June 7th, 2026 - Anonymity

My thought for today is anonymity. Lately, this also includes social media on the internet. If I make a post, say on Facebook, claiming that I have been sober in Alcoholics Anonymous X number of years, and somebody clicks "like" or makes a comment on that post, then they are also implying to everyone who may be watching that they are also in Alcoholics Anonymous. It is okay for me to break my own personal anonymity, but to break, or to encourage others to break, their anonymity is a violation of Tradition 11. So I need to be cautious how I approach situations like this. Newcomers to the program need to be reassured that their privacy will be protected. It is acceptable if I make posts on social media that say I am in recovery, and not to say which program I'm actually in. That way, if I were to have a relapse, then you would not be able to conclude that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous does not work. Assuming, of course, that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous was the one that I was in.