Noted Social Media Polluter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is Giving Up Social Media

AOC image by Senate Democrats
Full disclosure here: I think this is one of the few times Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has the right idea. Social media is largely trash . Not always trash, but largely trash. Brodigan and I frequently tell triggered people to get offline and go outside, as nothing is a greater time and emotional suck as social media seems to be. So right on time, and in full alignment with many Millennials her age , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is limiting her social media ways, as she thinks social media is harmful. Again, I agree. But let’s not pretend she’s innocent in some of social media’s harm. We’ll talk more after the pull-quotes.
“I actually think that social media poses a public health risk to everybody,” she said. “There are amplified impacts for young people, particularly children under the age of 3 with screen time. But I think it has a lot of effects on older people. I think it has effects on everybody. Increased isolation, depression, anxiety, addiction, escapism.”
I actually agree with her. On this. Not to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but I’m so glad I grew up pre-internet. My childhood was spent outside, digging in the dirt, playing with sticks, going to the creek with cats in tow, stringing yarn over the house to create spider webs, clipping a towel to my neck to make a cape. No Facebook, no Twitter, no internet, no smartphones, tablets, nothing. I’m so grateful.
Ocasio-Cortez, who writes all of her own tweets and Instagram posts, said she’s trying to limit her consumption of social media to the workweek. “Like every once in a while, you’ll see me hop on Twitter on the weekends, but for the most part, I take consumption of content, when it comes to consumption and reading, I take the weekends off.”
Same. I do not tweet on the weekends, nor do I check Twitter on the weekends. Time to disconnect and unplug.
These thoughts on social media came from AOC’s guest appearance on podcast “ Skullduggery ” by the way.
But you didn’t come here to read about how, at least, in this case, AOC is right. She is partially right, but let’s not also pretend some of the toxic crap coming from social media isn’t coming from AOC herself. And hey, as someone who works on the internet, in news and politics, I’d be a hypocrite to bitch about Alexandria’s Twitter sharts. Read:  AOC Defends Omar’s 9/11 Comments by Attacking Dan Crenshaw. A War Veteran.
I’m going to classify AOC’s constant twittering as the “anxiety” social media helps create. She also, as other people have pointed out, may be scaling back on the social media exposure due to the exposure she’s been getting, not all of it good, due to her social media exploits. The more she types and speaks, the more her numbers plunge. As a working theory. Read  AOC Lashes Out Over Disapproval Rating, Blames Right Wing Conspiracy .
But I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, let’s say it’s both: social media is sucking the life out of her after she’s been using it to suck up all the attention.
Speaking of writing her own tweets:
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