Granby mayor signs off from Facebook ‘jungle’ for good

The mayor of Granby is no longer only a Facebook message away.

Pascal Bonin announced his decision to sign off of the social media website for good on Friday with one final post on his official page. Bonin estimated he spent anywhere from seven to 10 hours on the website per week for five years. He said he would promptly reply to messages he received during his self-imposed schedule of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

During that time, Bonin said he found keeping the line of communication open was not only time-consuming, but hard on his morale.

“The keyboard has become a weapon,” the mayor of the town 80 kilometres east of Montreal said in an interview with Presse Canadienne on Sunday.

When hidden behind a screen, Bonin said, it seems writers can make odious comments without recognizing the effect of their words. “It’s a jungle. It’s unpleasant. Nobody controls this kind of inflammatory freedom of expression.”

He claimed he was subject to criticism on all fronts. “It could be about my lifestyle, my actions, my opinions. They went in every direction possible.”

Bonin alleged in multiple cases, he could have taken legal action against the most defamatory comments but said he did not want to spend public funds on such battles.

He has decided to shift his attention to his loved ones.

“I’m not going every five or 10 minutes to look at my screen to see if anyone has written something I need to erase or if I need to control a discussion or respond to a question,” said Bonin, visibly relieved.

“Now, I’m turning to direct relationships with people.

“I’m starting to breathe again and am no longer a slave to the machine.”

Presse Canadienne