Social media is a Plague It has controlled me in ways I do not even think I can put into words for so very long. I was given unrestricted access to the internet at age 7, and I cannot name more than a week straight since where I have not been on the internet, for one reason or another. And I love it. I love the internet, and finding things, and creativity, and learning. I do not love social media. In fact, I hate it. I hate appearances, and being the “best” version of you, and second-guessing the order of the 20-picture (20 whole pictures!! All of you!! What joy!!!) carousel on Instagram, because what if that one picture at the club is too far in at number 14, maybe that cat photo should actually be number 17, no no those two pictures have the same pose so you have to separate them and hm, what if this should be cross-posted to Tiktok? Hell, put it on YouTube shorts too! Save that Tiktok and post it on Twitter, sorry, X, sorry, BlueSky, sorry, maybe just put it on Reels after all. I hate it all. And yet, I must be accessible. What will you do, if you cannot reach me? What will you do, if you do not get an answer within 60 minutes? 60 seconds? What will you do, without that “Ping! Pop! Ping! Notification! Hello, it’s me! Look at me! Listen to me! Ping! Pop! Ping! Hello, it’s me! Notification! Notification! New E-Mail! Look at this Tweet!” So I stopped using them. I deleted Tiktok, I deleted Snapchat, I set a 20-minute time limit on Instagram so I would no longer have time to scroll through Reels, so I could maybe reply to people once a day. And then Wanillaberry introduced me to Neocities. I had a space, suddenly, which felt meaningful. In which everything I wrote was purposeful, in which I could think before I spoke, in which there were no analytics, no engagement ratings, no numbers that I cared about. And it was like a breath of fresh air. You could have that feeling too. You could remember what it feels like to be free. To cure yourself of the Plague. Take your mask off, breathe in the fresh air instead of the vinegar, and enjoy the internet in the way it was intended.