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Sarah Taylor's avatar

Linda So glad you are Back You are such a great Author and I Love your Books <3

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Sarah, I'm so sorry to be slow to reply to your comment! I'm still learning how the interface here on Substack works. You are SO kind!! My deepest thanks--that really encourages me along!

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Praysalot's avatar

I love your writing and your message. I was very happy to see you on substack!

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Hi! That is so kind! And I appreciate the encouragement very much, as I do often wonder whether I'm really adding anything unique to the conversation. Thanks for reading, and for the warm welcome!!

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LB's avatar

Thank you, Linda!!! I don’t post on Facebook, but I have stayed on primarily because of two Christian groups (one for prayer and one Bible study!) that use it to notify and educate their members. And, in following them, I inevitably find myself wasting time scrolling through posts, and then being convicted about the waste of time. I previously, and unsuccessfully, asked the prayer group to change platforms. Now I’ll take my concerns to the Bible study group to see if others will join me in voting with their feet, too. Again, thank you!

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Oh, I feel you. I have the same dilemma. I DO let myself on FB now and then, with great reluctance. But there are couple of groups--ie, my publisher's--that I really have to check on now and then. And then the cute memes and gorgeous vacation pics pull me in! They *know* their algorithms are addictive, darn them! I applaud your resolve to extricate yourself, and to challenge the complacency of your study and prayer groups. God speed with it!

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MS Barb's avatar

PREACH! You are spot on! I do not own a TV; I do read Gary Bauer's Campaign For Working Families for factual reports; I repost the daily reports to facebook, and don't get any "likes" (I think they're intentionally hidden by facebook staff!) And, I have a friend in another state who says he doesn't trust ANY politician; that they are ALL liars (if their mouth moves, they're lying) so he won't read Gary's reports b/c he sought the opportunity to run for office... Keep preaching & teaching!

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Hi, Barb! Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to drop me a note. You are absolutely correct that FB's algorithm is not our friend. On my FB author page, they would give me statistics on the reach of my posts, so I could see it. If I posted something contra-narrative, the reach might not go to zero, but it would be a LOT less. We also gave up TV some time ago, mostly cuz we discovered we weren't really watching it much anyway. I've often wondered whether the lack of "regular programming" is why we seemed to see a lot of this coming when many others around us bought into all the narrative. I will have to check out Gary Bauer's newsletter. Thanks so much for the encouragement--it means a lot to me!

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