Joel Mathis

The Week: "The platform has become a gigantic factory of extremist conspiracy theories and genocidal hatred — part of a general trend in which right-wing publications and political campaigns have come to dominate the site — all while bleeding traditional journalism to death." With a brief exception at the start of the pandemic, I've been off Facebook for a year-and-a-half. Long story short: It bummed me out. But it was also literally addictive -- I found myself checking the service in any free moment. I had to go cold turkey, and honestly, as bad as the world seems, it feels better without Facebook in my life. The funny thing is, Facebook might be even more integrated into our lives right now, when social distancing is the norm. I remember well how much I depended on the service for any connection with the world when I was undergoing my surgeries in 2011. People all over the planet are experiencing similar isolation right now. And it's worrisome to think that isolat

If Facebook really has biased its feed results against conservative outlets, that truly sucks. But I wonder if my conservative friends think that warrants government intrusion into the company's affairs, and if so: On what basis?

This afternoon was a rainy Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, and thanks to the good graces of my wife I got to spend it in my favorite way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon anywhere : By myself in a coffee shop, with a good book in hand and frequent pauses to stare out the window. The glory of it all was enhanced by a rash decision, made earlier this week in a fit of pique about something or other: I'd deactivated my Twitter and Facebook accounts. The decision alarmed a few of my friends, some of whom immediately contacted my wife through her Facebook account to ensure that I was OK. I was. I am. But it has been an adjustment. Somewhere in the last couple of years, I've become accustomed to sharing any short, stray thought that crossed my mind with hundreds of friends and acquaintances. In the last few days, I've caught myself ready to share some joke about my 18-month-old son's activities -- only to catch and remind myself that, no, that's not something th