The newsprint antidote

I’ve reached the point where I can barely stand social media. I’m a middle-aged suburban mom of four whose peers seem to love Instagram reels or scrolling through Facebook. Instead, I’m bombarded by content generated by algorithms that are so polarizing it gives me anxiety and see nothing but children and adults glazed over at their phones in a hypnotic trance.

I’d rather sit down in peace with a copy of the Marietta Daily Journal instead of that hyper-partisan, clinically-addictive online mess. The editorial page might so homogenous that I don’t see my demographic represented in the viewpoints, but dang, at least no one’s slinging mud directly at me.

Social media can be helpful in a myriad of ways if used and consumed responsibly. Sharing information that might be repressed, like eye-witness accounts of real-time abuse of power by federal agents, comes to mind. Sometimes critical information published at the speed of light is crucial for justice. I’d just like that without the hefty serving of a trolls with ulterior motives.

Listen, I get that I may be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole here in the South. I’m a Democrat (I know, clutch your pearls!) who doesn’t always expect a warm welcome from the other side of the aisle. According to what I see online, my “kind” are demonic, unpatriotic Marxists who want to turn all children transgendered. Last time I checked, I was just an Air Force wife and mom who loves learning, serving others, volunteering in church ministry and being an open-minded friend to all, while supporting my local PBS station. Pretty scary, I know! If you don’t count yourself among this cohort, imagine how it must feel to see your lawmakers, tasked with representing the masses, referring to your entire voting block as evil. Now magnify this by the millions of re-tweets, shares and likes. It sucks, for both sides. The nastiness is exhausting and defeating no matter who your voted for, am I right? It wouldn’t hurt to tone down the rhetoric, folks… and that applies to all y’all.

Out with the wild west of online echo chambers and in with your friendly neighborhood newsroom. I believe in the power of print because local newspapers are like a town square. If I’m strolling the shops in downtown Marietta, I’m not concerned with who is evaluating me based on my voter registration to place me firmly in the column of ridicule and chastise. Online, I would not receive the same courtesy. On social media we are divided into factions that have slippery slopes to anger while being vulnerable to keyboard warriors waiting to comment that which would be much harder to say face to face. I don’t want my news and events delivered dripping in bias and ulterior motive, with a spate of atrocious comments meant to incite. Give it to me straight, please.

It's quite real that foreign adversaries are using targeted disinformation campaigns to influence negative outcomes in our country by sowing chaos, distrust and divisiveness on both sides through social media. At the same time, tech giants have figured out the algorithms that tap into the darker side of humanity equal more time spent on their sites and more profits. Anger and divisiveness are not only making the Tech Bros richer, our responses, reactions and ultimately our behavior is playing right into the hands of the very real adversaries who want nothing more than to keep knocking our country down a few pegs.

I wonder if you too are ready to stop feeding that beast. In actuality, I’m not an evil Democrat and you’re not an (insert pointless insult here) Republican. We’re just two folks that love our community and country, and want the best for our family, friends and neighbors. Full stop. While there may be some critical issues we still need to sort out, I propose we start here and build upon a foundation based on assuming the best in each other.

According to Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative, since 2005 more than 3,200 print newspapers have vanished. Before you start complaining about having to pay for news, think about what we’ve given up with this downfall of local journalism. It feels like the big issues are decided on a national stage, but that’s short sighted. In fact, the things that impact our day-to-day life the most – traffic pattern issues, property taxes, access to clean water, waste management, responsible growth, the amount we pay for energy and where it comes from, who is getting big tax breaks and why, what initiatives we want to spend our hard-earned tax dollars on that benefit our communities, etc. – all of this happens at the city, county and state level.

While most people are not involved directly by voting or attending public meetings (but most certainly should!), we can at the very least understand the decisions that are being made and how they impact us by trusting in local journalists to deliver the facts and keep the powers that be accountable by continuing to report on these very important issues. If we’re not paying for subscriptions to keep the funding going, real journalists can’t do the work. Want to see more robust reporting? Subscribe and support. You can’t girl math your way out of that equation.

I, for one, am very grateful to have the solid reporting of the MDJ delivered to my mailbox every Tuesday through Saturday. (Sorry AJC, your digital-only model may work for you, but not for me.) Reading my local paper makes me feel like a respected and valued community member. I may not have all the answers to how we can stop this bitter divide from enveloping us completely, but I know that I can spend less time in the chaotic, despondent halls of social media and more time getting my fingers black with newsprint while appreciating my local community and the bipartisan relationships that strive to make our little slice of Georgia healthy and terrifically outstanding. Thanks for that, MDJ.

Darcy Castro is a resident of Cobb County, mother of four and retired Air Force wife. She cares about creating community, building relationships, meeting the needs of others and leaving things better than she found them. Above all, Darcy is committed to collaboration for the common good and is always looking for new and creative ways to help others. She can be reached at DarcyCastro.com.