Leaving Social Media

Initially the following was going to be a comment on a blog post by Sarah Chumacero (Living Life in Full Spectrum) but I quickly realised I had a lot more to say. You can find Sarah’s specific blog post, “Lessons in Friendship” which I make reference to here: www.llifs.com.au/blog/friendship

I highly recommend you read Sarah’s post before continuing, and whilst you’re there, make sure you bookmark Sarah’s website and check out the rest of her amazing paranormal blog.

You might have noticed that I’ve stepped away from social media recently. Let me explain.

Many of the points Sarah touches on around the personalities within the paranormal field are the reason I've stepped away from the Paranormal Communities on social media, and social media as a whole. As Sarah rightly states: "There are some amazing people in the paranormal field. You know them. You are friends with them." but equally, unfortunately I've often found less of the positive, and far too much of the negative. The poisonous, vitriolic, "I know better and your opinion isn't valid" types are rife within the paranormal. I won’t name and shame these people because that does nothing but lower me to their level, but to somewhat echo Sarah’s statement, you know them, and likely actively distance from them.

And the most frustrating part of this is ultimately we're dealing with a subject matter that we will likely NEVER know the answers to until we kick the bucket, bite the bullet, and push up the daisies. So in the meantime, is there really the need for such poison?

Well again, as Sarah also rightly states "There are people that don't like me and there are some that no matter what I do won't like me. Again this is just the reality of life." And this is so painfully true. The reality of life is that humans will more often than not seek to divide than to unite, whether its politics, religion, human rights issues, or whether grandmas ghost moved my cars keys or if it was my other half because I put them somewhere dumb again and ultimately they would've got lost regardless. Humans will always find a reason for conflict.

My personal stance on the paranormal and investigating/Ghost-hunting is that, honestly, who cares if you believe in poltergeists or not? Who cares if you're fascinated by the concept of Demons? Who cares if you want to wander around graveyards at night saying "Is anyone there..."? And who cares if your mate Dave farted in an abandoned house and you thought it was a ghost? At the end of the day, if you’re there for the thrill of the spooky, or you honestly want to take a concise scientific approach to the big question, then that's great! Crack on! Because the simple fact is we're all looking for the same answer that humans have asked for a millennia; what happens when we die? That’s it. And as far as I'm concerned, as long as you're conducting yourself with respect for others in an ethical manner, maintaining a healthy consideration for your own safety and the safety of your fellow hunters, and you seek to learn, have fun, build friendships, and not bluntly or aggressively preach your stance or con and profit from the grief or gullibility of others, then fill your boots! Because until we have the definitive answers to life, death and the meaning of it all, what we do know is that life as we know it is so damn short and can be taken away in the blink of an eye, and we may not get another chance, so make the most of it where you can.

And this leads on to my decision to step away from Social Media.

I've come to realise that I allowed myself to get too involved in the politics of the paranormal, and it's not healthy. Not only have I found that my passion for the paranormal was beginning to falter, but also my mental health has suffered. So I’ve done some soul searching, and concluded that I honestly enjoyed the paranormal most when I was alone. Just doing my own thing, and not feeling like I had to impress anyone, or answer to anyone's jumped up opinions, theories, and inflated egos. For the best part of 30 years I’ve quietly made own path in the paranormal and was content with that. Naturally I've always conducted my interests ethically, and have never sought to belittle or harm anyone, dead or alive, and that's how I will continue as always, whilst searching for my own answers to the big question.

And now for some positivity because good lord we need some in the world right now. All of the above aside, I have equally met some amazing people by diving further into the "Paranormal Community" via Social Media. I won’t list them all, but hopefully they know who they are. I've learned a lot, been introduced to resources I wouldn't have found on my own, and even had the opportunity to speak to a few of my personal paranormal heroes, which is something I would've likely never achieved wandering this path alone, and whilst I'm stepping back from Social Media, I intend to maintain contact with the genuinely decent, positive friends and acquaintances I’ve met, and hopefully I will make more as time goes by.

And before there is any panic. I very much intend to continue making videos on YouTube, and the TTGB channel won’t be disappearing, as both media production and the paranormal are my two biggest passions, but regarding Twitter, Instagram, and any other Social Media, I will no longer monitor DM’s, comments, or mentions, and will be using these platforms purely to inform followers of new content as it arrives, whether it’s a new video, new blog, or anything else relevant to TTGB.

In conclusion, tl;dr, this is not goodbye, it’s “Don’t @ me bro”.