Inverted Hedgehog

An image that often comes to my mind is of Mars Argo in her colorful sweater and a headband with dangling pink rabbit ears on top of it. Looking to the side, far away from the camera’s frustum, she says in her uwu voice, “Delete your Facebook.”

At the same time Titanic Sinclair is spilling some edgy verbal garbage that kills all the substance Computer Show might have had. It was always pretentious and narcissistic, trying to make art by only being obtuse and transgressive while adding absolutely nothing of value, except maybe some minor amusement. What kept it appealing, though, was Mars’ addicting energy. Everything about her was so out of place; it was like seeing a teddy bear soaked in blood… It’s jarring and weird and lodges itself within your brain like a thought parasite.

The whole concept of the “Delete Your Facebook” video is insanely hypocritical. It states that all social networks are a pointless waste of time while itself being a 5-minute time wormhole.

Nonetheless, this one stupid Mars Argo moment stuck with me whenever I was thinking about my virtual presence. My thought parasite was yelling at me – delete your Facebook!

I met a lot of people through social media and gained a lot of friendships I appreciate. And yet, pretty much all of my closest friends are people I met offline. How come?

I was writing statuses and sharing my goofy pictures and memes and gaining likes gave me a sense of value. But at the same time, when I was liking other people’s posts, it was mostly with a blank face and a minimal reaction. Often, it was a mere pleasantry, just me speaking common social media language. I’m sure everyone else is doing the same.

There were great things as well, of course, stuff that made me almost cry with laughter, but mostly it felt like I was using it to feed my ego.

Here I am – present, seen… Ergo, I have value.

With time this became a force of nature, all my instincts were driving me towards the internet, like an addict not even thinking about how he needs a new buzz, I’m letting my whole body get taken over – my fingers touching the screen, my eyes focusing, my mind… blank.

But there was still a thought parasite with Mars’ voice trying to save me from the internet void.

I never deleted my Myspace account, it just sorta died, one more victim of the ever-expanding digital entropy. But this time, it’s me raising a fist, trying to fight for my own freedom and to gain control over my own minuscule, unimportant life.

So I deactivated my Facebook, my Instagram, even my pointless LinkedIn account. I deactivated my Twitter account, my BlueSky account, deleted my Tinder, my Bumble… What remains are only virtual tombstones I forgot about, long dead.

Right now, I am here. Writing. You don’t know my name and I don’t know if you even exist. But if you do, I truly wish you all the best in your journey. Use your life to find joy within yourself. You don’t need an audience.

Delete your Facebook.

At one moment in the video, Mars Argo pulls her pink rabbit ears down, over her eyes, and says, “Look, I’m a swan.” Then she pushes them to the side, revealing a smile.