I wish I could get everyone posting about how they are leaving social media after seeing The Social Dilemma to understand that it actually takes a lot of privilege to be able to disconnect. What do I mean?

For many of us who are #disabled and/or #chronicallyill, the internet has given us our only reliable connection to community, relationships, education, community organizing, and more.

And that was true even BEFORE the pandemic. But now? It’s even more essential for us.

Are there very real problems with social media and the companies that run them that need to be addressed? 100000% YES. But if people simply “unplug” or move to smaller private alternatives, you aren’t actually working towards a solution.

There are a lot of marginalized identities, not just #disabled folks, who depend on the major social media platforms for a variety of reasons. The goal should be to work to fix the issues and hold these companies accountable, not to abandon them.

Yes, I do see the irony that this is my first real thread after basically quitting social media for a couple weeks. But that's just it - even when I *wanted* to leave b/c the constant onslaught of ugliness I get online was finally too much for me to take? I couldn't stay gone.

I lost my ability to do my job. I lost my ability to connect to the world outside our Covid isolation. I lost a lot of important mental health connections. I *couldn't* actually disconnect more than temporarily. It's not possible for me.

So if you saw the documentary and you're (rightfully) concerned about the ways social media companies are behaving? Please don't simply delete Facebook or move to a private alternative. Organize, advocate, and join the fight for new legislation and accountability.

Don't just just quit because you *can.* Consider the many marginalized populations that *can't* just quit, and make it a priority to fix the system for *EVERYONE* to thrive.