Port of Port Townsend in WA's Olympic Peninsula quits social media

The Port of Port Townsend is doing what you may have found yourself considering from time to time - quitting social media.

The world is more online than it's ever been, and government agencies are increasingly using social media to communicate with constituents. But the Port of Port Townsend said it is hopping off the bandwagon this month.

The Port will no longer use Facebook, where it has more than 2,100 followers, or Instagram, where it has 115. That's not a ton of people on Instagram hanging on the Port's every word (the Port's post announcing its departure got nine likes), but the move is a principled one.

"Facebook and Instagram are like host-destroying parasites," said Executive Director Eron Berg in a statement. "They are invited into our lives with the promise of connection, and become essential to basic communication."

Continuing his metaphor, he said, "but then, through their proprietary algorithms that demand more usage in exchange for personal data that will be sold, they then block basic human connection. This, in the end, weakens individual and community relationships."

Instead of going to social media for Port-related information, the agency is asking people to visit the Port's website, local newspapers Peninsula Daily News and the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader, and radio station KPTZ.

If a government agency quits social media cold turkey, does it get FOMO (for those already spending less time online, that stands for fear of missing out) wondering what other agencies are posting about? How will it know essential trends and gossip? But what are you really missing when you get off social media?

Berg hopes other government or private entities will follow and that people will call in, saying, "let's just be people, face-to-face, or a phone call away, with a shared interest in improving the health and vitality of our community. Please come to our offices or public meetings. Let's talk."

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 1:41 PM.