Greetings, Abby My spouse and I approach social media in rather different ways; I’m all out while he’s all in. I’m not an internet user. I don’t use Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, or any other social media platform that people use these days. After realizing how much social media was adding to my stress, I stopped using it five years ago. I have greatly benefited from leaving it behind.
My husband’s problem is that he obsesses about it all day, every day, which might exacerbate any negative mood he may be experiencing. This is annoying enough, but what I really hate is that he keeps trying to get me involved.
He expects me to join him in his progressively negative mood by showing me posts or reading them aloud. How can I make him stop? I’ve already informed him that I don’t want to hear it and that I would have an account myself if I did. — In Michigan, it is unplugged.
Stories by
Abigail Van Buren
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Dear Abby: My abusive husband says my place is in the home, waiting on him hand and foot
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Dear Abby: He s got a fast car… but she doesn t want him taking her anywhere!
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Dear Abby: My retired husband doesn t think his alcohol use is a problem
DEAR UNPLUGGED: Ask your husband whether he understands how negatively this impacts you the next time he does it. Inform him that you stopped using social media since you realized it wasn’t healthy for your physical or mental well-being. (It has been shown that sensational news can raise blood pressure.)
Express your strong disapproval of the way his social media addiction affects his demeanor and threaten to leave the room or the house if he approaches you about it again. Then take action.
Abigail Van Buren, better known as Jeanne Phillips, is the author of Dear Abby. Her mother, Pauline Phillips, began the company. For more information, visit www.DearAbby.com or send an email to P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
