I killed off Facebook and Twitter years ago, but opted out of the news for the most part when the pandemic kicked off.

I don't really intend to go back.

I skim enough to get a grasp of what's going on about once or twice a day (a la reading the evening paper of yore) but tend to stick to aggregated/curated sources and investigate personal curiosity rather than succumbing to salaciousness and surface-deep echo chambered "news" content about some dumb tweet from some misguided soul.

I am a lighter man, but part of me began to wonder what the cost was: will society pass me by? The longer I have spent operating in this fashion, the less I care.

I find I have so much more empathy, especially for my kids & wife. It has truly given me a fresh outlook, and allowed me to focus on spending my time in ways I actually value.