I have been thinking about this for a while, but I have decided to delete my accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Effective January 1st, 2026, all of it will be gone. Instead, I will read more books and write about it.
At this point, I could write an eloquent story about mindless scrolling, hours lost in niche ‘research’, and my diminishing attention span. But I won’t. I just noticed that I don’t read as much as I want to, I don’t care as deeply as I should, and I don’t feel as excited as I once was about thinking, thanking, and the poetry of life.
Or, I could perhaps come up with a clever manifesto about how everything and everyone is crushed by the Machine. I could repeat all the Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, but someone has already written that book. I could write about my shallow brain (but that is old news), or about anxiety (here is the book) and how we all turn into what we love (so we better get serious about spending our time well.)
Instead, I will share what I had and how I will upgrade my life. I joined Facebook around 2008 when all my colleagues in England did. It was handy because we were located at the centre of an international NGO, and Facebook was the perfect way to keep in touch with friends and colleagues across the globe. Later, when we lived and worked in Eastern Europe, we noticed the same pattern. But over time, the amount of nonsense became unbearable, and I stopped using it actively.
I became a heavy user of Twitter during the global pandemic. It helped me out of isolation. I met some wonderful friends, fun and interesting people who care about the things I care about. There was a generous sense of community. Later, I used it to keep me informed about the war in Ukraine and other international affairs issues. I tested the first parts of the Cultural Literacy Workshop on Twitter as well. But that Twitter is long gone. And my account will go by the end of the year.
“What will you do instead?” I will take a rest because I feel tired. And I need to develop some alternative patterns so that I can restore my capacity for reading and writing. You will read more here: EuropeAtMidnight.com
“What took you so long?” Inertia, to be honest, at least in part. But also the fear of loss. Of friends and of references to interesting things to read. But I also feel the pull of a remark by Donald Knuth, who goes without e-mail, because “I don’t need to be on top of things, I want to be at the bottom of things.” Yet, I have a practical problem: how to stay in touch with so many people once I have left the platform? I don’t know. But I have some ways in which you can keep in touch, if you want to:
1 You can always contact me here: JelleHuisman.com/contact
2 I write about faith and culture at Europe At Midnight (once or twice a month, on Fridays). Sign up here (easy unsubscribe if you don’t like it.)
3 I write Quarterly Personal Updates. (about life and work, with a light touch, quarterly).
