I FEEL incredibly fortunate to live and work in the South West. Almost everyday something reminds me how lucky I am to call this part of the United Kingdom my home.

I love its natural beauty, from the rugged coastline to the dramatic moors. But most of all I love its relative peace.

I have never been one for the hustle and bustle of big cities, just as the rural way of life is not for all city dwellers. We’re all different.

I am never more grateful to live here than when I watch the news and see tensions overspill on to the streets of London or Manchester or Birmingham.

I watch with a mix of horror and worry and listen carefully to the views being expressed on all sides to try to understand the reasons for the tensions.

But watching demonstrations, protest marches and vandalism unfold on the streets of a distant city via the television screen can sometimes make it feel slightly unreal. Here in this “sleepy” and remote corner of the country we can almost feel detached from it all.

It was therefore all the more shocking to see the recent spate of violence in the UK arriving on our doorstep. Suddenly it was very real and no longer remote.

I found it deeply disturbing to see the familiar streets of Plymouth where I regularly shop and meet friends, filled instead with angry mobs and police wearing full riot gear.

Plymouth! Just a few miles from where I live. A city I worked in for more than twenty years. A city I must admit I had little affection for when I first started at BBC Spotlight, but a city I have come to love.

During the course of my career I got to spend a lot of time reporting on Plymouth’s proud maritime history and learning about its great fortitude in the face of the relentless bombing during the Blitz.

From the historic streets around the Barbican to the breath-taking views from the Hoe, Plymouth feels like a second home to me, and considering I am not a great fan of big cities, that is really saying something.

The recent disorder in the city and across the UK has had a profound effect on many people, me included. Like others I have struggled to understand how the truly awful events in Southport where three innocent little girls were killed, could have been turned into a hate-filled rampage across the country.

Of course we now know that much of the violence was sparked by misinformation online about the circumstances surrounding the killings in Southport.

As someone who has spent a career trying to deal only in facts and accurate information I have long worried about the increasing “wild west” nature of social media.

There’s a famous phrase: ‘Careless talk costs lives”. It could not be more apt at the moment.

In the days that followed the incident in Southport I scrolled through my social media feeds with growing alarm. The wild conspiracy stories being shared were whipping up the hate and the violence.

Even some politicians, who should know better, were fuelling some of it.

When I saw Elon Musk, the owner of X formerly known as Twitter, wade into the debate about unrest in our country I felt a line had been crossed.

He has enormous power and reach around the Globe, in fact I’d go as far as to say it’s unrivalled. Potentially he has the ability to influence the thoughts and opinions of billions of people.

It’s a frightening level of responsibility.

For me it has reached a tipping point. In the wake of the recent unrest and the bile, hate and misinformation being spread on social media, I took the decision to stop looking at it.

I had already become increasingly worried about the amount of time I waste scrolling through social media feeds anyway. It is very addictive, but it is also ever more difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.

As a journalist I’d like to think I’m able to spot what is fake news and what is real, but it’s getting much harder. I also worry that not everyone looks at social media with the same scrutiny as a journalist.

Many people will simply believe what they read, especially if it reinforces their already entrenched views, regardless of the accuracy of the story.

I am sure Mr Musk will not miss me as a user of his platform, but I can tell you that breaking the addiction to it was easier than I thought.

But where should we get our information?

It’s not for me to tell anyone where to get the news. All I would say is to treat everything posted on social media with a degree of caution. Check the credentials of the person or organisation posting it and cross check as much as possible with as many reputable sources as you can.

If something doesn’t seem entirely true think twice about sharing it.

I know for millions of people social media is a harmless and fun way to stay in contact with the world; to share heart-warming successes and to make each other laugh.

It can be a force for good and I have enjoyed that side of it. I might find that I miss that too much and it will lure me back, but for the time being I am very happy to live without it and give my brain and blood pressure a rest.

Bye for now!