As more of us are pulling the plug on some social media, I had a thought. We can keep finding each other as long as there are ways to look each other up by our names.
Some of us are lucky enough to have unusual names that are easy to look up. (Lucky for connecting with other activists and the public, I mean. Maybe not necessarily lucky in terms of the less beneficial aspects of being highly findable.)
Some fellow ecosocial activist / educators have created pen names, so to speak. I follow a lot of people on the social media whose given-at-birth names I don’t have any idea of. They might be hard to look up if certain platforms go down. But creating a name/handle might be in one’s interest.
Regarding social media platforms, I’m staying pretty much where I am for now, but many have departed for other channels, or simply left entirely. I can’t recommend leaving entirely, unless you have 100% off-line activism. Nothing wrong with that either.
Another route is to just keep email, phone, text, and maybe a blog. All of those things are fairly low bandwidth. Although they don’t have the same reach as social media, they have their advantages.
For now, I am who I am, and I’m always findable by those who need me. My phone number has been out there for a while, I’ve had the same number since I believe 1999. But even without the phone, you can find me. There are others with my name but not many. Maybe only one other on the planet, and that one might be a bot!
Think about it! Your name — whether it’s your given name, or one you chose for yourself — can be your address. (You could also have an alternative handle; many of us in the pagan community do. My pagan handle is dragonfly.)
“Name as portable address.” Could come in handy in these times of unintended necessary mobility. Keep in touch, sweet friends!