Laura Portwood-Stacer’s article “Media refusal and conspicuous non-consumption: The performative and political dimensions of Facebook abstention” is an interesting take on some people’s vehement dislike of the social media platform and exit its use in very public ways.

What I find fascinating about this article is I have a colleague in the Communications Area of the Humanities Department that has told me of his choice to check out of social media for its failure to be a “genuine” form of communication. I personally balk at sharing photos for fear of Facebook or Instagram choosing to claim it as their property.

But the fact is that Facebook has become “the Club” of sorts where people join to feel included in a community. Some folks toy with the platform, others see it as a true mechanism for getting the word out about what matters to them. It will surely be eclipsed by the next “club” which people will race to join for its feel of “novelty.”

Trying to stay au currant is pretty exhausting and usually the realm of the young, and some folks will inevitably be left behind, most likely the older folk. But people should be careful not to pronounce their exit so loudly; it will make second thoughts all that more difficult to act on.