John Bain, aka TotalBiscuit, has announced that he will be completely quitting his online presence from Twitter, Soundcloud, and presumably Reddit as well as other social media sites.
He released the statement on Soundcloud before handing over control of his account to his assistant, Chris. He plans to continue posting videos on YouTube and hosting livestreams on Twitch.tv.
TotalBiscuit is not alone in struggling with the pressure and negativity that comes with being an internet celebrity and has previously talked about his frustration with Reddit in relation to him and his work.
However, TB is unique due to the heartbreaking fact that he is living with terminal cancer, something which he announced in October last year. It is because of his situation that he is leaving social media since he cannot be certain of how long he has left to live. He stated:
…if it ends up being the last few years of my life, I want to spend them not being fucking miserable.
You can read the full transcription of TB’s announcement below (thanks to Patrick Klepek from Kotaku), but if you would prefer you can listen to his message directly on Soundcloud instead.
From everyone at GameSkinny, our thoughts, hopes and prayers are with you John. We love you!
TotalBiscuit’s statement:
Well, you’ve heard this many times before, but maybe this will actually be the time this happens. I’m done with social media. I’ve had it. It’s enough.
Look, let’s be real here about the reality of what could happen over the next few years. In a few years, I could very well be dead—two to three [years to live] average is what I’m given for this particular form of this disease. I intend to outlive that by a significant margin, but if it ends up being the last few years of my life, I want to spend them not being fucking miserable. And if that involves disconnecting from everybody, so be it.
My family is gonna come first, my fucking mental health is gonna come first. The expectation that everyone who ever made it on the Internet’s gotta be constantly connected to their fans all the time 24 hours a day 24/7 is insane. It’s unreasonable. Nobody can fucking handle it. Nobody. [sighs] God. You have no idea how many of my friends are in therapy just because of this job.
I even know what you’re going to say. I know what the fucking naysayers are going to say. You’re going to turn around and tell me “ah, you’ll be back.” Yeah, maybe. I might be—because I’m fucked in the head, as I’ve explained many times. It’s a problem. It’s an obsession. But I’ve got to make at least a concerted effort to stop it. This is the only way I know how because I’ve tried every other way. I’ve been trying for years. It doesn’t work. I’m done.
So as of now, my Twitter account is in the hands of Chris [an assistant], and he is under explicit instructions not to let me post anything on it. If I tell him to post something, he’s not going to do it. He’s been told to put up the videos, make announcements, remind people of upcoming events, that’s it. After this Soundcloud is done, I’m giving him control of the Soundcloud—so I’done with that, too. There are not going to be anymore personal Soundcloud audio blogs. This Soundcloud is here solely to host the podcast and audio versions of my YouTube content. This will be it.
I want no way—no way at all—to contact the wider Internet outside of my work. I don’t want to do it anymore. It’s too much. So that’s how it’s going to be. There will be YouTube videos and there will be streams. If I could, I’d probably shut down the chat in my stream, as well, but I think, at least, that stays reasonable the vast majority of the time so I could probably handle that. We’ll see. That’s probably going to get fucked up as well, isn’t it?
[sighs] There’s the thing. I would delete my Twitter right now if I could. I would delete it. I can’t. I legally can’t. [laughs] I’m under contract. I have to maintain this Twitter for my YouTube channel and for my sponsorship agreements. For my contractual obligations, it has to exist. I can’t get rid of it. So the only thing I can do is make sure that I can never post on it. Hopefully, if I never post on it, I’ll have no desire to read the responses to it, and it’ll be far harder for me to see it.
So that’s how it’s going to be. I’m going to make YouTube videos and you can do one of two things: you can watch them or you can not watch them. That’s up to you. If I end up losing a bunch of money from this because people feel the need to connect with me, otherwise they can’t appreciate my content, so be it. I’ll be happier. Money’s awesome, but it can’t buy me out of this…whatever this is. It hasn’t helped. What you’re gonna get is content, that’s it. Enjoy it or don’t—it’s up to you. I’m handing this Soundcloud account to Chris now, so this will be the last time I post on it. I know what’s going to happen now.
The usual people come out of the woodwork and go “ah, you can’t take criticism, nyah!” And all that other shit. OK! Fine. I accept it. I can’t take criticism. I’m dying of terminal cancer. I don’t think I need to read your Internet criticism of me. I think I’ll live longer if I don’t. And you know what? That should be the priority. I don’t want to leave my wife and son behind. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to leave my friends behind. I don’t want to leave my job behind. I don’t want to leave my pets behind. I don’t want to leave my family behind. [pause] No. If that’s the price—that I don’t read your feedback? Or I don’t take your criticism into account? I’m going to pay that price. I will happily pay that price.
This is my fucking life, and what is left of it I am going to take control back. Sorry if this disappoints people. I know the vast majority of you are cool and you like this level of interaction, but if this is going to be the last few years that I get to live, I’m going to try and live it in a way that doesn’t make me miserable. I have too much shit on my plate as it is. I don’t need anymore.
Know that the vast majority of you, I appreciate you every day. It’s why I thank you at the end of every video. You let me live my dream, and I’m so very grateful for that. I’m going to go back to work now. See ya.
