I Will Admit It. I Am a Hypocrite

Look around and it’s easy to spot hypocrisy these days. Politicians lie, obfuscate, and deny their wrongdoing. Judges sell their influence. Faith leaders promote division and hate. Honesty and integrity are in decline and corruption is on the rise. So, as I launch this blog, I must confess to my own hypocrisy.

I dislike social media, and I rail against it in my book, but I have decided I have to use it.

Stuck in Our Screens, published in May 2025, is highly critical of social media. The reasons are numerous and are considered in Stuck. Full disclosure, however, I once had a Facebook account until it got hacked. The time I spent trying to remedy the mess it made, prompted me to close the account and an additional one I had on LinkedIn. Except texting and email, I have chosen to have no social media presence… until now.

It's hard to sell books without using social media. So despite my loathing for these platforms, along with the discomfort of being a hypocrite, here I am, launching a blog.

But, why?

Writing books and articles are my new, and maybe final career. Instead of retiring completely from the world of academia and scholarship, I feel compelled to add my voice to the many that are concerned about how things are going in our world. Heck, I might as well avail myself of free speech before the right is taken away.

I have a Facebook account that I promise will host only my writing, publications, and information about programs that I’m offering elsewhere. I have an Instagram account, and as with my Facebook account, it will be devoted to connecting readers to my writing. No pictures of grandkids, vacations, or my dog. I promise. I may open a BlueSky account, but I already feel a bit like I’m reneging on my own advice to stay away from screens.

I have given up trying to get other social media platforms to publish my work, so I am doing it myself via this webpage. I am calling it “Shifting Identities,” because that describes the overall theme of my thinking. It will be a work in progress for a long time because this is a new genre for me. If it feels amateurish in the beginning, I apologize. Please hang with me and tell your friends to look me up and subscribe to receive my articles. Also, I would appreciate hearing from you.

I cringe as I share my social media contacts:

@stuck_in_our_screens

FB: Katy Allen (Kathleen P Allen)

www.shiftingidenties.org

stuckinourscreens@gmail.com

Let’s Hang Together