed from a public forum doesn't matter The rights our not so distant ancestors bled and died for are being ignored. Thats reason 1 I am saying 'peace out' to FB and Insta. Reason 2 is did you know that FB and Insta have changed their terms of service so that come December 20, 2020 you are not allowed to join a class action suit against them if they choose to remove your content or profile? You can try to sue their giant legal team as an individual but you can't gather as a group to protect your rights. Again. I am not planning on suing FB or Instagram. They can do their thing as they wish in a free market BUT I can also do my thing as I wish and decline to utilize their services if I do not agree with how things are being played out. There was a phrase I heard once, I apologize that I can't remember who to credit it to, but it was along the lines of "If you are not paying for something, you are not the customer, you are the product being sold." Did you know Facebook has a background program that reads all of your private messages and tracks you across the internet? They say its for 'advertisement purposes' but when asked about it under oath the head honcho at Facebook refused to speak on it. Sounds sketchy to me. So those are the main reasons I'm done with social media. As a small business its a risky and very brave thing to do to step away from a convenient and annoyingly successful way to market what I do with the horses. But it also feels right. I'm going to depend on *you* a lot though - please share my website and blog posts with anyone you think may be interested in what I do here. Please sign up for my email list and forward them to your friends. This space will be for sharing things I've learned not only from the horses, but also from our chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs, cats, Paul the Peacock and from the Garden. Basically your Homesteader Taylor is about to come out in full force and share everything as I learn how to share the gift of horses with everyone I can and be old fashioned on purpose. Thank you so much for being here. Even if you don't agree with me, you are welcome here. Keep learning, Taylor
