Social media fasts are nothing new, and ever since it became common knowledge that social media platforms are designed to be as addictive as possible (and to steal as much of our personal data, time, brainpower, and attention span as possible!!!!), there’s been mainstream discourse about how to quit social media.
I quit Facebook around 2017 and instagram 2018 and have been “social media sober” ever since. My spouse never had accounts, so proximity to it wasn’t an issue. I imagine it could be hard to quit if you had someone in house still using it. Did I feel like I was missing out on some things initially- yes. Do I feel that way almost 7 years later- no. I truly think of it in comparison to being sober from alcohol, are there events, buy nothing groups, content, etc you will miss out on- yes, however the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. And I have found substitutions for all of those things, other orgs, websites etc that do the same. For anyone worried about losing contact with friends/family/people you don’t see often, in my experience, being honest and telling people “hey, these apps just aren’t good for me so I won’t be on here anymore, but please contact me via text, email, mail, whatever works for you” is sufficient and I find that my relationships with those people have strengthened and improved since. After I quit I decided that when I thought about someone, I would send them a text saying “hey I was thinking about you, I hope you’re well. We went to this place or did this thing, here’s a picture of the kids” something like that and it created this great line of communication. It’s truly such a thrill to run in to someone and genuinely ask what they’ve been up to, I remind them I don’t have socials, and then see them light up to share personal news.
Like getting sober from any other thing, it takes work and commitment and a dedication that you’ll never go back, but in my experience very much worth it.
whenever i take breaks, i find that my life shrinks in a way that feels really GOOD. like i don't feel so much like i'm trying to keep up with the ENTIRE WORLD, you know? like, my immediately life feels larger in a good way.
That is so great, and the opposite of what I've found. I've never been on Facebook, and so many of my friends and relatives can't seem to remember that. There were significant events that they posted only on FB, for example.
(Still doesn't incentivize me to get on FB, though!)
I have a silly-but-functional-for-me setup where I only have instagram on my ipad. keeps me from using it when I'm out in the world and its clunky enough to sit and scroll on that even my "binges" are much shorter than they would be on my phone. I get a lot of crafting and cooking resources on there that I genuinely value, and being 27 it is a major way of keeping up with friends who aren't in my immediate circle, so I'm not anywhere close to fully ditching it.
I quit instagram july 2024, and it has been and incredible change in my life. I would consider myself a passive user of social media too, a post every month or so, a story every week, but I would scroll and pick up my phone to scroll whenever there was down time.
But completely removing instagram from my day to day has markedly increased my focus and attention span, I've picked up and become more consistent with hobbies, and am more present and mindful. Not to sound too dramatic either, but it really changed the way I think. This reflection came after a few months off of instagram, but I realized that I wasn't even thinking about instagram at all anymore and I was able to appreciate people and things and experiences in the moment. When previously, if I was ever doing something cool or seeing someting beautiful, one of my default thoughts would be 'how can I share this' or 'how can I caption/describe this in a story'. And most of the time I wouldn't even make a post or a story, but it still took up that space in my mind! It was a bonkers realization.
But what worked best for me moving away from instagram was identifying what I enjoyed about it, and then 'putting the work in' to find replacements for those things. I decided I enjoyed instagram mainly for three reasons, 1. to stay informed 2. to stay in touch and 3. to learn new things. So 'the work' for me was finding new ways to satiate those items.
So to stay informed, I started testing out different news aggregate apps. I settled on AppleNews and am very happy with it. Not only does this satisfy the need to stay informed, but it removes the echo chamber bias that comes with people sharing news articles on socials, I'm actually reading news articles not just headlines and someone else's opinion on it, and it's on my phone so I can fill the urge to scroll if I need to.
To stay in touch, I decided to just make more of an effort to text and talk to friends and family. Sounds silly and simple, but I decided that when I see something or think about something I want to share that I will just text people directly instead of hoping they see my post.
And then to learn new things, I really focused on reading books that were interesting to me and filling the time that used to belong to scrolling by picking up a book. Any type of book too. Coffee table books with big pictures, fictional murder mysteries, and philosophy tend to be what I gravitate towards now. I also keep books out in the area where I used to sit in scroll. So there's books by my morning coffee spot and by my bed.
I've also started doodling in a sketchbook with markers in the evening while watching tv to wind down at the end of the day. Which has become a really nice and relaxing replacement for the mindless scrolling that would usually happen.
i am not REMOTELY surprised it's changed the way you think! and YES i totally relate to that feeling of like "how will i market this experience in my life for others' consumption" - hate it! quitting twitter has removed so much of that kneejerk reaction to repackage my opinions as witty quips and it's heaven.
Your explanation of how it was affecting the way you think is the closest to my experience I’ve seen in these comments.
I have the unfortunate side of being a marketing executive that needs to stay in tune with social media trends. But filling my time with what I was looking to social media for (as you said: news/information, connection, learning) with tangible resources outside of it has eased the stress of having to use social media for work.
Reading real books, seeking the sources that were poorly or improperly quoted in social media graphics, getting away from video content in general: I swear my brain chemistry is different!
Thank you! I quit Instagram right after the election but didn’t put a plan together to replace the positive parts. Your approach and plan are absolutely brilliant. Thank you for sharing……I will be following suit.
100% quit last year. I was one of those who struggled to have a health balance early last year.
The thing is, these programs are literally designed to keep you in there for as long as possible.
The few friends I did interact with on there, i moved our interactions into text and explained why I was doing this. All of them were supportive. I see just as many photos of their family (if not more) through our texts and calls (yes calls!!) during the weeks now.
The one thing I did miss for a while was the serendipitous discover of new interior design, architecture and so on - but guess what. There are so many amazing Substack newsletters out there that covered what I was looking for! I just had to look.
Results? Some days I don’t look at my phone for most of the day 😱 I have been reading a lot. My wife and I now found time for long chats while drinking tea. Yea all of this time is still interrupted 100x by one of our four kiddos, but magically we had more time on our hands than before.
At the end of the day social media is a habit we had been building for years (and for some yes even a borderline addiction). It takes time to undo years of programming your brain, so if you do try to quit and fail - be gentle on yourself, but so do try again.
Regardless of whether to quit Instagram/Facebook or not, I think what we need to avoid most of all is the self-righteous way we talk about quitting social media. For many marginalized groups (for example, queer teens) these platforms are the way they find their people, the way they discover they are amazing just the way the are. I learned how to navigate my way through a changing body, because of accounts talking about weight and bodies. I follow disabled people and have been able to adjust my worldview on disability and the way people experience it. And don't even get me started on developing an awareness of the issues of race! The list goes on and on. I understand the awful side to social media, and that's something we can all see and fight against. But it's not all bad. I actually think the conversation really should be around the upcoming Tiktok ban, and the way our government is using this same kind of self-righteous language to prevent young people from communicating and sharing ideas and news. The ban is unconstitutional, it's infringing on free speech and freedom of the press, and too many of us who have looked down our noses at Tiktok are behaving as if this isn't an act of fascism. But I don't want to get on yet another high horse, I really do think we are all too tempted to assume we know better than everyone else, so I'll step off my soapbox now.
that's such a great point michelle - and one i thought a lot about when i was writing momfluenced - online communities can be LIFELINES for people for any number of reasons.
I agree with this perspective. Social media has provided avenues for me to connect with other parents in my neighborhood and with resources to better support myself around some health challenges that have been extremely valuable. I also really appreciate the way social media elevates the voices and perspectives of women, minorities, disabled people etc. In a world where the media and culture is still very dominated by male voices, especially white, cis, hetero, able bodied male voices, it is so refreshing to hear from other viewpoints on a regular basis. This has also changed how I think in a really positive way and become a really welcome and important part of my life.
At the same time I’m verging on an addiction to scrolling and it’s taking way too much of my time and attention. I constantly feel busy and like I don’t have capacity for things I would like to be doing. Still looking for ways to better balance the good and the bad of social media! I appreciate the very practical advice and experiences folks have shared in the comments on how to quit. I think I’m going to lean into some of these ideas and maybe lock down my socials to only certain times of day or something.
Summer of 2020 made me realize I didn’t really like most of my “friends” on social media and I didn’t like the groups either! Too whiny or food/parent/clean shaming. So it was easy to walk away. I didn’t delete my accounts (since it doesn’t actually delete the information anyway) so I do click on links from articles (mostly In Pursuit of Clean Countertops articles!) but it doesn’t lead to scrolling. Then I was on Substack for awhile but it really quickly turned into scrolling mostly stuff I wasn’t interested in? So then it was basically like instagram. Like why wasn’t it showing me the articles from people I read and subscribed to? So now I just read articles I get in my email (like this one!).
We’ve been a military family for 20 years and I used to use social media to stay connected to friends when we or they moved somewhere new. But now I have my very short list of people I stay connected with through text or just getting together!
Honestly, the only thing keeping me on Facebook are local parent groups. They have been very helpful to me, particularly since I ended up having secondary infertility and so was seeking out parents who understood the challenges of that. And because of said infertility, there will be an almost 5 year gap between my first and second child, so I feel I will really want the connections and support as I dive into the newborn phase again. But, ironically, despite enjoying what Sara writes enough that I'm a paying subscriber, I have actually found it very freeing to follow almost no "momfluencers" as I just find them unrelatable at best (I'm older than most of them, work outside the home, live in New England and not Nashville/Texas/Arizona) and increasingly scary (MAGA/MAHA pipeline) at worst.
I’m moving away from instagram. But have some professional groups and craftsperson groups on Facebook I would hate to lose. However it’s so much advertising that I’m considering it. I’m curious bout others
I set a time limit on instagram which has helped a lot. I get my daily dose of humor and dogs, send the best of those to my husband, daughter and best friend, see what they’ve sent me, and log off. I keep Facebook only because I occasionally need it for work. I deleted the Reddit app after I was sucked into that one. I’ve upgraded to paid subscriptions to more Substacks, which are taking the place of a lot of mindless scrolling and clicking on ads. It’s a constant battle against the tech companies who want our eyeballs!
This is my third January doing a digital declutter (a la Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism) and I think it is a useful exercise every year. The goal is to stop using optional technology for a month and then intentionally reintroduce what actually serves you. I never had Instagram but I still use Facebook for buy nothing groups in my area and for local new parents groups which have been super helpful.
I've never had instagram. I get so frustrated by companies and newspapers telling you to 'take a break' and, at the same time, putting so much of their content on social media which you have to have an account even to access. And I get that maybe they have to do that way but they could at least acknowledge that. This ties into my whole rant about having to download an app for everything. We talk about taking time away from screens and looking at our phones too much, but what are we supposed to do when you need a QR code just to read a restaurant menu?
And it just seems such bullshit that we (as in society) tell people to be themselves and how they look isn't important, but then we expect everyone to have social media (and sometimes you have to have it for work or self-promotion) and so...it is? At least in terms of presenting yourself.
The QR codes to order food. I just can't. (I mean, I have a phone, but I'm at a restaurant to relax with friends or family, not to spend more time on our phones!) I'm that person who says "can you please bring me a paper menu and take my order."
I have deleted both insta and fb from my phone. I have not yet deactivated them but I don't use insta anymore, I still have my book club and neighborhood group on fb so I'm trying to figure out where to move my bookclub so I can close both accounts. I just don't find anything meaningful there anymore. My friends don't post, all I see are posts from people/influencers I 'like' but they aren't real people in my life and I don't think they are bringing me any actual value, nor am I to them, in a real, non commercial sense.
I haven’t been super active on social apps outside of Substack for a few years. The latest Meta news makes me tempted to quit them altogether, but there’s always those handful of resources in Facebook groups, etc that I find useful, so I haven’t fully taken action to pull the cord yet.
I made the decision around 2020 that I would use social media to be, "social." None of my paying clients or my writing work come from social media. I think this allows me to treat it lightly. <shrugs> So I can use it for fun and entertainment. If it gets really bad, and the misinformation around mental health and political stuff gets worse hopefully I won't have a hard time deleting.
I've considered this option! What I want to know is-- if I create a new personal account will it clean my feed of the stuff I currently see and don't like? If that's the case I'll consider it more seriously. As it is I use it as a personal account, though I think it says "community" in the description.
I have people who I know IRL whose preferred mode of communication is FB. My Fiber Arts Community runs on Insta (including the planning of in person meet ups). At this point, I'm so disenchanted with MSM, and BlueSky isn't yet up to the task of keeping me informed. So... not getting chased off the platforms (I did leave Twitter, and it was the right choice). The plan? CLEAN OUT MY FOLLOWS. Do I know them IRL AND want to stay in touch? Does their political reporting both really inform me AND come in a format I prefer? Does their art still inspire me? If it's not an enthusiastic yes- cull. Get those following counts way down. (Including being more ruthless about mutuals.)
I quit Facebook in 2017 and I just decided to get rid of Instagram. I didn't delete my account, just the app from my phone. I did a trial run a couple of months ago and loved it. I missed it a lot at first and thought often of it then I noticed how much more reading, thinking, and writing I was doing. I was also buying a lot less crap.
I feel better and more grounded. The inside voice that kept telling me I should do more, be more, that my house didn't look good enough or my clothes were all wrong is quieter. I'm off IG and plan to stay off it
I quit Facebook around 2017 and instagram 2018 and have been “social media sober” ever since. My spouse never had accounts, so proximity to it wasn’t an issue. I imagine it could be hard to quit if you had someone in house still using it. Did I feel like I was missing out on some things initially- yes. Do I feel that way almost 7 years later- no. I truly think of it in comparison to being sober from alcohol, are there events, buy nothing groups, content, etc you will miss out on- yes, however the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. And I have found substitutions for all of those things, other orgs, websites etc that do the same. For anyone worried about losing contact with friends/family/people you don’t see often, in my experience, being honest and telling people “hey, these apps just aren’t good for me so I won’t be on here anymore, but please contact me via text, email, mail, whatever works for you” is sufficient and I find that my relationships with those people have strengthened and improved since. After I quit I decided that when I thought about someone, I would send them a text saying “hey I was thinking about you, I hope you’re well. We went to this place or did this thing, here’s a picture of the kids” something like that and it created this great line of communication. It’s truly such a thrill to run in to someone and genuinely ask what they’ve been up to, I remind them I don’t have socials, and then see them light up to share personal news.
Like getting sober from any other thing, it takes work and commitment and a dedication that you’ll never go back, but in my experience very much worth it.
whenever i take breaks, i find that my life shrinks in a way that feels really GOOD. like i don't feel so much like i'm trying to keep up with the ENTIRE WORLD, you know? like, my immediately life feels larger in a good way.
That is so great, and the opposite of what I've found. I've never been on Facebook, and so many of my friends and relatives can't seem to remember that. There were significant events that they posted only on FB, for example.
(Still doesn't incentivize me to get on FB, though!)
I have a silly-but-functional-for-me setup where I only have instagram on my ipad. keeps me from using it when I'm out in the world and its clunky enough to sit and scroll on that even my "binges" are much shorter than they would be on my phone. I get a lot of crafting and cooking resources on there that I genuinely value, and being 27 it is a major way of keeping up with friends who aren't in my immediate circle, so I'm not anywhere close to fully ditching it.
I quit instagram july 2024, and it has been and incredible change in my life. I would consider myself a passive user of social media too, a post every month or so, a story every week, but I would scroll and pick up my phone to scroll whenever there was down time.
But completely removing instagram from my day to day has markedly increased my focus and attention span, I've picked up and become more consistent with hobbies, and am more present and mindful. Not to sound too dramatic either, but it really changed the way I think. This reflection came after a few months off of instagram, but I realized that I wasn't even thinking about instagram at all anymore and I was able to appreciate people and things and experiences in the moment. When previously, if I was ever doing something cool or seeing someting beautiful, one of my default thoughts would be 'how can I share this' or 'how can I caption/describe this in a story'. And most of the time I wouldn't even make a post or a story, but it still took up that space in my mind! It was a bonkers realization.
But what worked best for me moving away from instagram was identifying what I enjoyed about it, and then 'putting the work in' to find replacements for those things. I decided I enjoyed instagram mainly for three reasons, 1. to stay informed 2. to stay in touch and 3. to learn new things. So 'the work' for me was finding new ways to satiate those items.
So to stay informed, I started testing out different news aggregate apps. I settled on AppleNews and am very happy with it. Not only does this satisfy the need to stay informed, but it removes the echo chamber bias that comes with people sharing news articles on socials, I'm actually reading news articles not just headlines and someone else's opinion on it, and it's on my phone so I can fill the urge to scroll if I need to.
To stay in touch, I decided to just make more of an effort to text and talk to friends and family. Sounds silly and simple, but I decided that when I see something or think about something I want to share that I will just text people directly instead of hoping they see my post.
And then to learn new things, I really focused on reading books that were interesting to me and filling the time that used to belong to scrolling by picking up a book. Any type of book too. Coffee table books with big pictures, fictional murder mysteries, and philosophy tend to be what I gravitate towards now. I also keep books out in the area where I used to sit in scroll. So there's books by my morning coffee spot and by my bed.
I've also started doodling in a sketchbook with markers in the evening while watching tv to wind down at the end of the day. Which has become a really nice and relaxing replacement for the mindless scrolling that would usually happen.
i am not REMOTELY surprised it's changed the way you think! and YES i totally relate to that feeling of like "how will i market this experience in my life for others' consumption" - hate it! quitting twitter has removed so much of that kneejerk reaction to repackage my opinions as witty quips and it's heaven.
Your explanation of how it was affecting the way you think is the closest to my experience I’ve seen in these comments.
I have the unfortunate side of being a marketing executive that needs to stay in tune with social media trends. But filling my time with what I was looking to social media for (as you said: news/information, connection, learning) with tangible resources outside of it has eased the stress of having to use social media for work.
Reading real books, seeking the sources that were poorly or improperly quoted in social media graphics, getting away from video content in general: I swear my brain chemistry is different!
Also yes to doodling!!
Thank you! I quit Instagram right after the election but didn’t put a plan together to replace the positive parts. Your approach and plan are absolutely brilliant. Thank you for sharing……I will be following suit.
100% quit last year. I was one of those who struggled to have a health balance early last year.
The thing is, these programs are literally designed to keep you in there for as long as possible.
The few friends I did interact with on there, i moved our interactions into text and explained why I was doing this. All of them were supportive. I see just as many photos of their family (if not more) through our texts and calls (yes calls!!) during the weeks now.
The one thing I did miss for a while was the serendipitous discover of new interior design, architecture and so on - but guess what. There are so many amazing Substack newsletters out there that covered what I was looking for! I just had to look.
Results? Some days I don’t look at my phone for most of the day 😱 I have been reading a lot. My wife and I now found time for long chats while drinking tea. Yea all of this time is still interrupted 100x by one of our four kiddos, but magically we had more time on our hands than before.
At the end of the day social media is a habit we had been building for years (and for some yes even a borderline addiction). It takes time to undo years of programming your brain, so if you do try to quit and fail - be gentle on yourself, but so do try again.
Anywho, that’s been my experience last year!
Regardless of whether to quit Instagram/Facebook or not, I think what we need to avoid most of all is the self-righteous way we talk about quitting social media. For many marginalized groups (for example, queer teens) these platforms are the way they find their people, the way they discover they are amazing just the way the are. I learned how to navigate my way through a changing body, because of accounts talking about weight and bodies. I follow disabled people and have been able to adjust my worldview on disability and the way people experience it. And don't even get me started on developing an awareness of the issues of race! The list goes on and on. I understand the awful side to social media, and that's something we can all see and fight against. But it's not all bad. I actually think the conversation really should be around the upcoming Tiktok ban, and the way our government is using this same kind of self-righteous language to prevent young people from communicating and sharing ideas and news. The ban is unconstitutional, it's infringing on free speech and freedom of the press, and too many of us who have looked down our noses at Tiktok are behaving as if this isn't an act of fascism. But I don't want to get on yet another high horse, I really do think we are all too tempted to assume we know better than everyone else, so I'll step off my soapbox now.
that's such a great point michelle - and one i thought a lot about when i was writing momfluenced - online communities can be LIFELINES for people for any number of reasons.
Which of course, also means we have to make sure they're safe spaces. I know that's why people are leaving Twitter/X in droves!
I agree with this perspective. Social media has provided avenues for me to connect with other parents in my neighborhood and with resources to better support myself around some health challenges that have been extremely valuable. I also really appreciate the way social media elevates the voices and perspectives of women, minorities, disabled people etc. In a world where the media and culture is still very dominated by male voices, especially white, cis, hetero, able bodied male voices, it is so refreshing to hear from other viewpoints on a regular basis. This has also changed how I think in a really positive way and become a really welcome and important part of my life.
At the same time I’m verging on an addiction to scrolling and it’s taking way too much of my time and attention. I constantly feel busy and like I don’t have capacity for things I would like to be doing. Still looking for ways to better balance the good and the bad of social media! I appreciate the very practical advice and experiences folks have shared in the comments on how to quit. I think I’m going to lean into some of these ideas and maybe lock down my socials to only certain times of day or something.
Summer of 2020 made me realize I didn’t really like most of my “friends” on social media and I didn’t like the groups either! Too whiny or food/parent/clean shaming. So it was easy to walk away. I didn’t delete my accounts (since it doesn’t actually delete the information anyway) so I do click on links from articles (mostly In Pursuit of Clean Countertops articles!) but it doesn’t lead to scrolling. Then I was on Substack for awhile but it really quickly turned into scrolling mostly stuff I wasn’t interested in? So then it was basically like instagram. Like why wasn’t it showing me the articles from people I read and subscribed to? So now I just read articles I get in my email (like this one!).
We’ve been a military family for 20 years and I used to use social media to stay connected to friends when we or they moved somewhere new. But now I have my very short list of people I stay connected with through text or just getting together!
Oo I like that approach to Substack just in emails. I feel like this app is definitely becoming more and more like the other social media feeds
Honestly, the only thing keeping me on Facebook are local parent groups. They have been very helpful to me, particularly since I ended up having secondary infertility and so was seeking out parents who understood the challenges of that. And because of said infertility, there will be an almost 5 year gap between my first and second child, so I feel I will really want the connections and support as I dive into the newborn phase again. But, ironically, despite enjoying what Sara writes enough that I'm a paying subscriber, I have actually found it very freeing to follow almost no "momfluencers" as I just find them unrelatable at best (I'm older than most of them, work outside the home, live in New England and not Nashville/Texas/Arizona) and increasingly scary (MAGA/MAHA pipeline) at worst.
I’m moving away from instagram. But have some professional groups and craftsperson groups on Facebook I would hate to lose. However it’s so much advertising that I’m considering it. I’m curious bout others
I set a time limit on instagram which has helped a lot. I get my daily dose of humor and dogs, send the best of those to my husband, daughter and best friend, see what they’ve sent me, and log off. I keep Facebook only because I occasionally need it for work. I deleted the Reddit app after I was sucked into that one. I’ve upgraded to paid subscriptions to more Substacks, which are taking the place of a lot of mindless scrolling and clicking on ads. It’s a constant battle against the tech companies who want our eyeballs!
This is my third January doing a digital declutter (a la Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism) and I think it is a useful exercise every year. The goal is to stop using optional technology for a month and then intentionally reintroduce what actually serves you. I never had Instagram but I still use Facebook for buy nothing groups in my area and for local new parents groups which have been super helpful.
I've never had instagram. I get so frustrated by companies and newspapers telling you to 'take a break' and, at the same time, putting so much of their content on social media which you have to have an account even to access. And I get that maybe they have to do that way but they could at least acknowledge that. This ties into my whole rant about having to download an app for everything. We talk about taking time away from screens and looking at our phones too much, but what are we supposed to do when you need a QR code just to read a restaurant menu?
100% - also there are so many screen-reliant APPS to help you quit OTHER APPS - it's crazy making
And it just seems such bullshit that we (as in society) tell people to be themselves and how they look isn't important, but then we expect everyone to have social media (and sometimes you have to have it for work or self-promotion) and so...it is? At least in terms of presenting yourself.
The QR codes to order food. I just can't. (I mean, I have a phone, but I'm at a restaurant to relax with friends or family, not to spend more time on our phones!) I'm that person who says "can you please bring me a paper menu and take my order."
And sometimes they don't even have a paper menu! ARGH!
I have deleted both insta and fb from my phone. I have not yet deactivated them but I don't use insta anymore, I still have my book club and neighborhood group on fb so I'm trying to figure out where to move my bookclub so I can close both accounts. I just don't find anything meaningful there anymore. My friends don't post, all I see are posts from people/influencers I 'like' but they aren't real people in my life and I don't think they are bringing me any actual value, nor am I to them, in a real, non commercial sense.
The Bookclubs app works pretty well for my book clubs. It sends out reminders and keeps track of attendance.
I haven’t been super active on social apps outside of Substack for a few years. The latest Meta news makes me tempted to quit them altogether, but there’s always those handful of resources in Facebook groups, etc that I find useful, so I haven’t fully taken action to pull the cord yet.
I made the decision around 2020 that I would use social media to be, "social." None of my paying clients or my writing work come from social media. I think this allows me to treat it lightly. <shrugs> So I can use it for fun and entertainment. If it gets really bad, and the misinformation around mental health and political stuff gets worse hopefully I won't have a hard time deleting.
i've also heard folks creating one account for work/professional usage and one for personal/fun - which is intriguing!
I've considered this option! What I want to know is-- if I create a new personal account will it clean my feed of the stuff I currently see and don't like? If that's the case I'll consider it more seriously. As it is I use it as a personal account, though I think it says "community" in the description.
I have people who I know IRL whose preferred mode of communication is FB. My Fiber Arts Community runs on Insta (including the planning of in person meet ups). At this point, I'm so disenchanted with MSM, and BlueSky isn't yet up to the task of keeping me informed. So... not getting chased off the platforms (I did leave Twitter, and it was the right choice). The plan? CLEAN OUT MY FOLLOWS. Do I know them IRL AND want to stay in touch? Does their political reporting both really inform me AND come in a format I prefer? Does their art still inspire me? If it's not an enthusiastic yes- cull. Get those following counts way down. (Including being more ruthless about mutuals.)
I quit Facebook in 2017 and I just decided to get rid of Instagram. I didn't delete my account, just the app from my phone. I did a trial run a couple of months ago and loved it. I missed it a lot at first and thought often of it then I noticed how much more reading, thinking, and writing I was doing. I was also buying a lot less crap.
I feel better and more grounded. The inside voice that kept telling me I should do more, be more, that my house didn't look good enough or my clothes were all wrong is quieter. I'm off IG and plan to stay off it
YUP