You can check out anytime you like ...
Oh hi! This is the Downtown Arcade! I'm thrilled you signed up. It means a lot to me and I'm glad we'll be in touch. As always, just hit reply if you wanna discourse. Here we go.
Facebook and Twitter really don't want you to delete your accounts.
I just deleted my accounts. That should be it, right? No. There's a 30-day wait before they're gone for good. I have 30 long days to think about whether this is really what I want to do. (It is.) I kinda wish I could just ... delete the accounts? Not wait a month? But this is not how social media companies work. No no no.
I wish you could have seen me deleting my accounts. I called Ereck in to watch because I wanted moral support. What's hilarious: This was the third time in three weeks that I called him in to watch me delete my accounts. Maybe he doesn't think it's hilarious 😂, but seriously, my shmoopy woopy has been so patient and I am grateful.
Why three times? Stuff kept coming up. Once I delayed the big moment because I suddenly realized I didn't have my Facebook comments. Facebook lets you download all your content except comments on posts. That's maddening. When they don't suck, comments are Facebook's best feature after birthdays. But I'm pretty sure you can't save them. I still have my memories.
I'm excited to finally be moving on. Social media platforms are not nice places. Especially Facebook. As I was researching the comments question I briefly looked for answers in the Facebook sub on Reddit and OMG. It is a dumpster fire. Everyone knows there's a lot of anger on Facebook about everything. On r/facebook all that angry energy is directed at ... Facebook. "WHY WAS MY ACCOUNT SUSPENDED???" That's every post. Good lord. Bye.
The shipping news
For a place its size, Tennessee's Sevier County sure does make national headlines a lot. I worked there for four years as a daily newspaper journalist so I'm always attentive to these stories.
Generally the news is good. Favorite daughter Dolly Parton did something admirable. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a nice place to hike.
But the news last week was serious. A wall of ice collapsed at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, injuring three. I haven't seen any updates about them and I hope everyone is OK.
CNN interviewed fire chief Tony Watson, who was a regular source for me when I was on the Pigeon Forge beat. I know Watson to be a man of quiet eloquence and this quote lingers with me: "Something caused that ice to fall off of that wall."
Race for third
The 2020 Olympic Games ended Sunday and everyone has gotten on with their lives. Except here at the house. We take a different approach, going back to the Sochi games in 2014. We DVR all the broadcast coverage and watch it sequentially, savoring moment after moment. This takes months, and given the scheduling weirdness our Summer Games viewing could plausibly bump up against the Winter Games, which start Feb. 4. I don't mind.
As you may know, I love golf on TV. So this time we detoured briefly from NBC to Golf Channel so we could watch the Men's Individual Stroke Play event. What a thrill that was! Gold medalist Xander Schauffele has a shy smile for everyone! And holy cow, a seven-man playoff for bronze! You've never seen so much excitement over third place. Golf is weird and that playoff is all the proof you need.
Good word
"Isn't the whole point of education supposed to be that it diminishes people's susceptibility to dangerous nonsense?"
-- Jaron Lanier
My spiritual guide
In this newsletter I don't want dwell on quitting social media, even though that is of course why I started the Downtown Arcade in the first place. But! I've learned a lot and I'd like to share some of it.
Most importantly I want to acknowledge my biggest influence: journalist and Vox founder Ezra Klein, now of the New York Times opinion section. On his old Vox podcast he interviewed a ton of people about the problems of social media and the benefits of quitting. Jaron Lanier. Cal Newport. Jenny Odell. Tristan Harris. Dave Eggers. Andrew Marantz. Zeynep Tufekci. Jia Tolentino.
These conversations transformed me, as did books I learned about from them like Newport's "Digital Minimalism" and Lanier's "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now." Klein was already my No. 1 media crush thanks to that big brain of his. Then he changed my life. I've gotta write him a fan letter.