There’s this singer-songwriter out there named Steve Poltz, and I’ve been lucky enough to see him in concert several times and even meet him, thanks a mutual friend.
(Celebrity name-drop: Poltz dated Jewel and co-wrote her hit song “You Were Meant For Me,” and usually plays a small venue in Chico while on tour. You could look it up.)
Poltz has written a lot of catchy songs the past 30 years that combine humor, wit and absurdity to some pretty memorable, if not quite infamous, degrees. To me, there’s one that always rises to the forefront this time of year.
It’s called “Give You Up For Lent,” and it’s a good springboard into this latest chapter of “Mike tries to fix all that ails our world.”
On face value, it’s a song about a good-natured guy who makes some horrible life decisions and then lives with the consequences (“You moved in to my condo, and started charging me rent”) before, after one judo-whooping too many, decides to give his girlfriend up for Lent.
And with the beginning of Lent just three days away, I thought it was a good time to invite our readers to join me in giving up a different kind of abusive relationship beginning March 2: social media.
That’s right. Come Ash Wednesday, I’ll be joining a good number of people who have made it a tradition to give up all forms of social media for 40 days, and I promise anyone who joins me will feel better for the effort.
Admittedly, it’s tricky for me. We’re running a newspaper here. Our stories go on social media. So while my column and editorials (and all of our E-R work) will still be out there, what you won’t see is anything from me on a personal level. I’m going to delete the Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone, and vow to never look at TikTok — which, since I barely know what TikTok is, won’t be very difficult to do.
This won’t be my first Lent dumping of social media, so I know what to expect. Inevitably, there’s a lot of initial withdrawal — you mindlessly pick up your phone and start looking for that big blue button with the ‘F’ and when it’s not there, you feel momentarily disconnected from, well, your fix. In time, though, that fades — especially as you remind yourself that what you’re really doing is freeing yourself from a whole lot of unnecessary frustration and anxiety.
Because, really, isn’t that what this well-intentioned portal to photographs of family members and tasty meals has become? Our world’s biggest source of strife, division and anger? Too many of us spend hours every day practically bathing in the toxic muck, complaining about people we don’t agree with — while never making any effort to work out any underlying problems. (Why do that when your latest insult might get 17 likes from your like-minded friends?)
I’m here to tell you that if you pulled the plug for 40 days, neither the city, state nor world are going to be one bit worse off as a result. Dare I say the naysayers can pick right back up naysaying about the things they were naysaying about 40 days ago if they choose. (Just look back 40 days from today and see what the naysayers were naysaying about then if you don’t believe me.)
Or, maybe … they won’t. See, an underlying idea of Lent is, you give something up but fill that time by doing something better. And boy, are there plenty of “better things” to do in life than repeatedly pat yourself on the back in an echo chamber. Go out. Meet people. Talk to people you disagree with and try a little kindness. Find a new hobby. Or, better yet, rediscover an old one that you gave up long ago because you spend too much time on Facebook.
It works. It really does. So, every few years, I stop. I always feel better for the effort.
So I’m wondering — who else does this? And if it’s you, would you be willing to share your social media-free experience with us?
We’d like to do a story that’ll run Ash Wednesday highlighting a few folks from a mix of backgrounds who are ditching social media for Lent. We’d talk to you ahead of time, check in with you a couple of times during those 40 days to see how it’s going, and then — rebirth! — come back just before Easter to see how the experience worked out for you.
Again, I promise one thing — nobody is going to be worse off as a result. A few battle scars might heel and more of us might even feel some rediscovery about the truly beautiful things in life.
There’s something worth writing a song about.
Mike Wolcott is editor of the Enterprise-Record. He’ll be on vacation next week, so “Editor’s Notes” will return March 13. You can still email him at mwolcott@chicoer.com; if you’d like to drop social media for Lent, please let reporter Jennie Blevins know by emailing her at jblevins@chicoer.com.
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February 27, 2022 at 06:16PM
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