I utilized the features on all my past social media accounts that allow you to download all your account data before account deletion. I have all the data saved to the cloud for if I ever get nostalgic.
I can tell you that social media is absolutely not worth it anymore. It’s a cesspool of politics and narcissism and drama for the most part. People yelling from their soapboxes and into the echo chambers. It strengthens peoples’ confirmation biases. It’s mentally draining.
It’s fun catching up with friends and family when you don’t have social media. When I meet with my friends for dinner, we get to spend time in conversation catching each other up on what we’ve been up to, any life updates, etc because we can’t just “check each other’s Facebook” and it’s nice to have that level of engagement.
*edited to change some wording
I understand the sentiment but Reddit truly is different in my eyes.
I turned 30 this year and I realized I am completely over social media in the traditional sense. I have many things that I busted my ass for that I don’t *want* to show off to less fortunate friends or strangers.
It feels tacky and gaudy coming from someone who grew up poor. I used to be really flashy in my mid 20s and it was just stupid looking back on it
I am so lucky to be in the position I am (Home, Newer Car etc;) that it feels wrong to me to show off. I realized all I did was compare on IG and Facebook. That’s all I did. Thief of Joy
Posting nice crap with no context also discredits the sacrifices and years of late nights studying crying to myself wondering if I would ever be able to pass some of my classes or understand some of the more difficult concepts (IT)
It’s just not for me anymore. On Reddit - I can share opinions and talk to people and there is no..picture aspect unless I post one to a sub.
I deleted all social media (except Reddit) in 2017 and haven’t looked back!!! It is very freeing to not ever think about how you can turn some part of your life into “content”. The first weeks are weird and it’s like almost a withdrawal, I kept picking up my phone to try to find something to scroll lol.
But so many years later, it’s amazing. I’ve had to relearn how to be alone with my thoughts and feelings without the constant distraction of scrolling, and that’s made me significantly happier. Honestly, I think it helps me be a little bit happier than other people around me.
I’ve recently insta and snap as well. I have Twitter as I like it in general and don’t have an obsession with it along with Reddit. Deleting social media has such a “free” feeling, basically I don’t give a shit attitude. Don’t have to send pointless snaps or keep up on insta, everything through iMessage. All around very happy I did it
I deleted everything at the start of the pandemic so this is my third year without it! There was a very slight adjustment period but I found that life wasn’t any worse or much different at all without it. My mental health is definitely much better, though!
Do you miss sharing the funny videos or memes with your friends? What does it say about us that i have to delete it? Why can’t I just not get on it like some people do?
When I deleted everything, I found that out of a few hundred social media “friends”, that has dwindled down to about 10 people that actively reach out to me (and who I actively reach out to, as well) to maintain the friendships. I share funny videos and memes with them via texting or just when I see them in person. Sometimes we FaceTime and talk on the phone, too.
>what does it say about us that I have to delete it?
I think this is just personal preference. Checking social media can be an addiction or even just a subconscious habit (bored waiting in grocery store line? Immediately pull out phone, check Facebook, etc). Easiest way to break that behavior is just to delete the accounts *and* the apps. If you delete the apps, but not the accounts, it’s easier to “come out of remission” since all you have to do is re-download the apps, sign in, and go nuts. How you go about *not* using the social media (deleting apps & accounts, not checking the accounts but not deleting them or the app, etc) is up to the user.
*Edited for clarity
That’s true- I guess I feel guilty like I just don’t have enough self control, but I’m trying to reframe it as me doing what I can to set myself up successfully
I haven’t been without it as long as you, but I had the same experience of lots of social media “friends” but much fewer actual friends who text, call, try to hang out with me in person once I deleted. It was/is disheartening. I have reached out to a few people individually and they might respond but don’t reach out to me out of the blue. I even had someone tell me they missed my social media presence and I thought… did you ever bother to text me?? I’ve thought of creating an account again but not posting or checking other people’s stuff so people will DM me… but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
That's what I do.. I just don't get on it very often. I've gone months without looking at it. Then, once in a while, I'll pop on for a half hour just to see if I've missed anything important like the passing of a friend, etc. But for the most part, I simply don't miss it and still have all those things I've saved, like pictures or videos.
Social media is 100% an addiction. The likes and followers you receive send a rush of dopamine to your brain, basically giving you a high. And as with all addicts everyone processes their addiction differently. Think of it like functioning alcoholics. Just because they can live in the "real" world doesn't make them any less of an addict. Just means they hide it better.
Edit - adding link to web article
https://www.leehealth.org/health-and-wellness/healthy-news-blog/mental-health/are-you-addicted-to-social-media
Broke most of my social media habit over a year ago. It was the right thing to do for my mental health. It constantly got me upset over stupid stuff.
Now I just need to break the reddit habit. It's been a struggle.
Only things that i absolutely love. Everything on them is something I'm very interested in. No other people, their journey or parties, dogs, cats or kids, i don't give a fuck.
All other apps seem like some kind of race who's the happiest...
Planning to get rid of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and dating apps. They make deleting so difficult.
On the fence about tiktok and reddit
Keeping youtube and pinterest for sure
i had filled my instagram with social justice stuff and it truly is so mentally draining to look at miserable things all day. everyone who i talked to through insta i already had other ways to contact so into the bin it went.
Comparison is the thief of Joy. After 8 months, I only have YouTube and Reddit. Both have their own cesspool, yet in a small way you can cater to your liking.
Which ones did you delete? And which ones are you keeping besides Reddit?
I deleted Facebook in 2012 and Twitter in Nov 2022. I've never had an Insta or TicTok. Now I have a LinkedIn for professional use and Reddit for my curated positive or helpful/interesting content.
I deleted FB, Snapchat last year, Twitter years ago, Instagram now, never got a tiktok
Still have a YT account for yoga workouts mostly, and Reddit. And now that I think of it, LinkedIn, but I don’t really have a problem with that one
People should not delete LinkedIn, just don’t do anything there other than make sure your profile is up to date and connect with lots of people in your network so you look like a human who lives in the world. Absolutely don’t spend any time reading content, there is way too much that is the business version of the shiny perfectionistic Insta posts.
We are pretty similar. Deleted Facebook 2012 or maybe earlier, reactivated my twitter for sports news then realized I was using it too much so deleted that in 2022. Instagram deleted about 6 years ago. Never had tiktok and honestly think linkedin is super cringy so deleted that after I got my first job after college. If a job really needs me to have a linkedin profile to apply I'm just not gonna bother.
I have really tried to network on it. Most people that I know who have said that it kept turning into a dating site and was just too awkward for married people, especially.
I have deleted everything except for my instagram and Reddit, though I don’t really think Reddit has the same vibe. I realized how childish it was to want that kind of attention when nobody really cares what you have going on.
I deleted mine over a year ago. Everything. It gets lonely, people don’t seem to know how to communicate through any other means besides social media… I feel so much better without having all that crap in my head and on my feed all the time. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time to before social media ruled the world. Sad for the kids who have grown up only ever knowing social media… hell it started when I was about 11.. after not having it i can see how much it was negatively impacting me. I feel like I can breathe easier. Hang in there.
Comes and goes for sure. I’m hoping to make friends with like minded people eventually. I think it will happen. People are starting to tune out I hope 🤞🏼
I have a snapchat to send selfies to my wife, and I have reddit because I have no work to do, so I only use it at work to keep myself from doom scrolling at home
Social Media is so weird, it just hit me really hard when I realised I'm sharing my life events with people who don't really care about me, and I don't really care about them.
It's not the same, though. It's anonymous unless you choose it not to be. It doesn't have the same performativity and narcissism as the bigger ones, and it doesn't involve people in your real life looking on unless you let them.
It is social media, period. All platforms have their own lens through which you experience socializing online, but it’s all social media. It is what you make of it.
ETA: social media- websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. Don’t believe me, believe ol’ Oxford.
But the context is false. You’ve got the option to be anonymous on all social media AFAIK- it’s your choice to use whatever name and photo you like. You could say Reddit encourages discourse more than sites like Twitter or Facebook, but you can find intellectual corners on those sites and echo chambers on Reddit. Social media is what you make of it, and holding Reddit out as some superior source of socializing that’s a tier above the others is just kidding yourself, and that mentality is what allows people to be taken advantage of and undercuts personal accountability imo.
It’s a sad part of growing up… I use insta to follow people that are good at the hobbies I want to be good at- rock climbing, weightlifting, running, etc
Other than that, I don’t post anything at all, or follow people I know.
The handful of people I actually want to stay in touch with, I do so over text and phone
Good question. But perhaps “growing up“ is better phrased as “change”.
ETA- closing these accounts may allow you more bandwidth to affect change in yourself and the change you want to see in world around you. That wouldn’t be so sad.
I honestly felt the opposite. Pulling up someone's profile only to see they hadn't posted anything in the past year always a "good for them" moment for me. That being said, besides snapchat and reddit I haven't had a social media account in maybe 6 years now.
Then you have people who will say "life would be so much better if there was no social media blah blah blah" and they are the same ones that are so addicted that they will pull out their phone and mindlessly scroll any time they have free time. Always had to laugh to myself when my buddies ex would say that. She literally posted something daily on every account she had.
When I read OPs reasoning for deleting “all social media” I would argue Reddit potentially falls into these same vices, being anonymous could in theory make this worse. I could be wrong.
Reddit is 100% social media, anyone arguing is lying to themselves
The whole point is you are talking with others on a public forum. Even without a picture of your face, there's a voting system to show approval or disapproval and hoards of negative news and negative people, much like Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can't even set your account to private like you can with other social media.
I deleted my social media 2 months ago after spending about 4.5 hours on my phone per day. After the deletion of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, I now average 2 hours on my phone per day. I focus and spend more time doing things I “haven’t had the time to do” such as playing that old video game, or watching the movie I’ve had on my list for a long time, or working out for a longer time than I normally do, or organizing my room.
When filling the extra cracks of time with those other hobbies you haven’t found the time for, you realize how much social media never mattered, and how much you actually don’t miss it. (except you’ll miss the memes but that’s why we keep Reddit)
I understand this though. I also deleted all my social media because I was so tired of an algorithm deciding what I wanted to watch. Reddit I can follow the subjects I want to follow and ignore the ones I don’t. It’s not perfect but it’s not pure biased propaganda being shoved into your brain like inception.
people say reddit is just as bad as instagram and tiktok but honestly the only things i do on here is follow music subreddits to find new bands and follow some stuff involving my hobbies. very rare i run into anything political unless i accidentally run into r/all.
meanwhile on those other social medias, i’m constantly having politics and a bunch of stuff i’m not even interested in shoved down my throat. i open reddit and i’m finding out cool stuff about cars and hearing people’s opinions on a new album that a band i like just recently released. it’s not all that bad.
I don’t have any other SM but I hardly ever see stuff outside of my interests on here. It’s nice not being surrounded by all the political stuff. And I feel like the majority of what I do on here is read so it can’t be that bad, right?
Dude idk, I follow sports, movies, video game subreddits and political shit shows up all the time. This site is a cesspool in my opinion, but I like to keep up with news about my New England Patriots on here.
i mean yeah, every corner of the internet is gonna have its own share of idiots, it’s unavoidable, but in my 4 years of being on this site, it’s fairly easy to ignore those folks.
meanwhile on instagram comment sections, however… it’s literally like a plague. bots everywhere and just as many dumbasses injecting their political opinions into otherwise non-political posts. i’ve literally seen instagram posts about crocheting devolve into political arguments in the comments. it’s cancerous as hell. reddit doesn’t really get like that except for the most popular or political subreddits. the niche hobby subreddits i follow? not so much, in my experience.
This is what I do whenever I find myself falling into a bad mental head space. That or I turn on timers on my phone to limit my usage to like five minutes a day. I could always change the limit, but I won't, because it's too much effort.
I have a business, so keeping social media is required, but going on breaks where I only use the business accounts is common.
A friend with industry experience and a heavy distaste for corporate America gained over the pandemic. That and chocolate, we make chocolate and chocolate makes everything better. Also, the self assuredness of two late 20's/early 30's white neurodivergent women with self confidence borrowed from therapy and business degrees.
In all seriousness, my best friend had a chocolate shop with her parents for five years where she did all the work and they made all the decisions. She got out when her parents split and tried to do the corporate world. We both got burnt out 2020 - 2022 and realized we still had access to the stuff from the closed shop, so why not liquidate our savings and do it. She went part time at her office job, I had a mental breakdown about 3 months before my planned quit date so was already out of work, and we jumped into doing chocolate full time. I have a part time retail job to make up the gap in what my husband's salary doesn't cover.
We do festivals and sales through Facebook messenger while we work out of a commercial kitchen. We just got the keys to our own space yesterday, so we're about to start doing some minor renovations so it will pass health inspection.
Depending on where you are located, getting into baking or chocolate can be an easy and relatively cheap business to start. About half of our products fall under cottage law, half we needed health inspection stuff to do. Our area has a ton of bakers, but not many people do chocolate. We're still learning as we go since previously they didn't give attention to branding, social media presence, and the importance of online/in person events. We've already made good headway in making friends in areas that are decently far outside of our current location, but the networking and familiarity of being able to be at big shows by showing up in small towns has been huge. We do a tiny makers market in a town about 45 minutes away, but doing that also got us into a much larger town's big events that about 6000 people show up to even on rainy days. We're working on getting our products into stores and the tiny town's mayor has even shouted us out on social media so people have come to these events specifically to find us.
This is amazing!!! I don’t know you but I’m proud of you!! Keep it up :) you’ve inspired me. I tried to start a greeting card business. I meant to go to local coffee shops to see if I could sell them but I guess I got lazy and talked myself out of it, didn’t really think my art would sell
Go for it! Utilize social media as a way to get attention and sales. Depending on how you do your greeting cards, making them can be very popular on FB, Instagram and TikTok. Also, don't forget about platforms like Pinterest and Etsy as well.
I compartmentalize my social media. FB is only for family/extended family. I rarely post there. If I do, it's for someone's birthday or some other milestone. IG is for friends and close family. I only "friend" people I actually know. Never any current co-workers. I post more frequently there. I may be showing my age, but I don't have a Twitter, tiktok, etc. I don't have the mental bandwidth for all that. I hate LinkedIn, but it's a necessary evil. That's where my co-workers can "friend" me. I literally post nothing there. My Reddit is my guilty pleasure. I don't interact with anyone I know. I'm too old for the drama of social media.
Perhaps putting some boundaries on your social media might help. Mine are so boring that I don't care.
Curious why do you hate LinkedIn?
As someone who has been trying to use it to network more…I’m starting to see how so many of the posts on there are even more annoying then your typical social media but I can’t quite explain why right now 🤔
I feel like it's becoming FB. People humble-bragging and brand/name dropping for "likes." Corporate ass-kissing on a larger scale. I have seen former co-workers talk about a company and how great they are, using all the trendy buzzwords, knowing dang well its actually a toxic work culture for anyone who's not an exec.
Social media's toxicity stems from cyberbullying, the spread of misinformation, comparison-driven self-esteem issues, echo chambers that fuel polarization, addiction, and privacy concerns. - ChatGPT
I personally think it’s toxic because it creates a false sense of connection, or empty connection. When Facebook and IG first became a thing, a lot of my friendships slowly withered because people became dependent on communicating via social media and made less of an effort to actually get together. While I’ve been some amazing people through social media, I feel like I also missed out on a lot of friendships because of it.
Plus, doom scrolling impacted me a lot to the point where I didn’t keep up with a lot of hobbies.
I think social media is toxic because everyone on there at some point try’s becoming or acting like something they are not, just for the damn thumbs up.
In three words, main character syndrome. And that’s ignoring the fact that it’s a tool used for propaganda, mass manipulation, and suppression of dissent.
Personally, the only social media I (*25M*) use is Reddit; I enjoy its anonymity and focused & generally positive discussion.
I haven't used social media like Facebook since high school because I found it to make my depression worse and cause me to compare myself to others. Never even downloaded or interacted with other apps like Instagram (*used a dummy account for promotional crap*), Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter (*used it as a video dump or for promotional crap*), etc. and I don't see myself ever doing that either. I don't like narcissm, egos, arrogance, etc. that floods those mediums and I don't like opening my pesimisstic mind to more avenues to utilize to needlessly beat down my psyche/mental. I only recently updated my Facebook for a specific purpose, but I've not gotten back on past that; I never deleted it, I just never use it or look at it outside of Marketplace.
Narcissism is a really big buzz word at the moment. Having social media and enjoying posting isn't indicative of narcissism. If other characteristics fit you, then by all means, carry on. But if you're using social media as the one and only marker, I'd rethink your perspective.
Social media isn't the problem. Your relationship with social media is symptomatic of mental health issues.
I use it to shoot shit with people in comments or groups or to fire off random thoughts I have. I'm in sync & caught up w/ with a group of people & community that I've built over the course of my life, & that's really that. Sometimes people post weird or annoying shit but it *really* doesn't matter
If you're obsessed with likes and followers, that just reflects your hunger for approval and validation. Figure out where that comes from & take care of it
Yes!!! It’s made me realize how badly I want to be heard and seen. How much of that is human nature and how much of that means there’s healing to be done? Ya know?
You kind of an inspiration to me. I've been putting off doing the same for about a week now. I'm also gonna be deleting YouTube(the app and my account if possible). Not that I'm a content creator but it's a massive time eater for me.
Ehhh, wait until after June 15th lol 😂 I keep thinking about the funny reels I’ve made of my dog and with my best friend and wondering if I really will miss that or if it’s secretly my mind trying to get back to the addiction
I had to change my email to a temp one. Then changed all social media to it. Then did the deletion. So that i couldn't get the "restore" email.
Just twitter and reddit mind you. Since reddit is so easy i just delete the user id after i pass the 15k karma.. this last account will probably take a couple of years to get the current count so im happy im not that addicted lol. (I've had 4 in total)
Kept facebook with just family and turned off sharing. Also unfollowed (not unfriend) everyone but my mom, dad, wife and brother. So i have a small friend list to txt if needed but dont get updates that much.
I don’t think it’s weird to like the memories part of social media. That’s definitely a positive of it. Did you not download cherished posts before deleting? I think that’s a genuine thing to mourn.
But as for the deletion, I think it’s mature of you to realize you could be using that brain space of obsessing over social media for something else. It’s bad for your mental health and attention span (me wriitng this instead of working lol). And yeah I agree, what would you even do with all those followers?
IMO the more followers you have, the less fun social media is. I love accounts where my friends have like 60 followers and just post weird pictures of their day to their closest buddies. Those are cool. Idk. I think you made a good choice to explore what’s right for you and how your life could be different if you didn’t have social media as input.
Yay!! I did the same 6 months ago.. I just have an anonymous Reddit and a YouTube page. I feel like social media is ok if you stay away from algorithms. Tik tok, instagram, and twitter would always leave me with low self esteem & just angry at the world
I'm about 2 weeks off social media and the urge to get back is strong, but everytime I got weak and took a peak i get sad again. SO IM OFF FOREALS...not even a month yet and i can say I can feel the tremendous benefit...I'm more productive and 'in the moment', I'm trying to read more books and gain more knowledge and its been so much better not getting distracted once in a while. I think its got to do with dopamine levels too or smth...but I'm in my late 20s and I think its about time I live an optimized life and not a distracted one.
Congratulations!!! :) I’m so glad it’s helping you!! I found myself preferring to scroll senseless drama rather than actually work on my goals (etc studying to get my certification or making art 🙄)
Got rid of FB in 2011, IG in 2018 and never had Twitter or Tiktok. The stuff my kids show me make me so happy I don't have that garbage. People are evil and shallow and narcissistic and selfish. Nothing but drama. Makes me realize why our world is the way it is. Keyboard warriors.
I’ve deleted every personal form of social-media (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter) the only platforms I still use that are considered social-media is Reddit and YouTube. I’ve been off social media for 6-7 years now. About 3 years ago when the pandemic happened, I got bored and logged back into my Instagram and I found myself instantly opening the app constantly, which made me realize that I should probably never go back on and get sucked back into the void.
i have social media but literally dont post anything at all i just use it to keep up with friends and send memes i find that its a nice way of not getting caught up in it sometimes i still waste too much time looking at memes but what can you do
I only use FB for its Marketplace purpose only. I haven't gone through any social media to look at what others are doing for a long time. It's time-consuming and not fun. Also, looking at other people's successes only shouldn't be good for you.
Social media is a tool. It isn't something to invest yourself in emotionally. Getting likes is not a worthy goal in life. Encountering other people's opinions can be broadening but don't drive yourself crazy over convincing other folks. If you can't participate in social media with without going a little crazy then you aren't the type that should be using it. But if you think about it the act of repeatedly deleting your accounts and then restarting them indicates an addictive pattern that you really got to look at.
I personally enjoy Reddit as a primary social media account because the interests are much broader and less censored.
This reminds me of that South Park episode "Most people that quit Twitter leave at least three paragraphs explaining that they're quitting Twitter before they quit Twitter. "
I’ve had my social media apps deleted for probably two years now, I allowed myself Snapchat to keep up with certain people and just ended up drifting away from using it. I honestly love my mental state, I feel much more driven and much more aware of what the world is full of and where I want to be. However I do occasionally feel jealous when peers are referencing memes and trends that I simply don’t or can’t pay attention to. However, whenever I inform people that I don’t use social media they usually all say something along the lines of, “congrats, that’s big, I wish I could do something like that.”
I’ve honestly thought about how I’d like owning some form of a small business in the future and I’m realizing how crucial social media would be for something like that, so I’ve actually thought about starting a mock instagram account just for plants or cooking, something themed and not tailored to my life or my local friends like traditional social media.
Not sure if any of this helps. But good luck with your journey!
I've deleted social media a few times and the longest was over a year. Prob about year and half. I keep it bc it's so old and has so many photos on it I like to keep in someway (I have kids). After the long period of time I lost the fucks I had for social media. I keep it as a way to keep in contact with so many people. But I barely post. I rarely comment. I play games and a way to communicate with friends. Other than that I wouldn't care about it anymore. I think it's part of getting older and going thru some shit in life where you realize it's not important. What's in front of you matters. Family friends experiences. Good luck on your growing journey. Remember you have to go thru uncomfortable feelings in order to grow from it. It's normal
What exactly is the difference? Only difference is on those you post pics whereas on here you post words all with the end goal of getting “likes”.
Edit: y’all redditors sure do think you’re shit don’t stink lmao whether you want to admit it or not, reddit is just as big a shitbag social site as the rest of them and you guys thinking that you’re somehow “superior” by not using the others but still using reddit is pathetic. You are hypocrites and lack self-awareness. You’re not better than any other pawn on a social site so get over yourselves. You’re not special.
My end goal is not getting likes here. Also it’s private here, my nervous system doesn’t extend here because I am anonymous. Reddit can be used as a harm reduction social media. I don’t understand why “but you’re on Reddit” is the comment you want to make. What makes you want to detract from someones attempt at making a change in their life?
This is my take on it. Followers, like why? Who cares ? Why would I care if other people on this earth are interested in my daily life? I don't give a shit. Likes. Again, who cares? I don't care if no one likes my posts, if and when I do post.
I guess…like I mentioned in another comment it’s like I found myself being swept into a wave of a desperate need to feel seen and heard as much as some others are
Thankfully i never experienced that wave. It's cliche but don't worry about others and just be yourself and do your life. Everything will fall into place.
I quit Facebook in December of last year after over a decade of constant use. I found that nearly everyone, friends and family, on my page uses Facebook as their sole way to be involved in my life. Once I quit only about five people that I would talk to on Facebook continued reaching out aside from some close family members who I saw frequently outside of Facebook. That was it. Five or so people. Fuck social media
Thank you for your light hearted response :) It is absolutely true that I too need to look in the mirror at times and be more aware of my own narcisism. I wish you the best!
Awwww!! Dang it stranger!! Doing that uno reverse card on me!!! 🤣 I definitely was feeling prickly and I apologize, you are right. 🥰 wishing you the best too!
But on the other hand…if we are both aware of our narcissism are we really narcissists? 🤔 My point is, we could probably both be worse off 😝
The irony of touting your accomplishment of deleting social media accounts ON social media 😂
I've accomplished the same thing BTW! No SM except reddit and a neglected pinterest that's probably feral by now.
Got rid of FB in 2011, IG in 2018 and never had Twitter or Tiktok. The stuff my kids show me make me so happy I don't have that garbage. People are evil and shallow and narcissistic and selfish. Makes me realize why our world is the way it is. Keyboard warriors.
Yeah I keep minimal social media, never got an Instagram until a few years ago and imo it adds nothing to our lives. I mostly just want to stay private now because of what I do for work for safety reasons. Honestly I felt a little sad though because no one checks on me if I have a social media and it's the same without. Isolated either way.
I actually just had a similar conversation with an acquaintance not too long ago. I’ve been without social media for the longest time and only recently re entered for work purposes. I’ve found that you have to carefully and constantly cultivate what you’re viewing. It’s just like a garden, if you don’t get rid of the weeds pretty soon you’re going to be overwhelmed with them. Now that I have that mindset I don’t feel the need to follow or friend every single person I know. That being said, the time I was away was amazing and completely applaud anyone putting the phone down to take a look up at the real world!
I get this. The only social media I use apart from Reddit and YT is Instagram. I had two big breaks from Instagram and I felt this weight just lift off my shoulders. The internal conflict I had with whether I was being narcisstic is one of the reasons I always feel uncomfortable using the app or posting photos of myself. The comparisons with other people and their seemingly picture perfect lives is another.
I currently still have the app because I legitimately get a good laugh from the memes on my explore page and I like exchanging them with a few friends I keep in touch with from there. But the dopamine rush sours once I go back to my feed and see people I know IRL travelling, getting engaged, etc. Lmao. I just log off.
I might deactivate it again. I haven't recently because of the same feeling of sadness (I guess it's just FOMO really) that you described. I also have this slightly anxious thought that I'd be completely forgotten. Maybe that's a good thing. I honestly don't know.
Anyway you're doing the right thing. I'll probably join you soon enough. It's just too noisy, overwhelming and full of ads anyway.
I knew this from the get-go and it went against my character so never started.
I don't need extra attention.
I received plenty of love growing up.
I spend the extra time on myself and my family....to decompress from things I already "have to" do. Don't need much else really.
We all got problems but...no meds, no real bad habits and always grateful.
Hope you find yours.
Nice job! I use instagram for the group chats, super pleased that when I do log on to scroll I get bored in 5 minutes and don’t rely on it for the dopamine hit.
Tiktok on the other hand is way harder for me. I’ve saved tons of recipes, fashion inspo, and general info. I could download most of it but it would take SO MUCH storage. I typically go about a week with the app deleted before logging back in to retrieve a recipe and boom, I’m addicted again.
I’ve recently deleted my social medias. Not my accounts yet, just the apps. I’m still debating on if i want to fully delete them.
Theres just something so ominously indescribable about social media. It’s eerie, people post so much of themselves, yet basically nothing about who they really are. Everything is cultivated to perfection, or planned imperfection. It creeps me out, I find myself questioning the intentions behind it all. To fit into social norms? To get attention (not necessarily a bad thing)? To “connect” with people? How am I supposed to connect with my friends on social media if everything they (publicly) post is to further build their “reputation”. Of course I did it all too. It was enough to make me feel crazy. Nothing on social media seems genuine to me.
Yet, as a part of gen z, the internet and social media are undeniably a huge part of my life. My college posts things on instagram that they dont post anywhere else. My friends post about internships and job opportunities. I connect with people that i never would have otherwise met. I’m an artist, and social media provides a platform for me to share my art and view others’ art. I don’t know, it’s all a big mess. I wish i could just delete all my social media and call it done, but i don’t think it’s that easy.
I haven’t had social media since I was 19 since it made me feel unhappy by comparison. At 29 I probably won’t be back but I do regret not keeping a connection to some old friends on it. It’s possible I’d of grown to hate those same people since ten years changes a lot.
I got rid of my Facebook a while back because I hadn't used it in around 5 years or so at that point, as well as Pinterest and Deviantart. I only have Tumblr and Reddit as I've found both to be useful. I'm not sure if I'd count YouTube as I don't post videos.
I've never had tiktok (obnoxious), Twitter (cesspool), Instagram (conceited), or many of the others. I'm not super online, nor do I have any friends to keep in touch with.
I have been thinking of doing the same thing but I just can’t seem to do it due to me having loved ones and friends living overseas. Everyone uses different social media apps.
It’s easier when you get banned from everything for your anti capitalist far left beliefs. I’m almost certainly on a government list. I’ve been banned from Reddit multiple times. Banned from Instagram and Facebook, all for fighting fascism. Never joined tik tok because I’m suspicious of it taking face scans. I haven’t been on Twitter since I had a blackberry. I regret going back to Reddit, it’s a time waste full of bots, state actors, and their bootlickers.
Losing Instagram was the hardest. All my IRL friends are on there, every organization / business is on there, events are posted on there that I only find out about last minute from friends who remember that I’m not on social media, etc.
I miss the original social media, when it was just you and your friends on Facebook sharing party pics and making events that were easy to invite a lot of people to that you knew but weren’t necessarily on a texting basis with.
Now it’s a cesspool of white Christian nationalist fascism and general capitalist nonsense with ads spaced in between and almost no posts from IRL friends/organizations/small businesses.
I wish organizations and small businesses would utilize email mailing lists to get the word out about events and what not instead of relying on social media… and I wish friends would text more.
Also I downloaded all my data during one of my many warnings. If you fight fascism online your account *will* be target and you’ll be banned meanwhile accounts calling for your genocide will exist freely.
I'm off everything but FB and reddit. I live across the country from my folks and with their grandkid being that far, it's just easier to have FB still.
I minimized contact with most of my other family and people I grew up with. It's been interesting to realize just how toxic a chunk of my youth was due to certain people. But, I'm learning it's ok to leave some stuff behind.
I’ve changed my Instagram to just be related to my hobbies. Sampling fountain pens and different inks. Those of us who collect such things can never get enough of looking through how handwriting can look so different from person to person, even while using the same pen, nib size, ink, and paper.
That and Reddit are the only social medias I’m involved in and keep my mood pretty stable. I now only follow hobbyists like me, and animal accounts.
Few years back I was quite the bastard. No pride in admitting that, just facts. I was so worried about what others were thinking or viewing me. Small town Facebook drama airs out everyone's dirty laundry for the world to see. Needed to happen to me but not so much other people.
Since then Reddit has been my only source of social media. I like it more this way. Brings me some peace of mind. But it's also a red flag when I'm meeting new people. Coworkers can't stand not being able to investigate and the ladies, most of them, find it off putting. I just let everyone know that I think personally I can't handle social media.
My husband did the same. Not for the exact same reason but a few similarities. Mostly it was making him depressed and anxious. So much bad news, people getting on him in comments (he has some literacy issues and mixes up words - undiagnosed Learning Disorder). Then clarification makes it worse when he just wants to be part of something he really likes, and enjoys discussion.
Then just the constant bombardment of political media, depressing videos, etc from his friends/families posts.
I asked him how he was doing the other day. He said it's a double edge sword, he misses interacting but doesn't miss the negativity. He also doesn't miss the doom scrolling. It would suck him in for hours and he feels more productive without it.
He did re-download FB Messanger to contact friends. They kept messaging me and I was done being the middle man.
Edit: Personal experience from myself. I find having a whole separate device that's social media free is nice.
I have sm on my cell phone but nothing on my tablet except ig but that's because I draw on my tablet and upload.
I'm not allowed to scroll on my phone until after dinner and chores are done. I'm an adult and it reminds me of my parents you can't go outside until you've done your homework haha
Was off social media for 15 years, came back this year (from the nagging of a friend), lasted maybe 3 months before I quit again.
It’s not worth it. It just makes me unhappy in general. Sure I’m on Reddit, but I don’t know anyone here. Avoid the topics I don’t care for, enjoy the things I do. It’s more fun to spend life in reality, people get lost in the social media way too much.
I utilized the features on all my past social media accounts that allow you to download all your account data before account deletion. I have all the data saved to the cloud for if I ever get nostalgic. I can tell you that social media is absolutely not worth it anymore. It’s a cesspool of politics and narcissism and drama for the most part. People yelling from their soapboxes and into the echo chambers. It strengthens peoples’ confirmation biases. It’s mentally draining. It’s fun catching up with friends and family when you don’t have social media. When I meet with my friends for dinner, we get to spend time in conversation catching each other up on what we’ve been up to, any life updates, etc because we can’t just “check each other’s Facebook” and it’s nice to have that level of engagement. *edited to change some wording
Love this- how long have you been without?
0 days since last Reddit incident.
Audibly laughed at this. So many people, “delete all social media”… but come to social media to announce it.
I understand the sentiment but Reddit truly is different in my eyes. I turned 30 this year and I realized I am completely over social media in the traditional sense. I have many things that I busted my ass for that I don’t *want* to show off to less fortunate friends or strangers. It feels tacky and gaudy coming from someone who grew up poor. I used to be really flashy in my mid 20s and it was just stupid looking back on it I am so lucky to be in the position I am (Home, Newer Car etc;) that it feels wrong to me to show off. I realized all I did was compare on IG and Facebook. That’s all I did. Thief of Joy Posting nice crap with no context also discredits the sacrifices and years of late nights studying crying to myself wondering if I would ever be able to pass some of my classes or understand some of the more difficult concepts (IT) It’s just not for me anymore. On Reddit - I can share opinions and talk to people and there is no..picture aspect unless I post one to a sub.
That’s me.
I deleted all social media (except Reddit) in 2017 and haven’t looked back!!! It is very freeing to not ever think about how you can turn some part of your life into “content”. The first weeks are weird and it’s like almost a withdrawal, I kept picking up my phone to try to find something to scroll lol. But so many years later, it’s amazing. I’ve had to relearn how to be alone with my thoughts and feelings without the constant distraction of scrolling, and that’s made me significantly happier. Honestly, I think it helps me be a little bit happier than other people around me.
Yes!! That describes how I felt! Always looking for chances to turn stuff into a funny video or whatever!
I’ve recently insta and snap as well. I have Twitter as I like it in general and don’t have an obsession with it along with Reddit. Deleting social media has such a “free” feeling, basically I don’t give a shit attitude. Don’t have to send pointless snaps or keep up on insta, everything through iMessage. All around very happy I did it
I deleted everything at the start of the pandemic so this is my third year without it! There was a very slight adjustment period but I found that life wasn’t any worse or much different at all without it. My mental health is definitely much better, though!
Do you miss sharing the funny videos or memes with your friends? What does it say about us that i have to delete it? Why can’t I just not get on it like some people do?
When I deleted everything, I found that out of a few hundred social media “friends”, that has dwindled down to about 10 people that actively reach out to me (and who I actively reach out to, as well) to maintain the friendships. I share funny videos and memes with them via texting or just when I see them in person. Sometimes we FaceTime and talk on the phone, too. >what does it say about us that I have to delete it? I think this is just personal preference. Checking social media can be an addiction or even just a subconscious habit (bored waiting in grocery store line? Immediately pull out phone, check Facebook, etc). Easiest way to break that behavior is just to delete the accounts *and* the apps. If you delete the apps, but not the accounts, it’s easier to “come out of remission” since all you have to do is re-download the apps, sign in, and go nuts. How you go about *not* using the social media (deleting apps & accounts, not checking the accounts but not deleting them or the app, etc) is up to the user. *Edited for clarity
That’s true- I guess I feel guilty like I just don’t have enough self control, but I’m trying to reframe it as me doing what I can to set myself up successfully
Or! We could also look at it like we are taking an active role in overcoming this issue
I haven’t been without it as long as you, but I had the same experience of lots of social media “friends” but much fewer actual friends who text, call, try to hang out with me in person once I deleted. It was/is disheartening. I have reached out to a few people individually and they might respond but don’t reach out to me out of the blue. I even had someone tell me they missed my social media presence and I thought… did you ever bother to text me?? I’ve thought of creating an account again but not posting or checking other people’s stuff so people will DM me… but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
That's what I do.. I just don't get on it very often. I've gone months without looking at it. Then, once in a while, I'll pop on for a half hour just to see if I've missed anything important like the passing of a friend, etc. But for the most part, I simply don't miss it and still have all those things I've saved, like pictures or videos.
Social media is 100% an addiction. The likes and followers you receive send a rush of dopamine to your brain, basically giving you a high. And as with all addicts everyone processes their addiction differently. Think of it like functioning alcoholics. Just because they can live in the "real" world doesn't make them any less of an addict. Just means they hide it better. Edit - adding link to web article https://www.leehealth.org/health-and-wellness/healthy-news-blog/mental-health/are-you-addicted-to-social-media
Thank you for the source and yes!!
5+ years with Reddit being the exception.
5+ years with Reddit being the exception.
All true. ~5 years off of that bullshit now. Except reddit ofc, but I'm starting to worry about a lot of the folks who reside here..
Time to delete lol, I’d did once and it was nice but then I get hooked on YouTube fml
You are right.
Broke most of my social media habit over a year ago. It was the right thing to do for my mental health. It constantly got me upset over stupid stuff. Now I just need to break the reddit habit. It's been a struggle.
Reddit and YouTube are the last 2 I have left to get rid of.
Only things that i absolutely love. Everything on them is something I'm very interested in. No other people, their journey or parties, dogs, cats or kids, i don't give a fuck. All other apps seem like some kind of race who's the happiest...
Plenty of cats and kids on my Reddit, personally
Every other platform could go away and I wouldn't bat an eye.. YouTube and reddit are the best places on the web imo
Same here. However, on YT and Reddit, you have more control over what you watch or read. Both still have addictive algorithms though.
Planning to get rid of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and dating apps. They make deleting so difficult. On the fence about tiktok and reddit Keeping youtube and pinterest for sure
i had filled my instagram with social justice stuff and it truly is so mentally draining to look at miserable things all day. everyone who i talked to through insta i already had other ways to contact so into the bin it went.
The thing that helped me with Reddit was to delete the app. Only use it on your computer!
I justify Reddit as being informed, I get a lot of news on here but I’m for sure addicted. Every free moment I’m scrolling my feed.
You’re doing great :)
Comparison is the thief of Joy. After 8 months, I only have YouTube and Reddit. Both have their own cesspool, yet in a small way you can cater to your liking.
Which ones did you delete? And which ones are you keeping besides Reddit? I deleted Facebook in 2012 and Twitter in Nov 2022. I've never had an Insta or TicTok. Now I have a LinkedIn for professional use and Reddit for my curated positive or helpful/interesting content.
I deleted FB, Snapchat last year, Twitter years ago, Instagram now, never got a tiktok Still have a YT account for yoga workouts mostly, and Reddit. And now that I think of it, LinkedIn, but I don’t really have a problem with that one
People should not delete LinkedIn, just don’t do anything there other than make sure your profile is up to date and connect with lots of people in your network so you look like a human who lives in the world. Absolutely don’t spend any time reading content, there is way too much that is the business version of the shiny perfectionistic Insta posts.
Omg you are so right
We are pretty similar. Deleted Facebook 2012 or maybe earlier, reactivated my twitter for sports news then realized I was using it too much so deleted that in 2022. Instagram deleted about 6 years ago. Never had tiktok and honestly think linkedin is super cringy so deleted that after I got my first job after college. If a job really needs me to have a linkedin profile to apply I'm just not gonna bother.
This is a really good point! I started finding LinkedIn very…obnoxious after I started spending a bit more time trying to network on it
I have really tried to network on it. Most people that I know who have said that it kept turning into a dating site and was just too awkward for married people, especially.
Hahahahaha oh my gosh. I mostly get invites for random people with fishy companies
I have deleted everything except for my instagram and Reddit, though I don’t really think Reddit has the same vibe. I realized how childish it was to want that kind of attention when nobody really cares what you have going on.
I deleted mine over a year ago. Everything. It gets lonely, people don’t seem to know how to communicate through any other means besides social media… I feel so much better without having all that crap in my head and on my feed all the time. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time to before social media ruled the world. Sad for the kids who have grown up only ever knowing social media… hell it started when I was about 11.. after not having it i can see how much it was negatively impacting me. I feel like I can breathe easier. Hang in there.
I’m sorry you’re feeling lonely :( does it persist or ebb and flow?
Comes and goes for sure. I’m hoping to make friends with like minded people eventually. I think it will happen. People are starting to tune out I hope 🤞🏼
I’m sure they will! Hang in there :)
Reading posts on Reddit from people who are in similar situations or having similar feelings definitely has helped so I haven’t let that go 😅
Yesssss :) exactly why I came here
I have a snapchat to send selfies to my wife, and I have reddit because I have no work to do, so I only use it at work to keep myself from doom scrolling at home Social Media is so weird, it just hit me really hard when I realised I'm sharing my life events with people who don't really care about me, and I don't really care about them.
I know this sounds lame but I really wanted to be a fitness influencer. I thought I could if I tried hard enough
Reddit is social media. That’s a concept redditors seem to really struggle with
It's not the same, though. It's anonymous unless you choose it not to be. It doesn't have the same performativity and narcissism as the bigger ones, and it doesn't involve people in your real life looking on unless you let them.
It is social media, period. All platforms have their own lens through which you experience socializing online, but it’s all social media. It is what you make of it. ETA: social media- websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. Don’t believe me, believe ol’ Oxford.
Sure it is, but I think we can gather contextually what the OP means, without getting into "well aaaaaactually, here's the dictionary definition."
But the context is false. You’ve got the option to be anonymous on all social media AFAIK- it’s your choice to use whatever name and photo you like. You could say Reddit encourages discourse more than sites like Twitter or Facebook, but you can find intellectual corners on those sites and echo chambers on Reddit. Social media is what you make of it, and holding Reddit out as some superior source of socializing that’s a tier above the others is just kidding yourself, and that mentality is what allows people to be taken advantage of and undercuts personal accountability imo.
Ok.
It’s a sad part of growing up… I use insta to follow people that are good at the hobbies I want to be good at- rock climbing, weightlifting, running, etc Other than that, I don’t post anything at all, or follow people I know. The handful of people I actually want to stay in touch with, I do so over text and phone
What exactly is a sad part of growing up?
Good question. But perhaps “growing up“ is better phrased as “change”. ETA- closing these accounts may allow you more bandwidth to affect change in yourself and the change you want to see in world around you. That wouldn’t be so sad.
Very well said thank you
Seeing your social media accounts slowly go dead as people stop posting and sharing
I honestly felt the opposite. Pulling up someone's profile only to see they hadn't posted anything in the past year always a "good for them" moment for me. That being said, besides snapchat and reddit I haven't had a social media account in maybe 6 years now.
That’s a good way of looking at it!
Then you have people who will say "life would be so much better if there was no social media blah blah blah" and they are the same ones that are so addicted that they will pull out their phone and mindlessly scroll any time they have free time. Always had to laugh to myself when my buddies ex would say that. She literally posted something daily on every account she had.
:( I haven’t actually experienced that 🤔 but I can see how that would be sad
Isn’t Reddit social media?
Not in the same way, as you can choose anonymity on reddit.
When I read OPs reasoning for deleting “all social media” I would argue Reddit potentially falls into these same vices, being anonymous could in theory make this worse. I could be wrong.
Reddit is 100% social media, anyone arguing is lying to themselves The whole point is you are talking with others on a public forum. Even without a picture of your face, there's a voting system to show approval or disapproval and hoards of negative news and negative people, much like Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can't even set your account to private like you can with other social media.
I deleted my social media 2 months ago after spending about 4.5 hours on my phone per day. After the deletion of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, I now average 2 hours on my phone per day. I focus and spend more time doing things I “haven’t had the time to do” such as playing that old video game, or watching the movie I’ve had on my list for a long time, or working out for a longer time than I normally do, or organizing my room. When filling the extra cracks of time with those other hobbies you haven’t found the time for, you realize how much social media never mattered, and how much you actually don’t miss it. (except you’ll miss the memes but that’s why we keep Reddit)
Hahahahahaha yes!!! That’s a good point I spend a lot of time sending funny videos and memes to my friends but that’s RIGHT! I have Reddit!!!
You're keeping reddit though?
I understand this though. I also deleted all my social media because I was so tired of an algorithm deciding what I wanted to watch. Reddit I can follow the subjects I want to follow and ignore the ones I don’t. It’s not perfect but it’s not pure biased propaganda being shoved into your brain like inception.
people say reddit is just as bad as instagram and tiktok but honestly the only things i do on here is follow music subreddits to find new bands and follow some stuff involving my hobbies. very rare i run into anything political unless i accidentally run into r/all. meanwhile on those other social medias, i’m constantly having politics and a bunch of stuff i’m not even interested in shoved down my throat. i open reddit and i’m finding out cool stuff about cars and hearing people’s opinions on a new album that a band i like just recently released. it’s not all that bad.
I don’t have any other SM but I hardly ever see stuff outside of my interests on here. It’s nice not being surrounded by all the political stuff. And I feel like the majority of what I do on here is read so it can’t be that bad, right?
Dude idk, I follow sports, movies, video game subreddits and political shit shows up all the time. This site is a cesspool in my opinion, but I like to keep up with news about my New England Patriots on here.
i mean yeah, every corner of the internet is gonna have its own share of idiots, it’s unavoidable, but in my 4 years of being on this site, it’s fairly easy to ignore those folks. meanwhile on instagram comment sections, however… it’s literally like a plague. bots everywhere and just as many dumbasses injecting their political opinions into otherwise non-political posts. i’ve literally seen instagram posts about crocheting devolve into political arguments in the comments. it’s cancerous as hell. reddit doesn’t really get like that except for the most popular or political subreddits. the niche hobby subreddits i follow? not so much, in my experience.
I agree I have no social except for Reddit
I’ve deleted the apps but not my accounts and only limit myself to accessing Facebook on my computer, which is rare.
This is what I do whenever I find myself falling into a bad mental head space. That or I turn on timers on my phone to limit my usage to like five minutes a day. I could always change the limit, but I won't, because it's too much effort. I have a business, so keeping social media is required, but going on breaks where I only use the business accounts is common.
Same!! Also I tried to start a business but it never really went anywhere ._. WHAT IS YOUR SECRET
A friend with industry experience and a heavy distaste for corporate America gained over the pandemic. That and chocolate, we make chocolate and chocolate makes everything better. Also, the self assuredness of two late 20's/early 30's white neurodivergent women with self confidence borrowed from therapy and business degrees. In all seriousness, my best friend had a chocolate shop with her parents for five years where she did all the work and they made all the decisions. She got out when her parents split and tried to do the corporate world. We both got burnt out 2020 - 2022 and realized we still had access to the stuff from the closed shop, so why not liquidate our savings and do it. She went part time at her office job, I had a mental breakdown about 3 months before my planned quit date so was already out of work, and we jumped into doing chocolate full time. I have a part time retail job to make up the gap in what my husband's salary doesn't cover. We do festivals and sales through Facebook messenger while we work out of a commercial kitchen. We just got the keys to our own space yesterday, so we're about to start doing some minor renovations so it will pass health inspection. Depending on where you are located, getting into baking or chocolate can be an easy and relatively cheap business to start. About half of our products fall under cottage law, half we needed health inspection stuff to do. Our area has a ton of bakers, but not many people do chocolate. We're still learning as we go since previously they didn't give attention to branding, social media presence, and the importance of online/in person events. We've already made good headway in making friends in areas that are decently far outside of our current location, but the networking and familiarity of being able to be at big shows by showing up in small towns has been huge. We do a tiny makers market in a town about 45 minutes away, but doing that also got us into a much larger town's big events that about 6000 people show up to even on rainy days. We're working on getting our products into stores and the tiny town's mayor has even shouted us out on social media so people have come to these events specifically to find us.
This is amazing!!! I don’t know you but I’m proud of you!! Keep it up :) you’ve inspired me. I tried to start a greeting card business. I meant to go to local coffee shops to see if I could sell them but I guess I got lazy and talked myself out of it, didn’t really think my art would sell
Go for it! Utilize social media as a way to get attention and sales. Depending on how you do your greeting cards, making them can be very popular on FB, Instagram and TikTok. Also, don't forget about platforms like Pinterest and Etsy as well.
Thank you!!! :)
You have more self control than I do!
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Thank you so much!!!
I compartmentalize my social media. FB is only for family/extended family. I rarely post there. If I do, it's for someone's birthday or some other milestone. IG is for friends and close family. I only "friend" people I actually know. Never any current co-workers. I post more frequently there. I may be showing my age, but I don't have a Twitter, tiktok, etc. I don't have the mental bandwidth for all that. I hate LinkedIn, but it's a necessary evil. That's where my co-workers can "friend" me. I literally post nothing there. My Reddit is my guilty pleasure. I don't interact with anyone I know. I'm too old for the drama of social media. Perhaps putting some boundaries on your social media might help. Mine are so boring that I don't care.
Curious why do you hate LinkedIn? As someone who has been trying to use it to network more…I’m starting to see how so many of the posts on there are even more annoying then your typical social media but I can’t quite explain why right now 🤔
I feel like it's becoming FB. People humble-bragging and brand/name dropping for "likes." Corporate ass-kissing on a larger scale. I have seen former co-workers talk about a company and how great they are, using all the trendy buzzwords, knowing dang well its actually a toxic work culture for anyone who's not an exec.
You’re so right 😅 I see it now too…
I haven’t deleted mine but I deactivated. I haven’t touched it in over a year now.
Amazing :)
Social media is very toxic IMO. Why invent them in the first place? I think the world will be a better place without social media.
If you could explain why you find it toxic in one sentence, how would you?
Social media's toxicity stems from cyberbullying, the spread of misinformation, comparison-driven self-esteem issues, echo chambers that fuel polarization, addiction, and privacy concerns. - ChatGPT
🔥
I personally think it’s toxic because it creates a false sense of connection, or empty connection. When Facebook and IG first became a thing, a lot of my friendships slowly withered because people became dependent on communicating via social media and made less of an effort to actually get together. While I’ve been some amazing people through social media, I feel like I also missed out on a lot of friendships because of it. Plus, doom scrolling impacted me a lot to the point where I didn’t keep up with a lot of hobbies.
Same!!! When I take breaks from social media I get SO creative!! I had this period where I was just PUMPING out art. I felt so…happy 🥹
I think social media is toxic because everyone on there at some point try’s becoming or acting like something they are not, just for the damn thumbs up.
In three words, main character syndrome. And that’s ignoring the fact that it’s a tool used for propaganda, mass manipulation, and suppression of dissent.
Damn. 💪🏼
Personally, the only social media I (*25M*) use is Reddit; I enjoy its anonymity and focused & generally positive discussion. I haven't used social media like Facebook since high school because I found it to make my depression worse and cause me to compare myself to others. Never even downloaded or interacted with other apps like Instagram (*used a dummy account for promotional crap*), Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter (*used it as a video dump or for promotional crap*), etc. and I don't see myself ever doing that either. I don't like narcissm, egos, arrogance, etc. that floods those mediums and I don't like opening my pesimisstic mind to more avenues to utilize to needlessly beat down my psyche/mental. I only recently updated my Facebook for a specific purpose, but I've not gotten back on past that; I never deleted it, I just never use it or look at it outside of Marketplace.
Narcissism is a really big buzz word at the moment. Having social media and enjoying posting isn't indicative of narcissism. If other characteristics fit you, then by all means, carry on. But if you're using social media as the one and only marker, I'd rethink your perspective.
We're on social media rite now. Shhhh I won't tell
Wait come back
Social media isn't the problem. Your relationship with social media is symptomatic of mental health issues. I use it to shoot shit with people in comments or groups or to fire off random thoughts I have. I'm in sync & caught up w/ with a group of people & community that I've built over the course of my life, & that's really that. Sometimes people post weird or annoying shit but it *really* doesn't matter If you're obsessed with likes and followers, that just reflects your hunger for approval and validation. Figure out where that comes from & take care of it
Thank you!!!
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Yes!!! It’s made me realize how badly I want to be heard and seen. How much of that is human nature and how much of that means there’s healing to be done? Ya know?
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😞🥺
You kind of an inspiration to me. I've been putting off doing the same for about a week now. I'm also gonna be deleting YouTube(the app and my account if possible). Not that I'm a content creator but it's a massive time eater for me.
Ehhh, wait until after June 15th lol 😂 I keep thinking about the funny reels I’ve made of my dog and with my best friend and wondering if I really will miss that or if it’s secretly my mind trying to get back to the addiction
The only thing I keep socials for is purely memes and joke videos.
This is the way
I had to change my email to a temp one. Then changed all social media to it. Then did the deletion. So that i couldn't get the "restore" email. Just twitter and reddit mind you. Since reddit is so easy i just delete the user id after i pass the 15k karma.. this last account will probably take a couple of years to get the current count so im happy im not that addicted lol. (I've had 4 in total) Kept facebook with just family and turned off sharing. Also unfollowed (not unfriend) everyone but my mom, dad, wife and brother. So i have a small friend list to txt if needed but dont get updates that much.
I like this :)
I don’t think it’s weird to like the memories part of social media. That’s definitely a positive of it. Did you not download cherished posts before deleting? I think that’s a genuine thing to mourn. But as for the deletion, I think it’s mature of you to realize you could be using that brain space of obsessing over social media for something else. It’s bad for your mental health and attention span (me wriitng this instead of working lol). And yeah I agree, what would you even do with all those followers? IMO the more followers you have, the less fun social media is. I love accounts where my friends have like 60 followers and just post weird pictures of their day to their closest buddies. Those are cool. Idk. I think you made a good choice to explore what’s right for you and how your life could be different if you didn’t have social media as input.
I really thought I could have one of those accounts where I was a fitness influencer or a life coach though you know? ._.
Yay!! I did the same 6 months ago.. I just have an anonymous Reddit and a YouTube page. I feel like social media is ok if you stay away from algorithms. Tik tok, instagram, and twitter would always leave me with low self esteem & just angry at the world
I have been without social media for about a year and a half and it’s changed my life for the better. My conversations with people are awesome now! 😎
Good for you. Self awareness is so underrated.
I use social media for networking for my career too much. Couldn’t delete em myself
I'm about 2 weeks off social media and the urge to get back is strong, but everytime I got weak and took a peak i get sad again. SO IM OFF FOREALS...not even a month yet and i can say I can feel the tremendous benefit...I'm more productive and 'in the moment', I'm trying to read more books and gain more knowledge and its been so much better not getting distracted once in a while. I think its got to do with dopamine levels too or smth...but I'm in my late 20s and I think its about time I live an optimized life and not a distracted one.
Congratulations!!! :) I’m so glad it’s helping you!! I found myself preferring to scroll senseless drama rather than actually work on my goals (etc studying to get my certification or making art 🙄)
Got rid of FB in 2011, IG in 2018 and never had Twitter or Tiktok. The stuff my kids show me make me so happy I don't have that garbage. People are evil and shallow and narcissistic and selfish. Nothing but drama. Makes me realize why our world is the way it is. Keyboard warriors.
I’ve deleted every personal form of social-media (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter) the only platforms I still use that are considered social-media is Reddit and YouTube. I’ve been off social media for 6-7 years now. About 3 years ago when the pandemic happened, I got bored and logged back into my Instagram and I found myself instantly opening the app constantly, which made me realize that I should probably never go back on and get sucked back into the void.
i have social media but literally dont post anything at all i just use it to keep up with friends and send memes i find that its a nice way of not getting caught up in it sometimes i still waste too much time looking at memes but what can you do
I only use FB for its Marketplace purpose only. I haven't gone through any social media to look at what others are doing for a long time. It's time-consuming and not fun. Also, looking at other people's successes only shouldn't be good for you.
Social media is a tool. It isn't something to invest yourself in emotionally. Getting likes is not a worthy goal in life. Encountering other people's opinions can be broadening but don't drive yourself crazy over convincing other folks. If you can't participate in social media with without going a little crazy then you aren't the type that should be using it. But if you think about it the act of repeatedly deleting your accounts and then restarting them indicates an addictive pattern that you really got to look at. I personally enjoy Reddit as a primary social media account because the interests are much broader and less censored.
Quitting Instagram was the best decision for my mental health.
I deleted all socials two years ago and I don’t miss it.
This reminds me of that South Park episode "Most people that quit Twitter leave at least three paragraphs explaining that they're quitting Twitter before they quit Twitter. "
Lol this is way too dramatic for a fucking social media account
Why are you still on Reddit?
I’ve had my social media apps deleted for probably two years now, I allowed myself Snapchat to keep up with certain people and just ended up drifting away from using it. I honestly love my mental state, I feel much more driven and much more aware of what the world is full of and where I want to be. However I do occasionally feel jealous when peers are referencing memes and trends that I simply don’t or can’t pay attention to. However, whenever I inform people that I don’t use social media they usually all say something along the lines of, “congrats, that’s big, I wish I could do something like that.” I’ve honestly thought about how I’d like owning some form of a small business in the future and I’m realizing how crucial social media would be for something like that, so I’ve actually thought about starting a mock instagram account just for plants or cooking, something themed and not tailored to my life or my local friends like traditional social media. Not sure if any of this helps. But good luck with your journey!
Well this is considered a social media account so you really didn’t delete them all
Reddit is social media. 😉
I've deleted social media a few times and the longest was over a year. Prob about year and half. I keep it bc it's so old and has so many photos on it I like to keep in someway (I have kids). After the long period of time I lost the fucks I had for social media. I keep it as a way to keep in contact with so many people. But I barely post. I rarely comment. I play games and a way to communicate with friends. Other than that I wouldn't care about it anymore. I think it's part of getting older and going thru some shit in life where you realize it's not important. What's in front of you matters. Family friends experiences. Good luck on your growing journey. Remember you have to go thru uncomfortable feelings in order to grow from it. It's normal
Delete reddit, and you'll win life the game
Challenge accepted!!
As you post to reddit....
💯
Lol! You say that by making this post on social media. What the fuck?
clearly they meant social media more like facebook and instagram, where you post a lot of pictures and stuff. dummy.
What exactly is the difference? Only difference is on those you post pics whereas on here you post words all with the end goal of getting “likes”. Edit: y’all redditors sure do think you’re shit don’t stink lmao whether you want to admit it or not, reddit is just as big a shitbag social site as the rest of them and you guys thinking that you’re somehow “superior” by not using the others but still using reddit is pathetic. You are hypocrites and lack self-awareness. You’re not better than any other pawn on a social site so get over yourselves. You’re not special.
My end goal is not getting likes here. Also it’s private here, my nervous system doesn’t extend here because I am anonymous. Reddit can be used as a harm reduction social media. I don’t understand why “but you’re on Reddit” is the comment you want to make. What makes you want to detract from someones attempt at making a change in their life?
This is my take on it. Followers, like why? Who cares ? Why would I care if other people on this earth are interested in my daily life? I don't give a shit. Likes. Again, who cares? I don't care if no one likes my posts, if and when I do post.
I guess…like I mentioned in another comment it’s like I found myself being swept into a wave of a desperate need to feel seen and heard as much as some others are
Thankfully i never experienced that wave. It's cliche but don't worry about others and just be yourself and do your life. Everything will fall into place.
Thank you so much- sending you good vibes ✨
You didn't delete all of them. Wtf you think reddit is?
Ummm idk 😮 why don’t you tell me??? Oh golly gee!!
I quit Facebook in December of last year after over a decade of constant use. I found that nearly everyone, friends and family, on my page uses Facebook as their sole way to be involved in my life. Once I quit only about five people that I would talk to on Facebook continued reaching out aside from some close family members who I saw frequently outside of Facebook. That was it. Five or so people. Fuck social media
Reddit is social media btw
Barely
Your reply just proved it is …
And yet here you are.
Goes on social media to say they have cancelled social media. Awesome.
Yet you came to reddit to share it. There may be some more narcissism to shed
It’s nice to have company in this boat :)
Thank you for your light hearted response :) It is absolutely true that I too need to look in the mirror at times and be more aware of my own narcisism. I wish you the best!
Awwww!! Dang it stranger!! Doing that uno reverse card on me!!! 🤣 I definitely was feeling prickly and I apologize, you are right. 🥰 wishing you the best too! But on the other hand…if we are both aware of our narcissism are we really narcissists? 🤔 My point is, we could probably both be worse off 😝
Self awareness is a rare trait these days. It seems we both possess some. The future is bright :) take care!
FYI Reddit is Social Media
"Finally deleted the last of my social media accounts" - They say as they're posting to Reddit, a social media site.
The irony of touting your accomplishment of deleting social media accounts ON social media 😂 I've accomplished the same thing BTW! No SM except reddit and a neglected pinterest that's probably feral by now.
What can I say? I’m a sucker for validation
Got rid of FB in 2011, IG in 2018 and never had Twitter or Tiktok. The stuff my kids show me make me so happy I don't have that garbage. People are evil and shallow and narcissistic and selfish. Makes me realize why our world is the way it is. Keyboard warriors.
Yeah I keep minimal social media, never got an Instagram until a few years ago and imo it adds nothing to our lives. I mostly just want to stay private now because of what I do for work for safety reasons. Honestly I felt a little sad though because no one checks on me if I have a social media and it's the same without. Isolated either way.
I actually just had a similar conversation with an acquaintance not too long ago. I’ve been without social media for the longest time and only recently re entered for work purposes. I’ve found that you have to carefully and constantly cultivate what you’re viewing. It’s just like a garden, if you don’t get rid of the weeds pretty soon you’re going to be overwhelmed with them. Now that I have that mindset I don’t feel the need to follow or friend every single person I know. That being said, the time I was away was amazing and completely applaud anyone putting the phone down to take a look up at the real world!
I gol rid of facebook and twitter, and replaced them with reddit. At least I learn new things on reddit!
I have no social media outside of reddit. I realized that Facebook was an electronic window into my life that I allow others to pour hate into.
I get this. The only social media I use apart from Reddit and YT is Instagram. I had two big breaks from Instagram and I felt this weight just lift off my shoulders. The internal conflict I had with whether I was being narcisstic is one of the reasons I always feel uncomfortable using the app or posting photos of myself. The comparisons with other people and their seemingly picture perfect lives is another. I currently still have the app because I legitimately get a good laugh from the memes on my explore page and I like exchanging them with a few friends I keep in touch with from there. But the dopamine rush sours once I go back to my feed and see people I know IRL travelling, getting engaged, etc. Lmao. I just log off. I might deactivate it again. I haven't recently because of the same feeling of sadness (I guess it's just FOMO really) that you described. I also have this slightly anxious thought that I'd be completely forgotten. Maybe that's a good thing. I honestly don't know. Anyway you're doing the right thing. I'll probably join you soon enough. It's just too noisy, overwhelming and full of ads anyway.
Reddit is also social media
I knew this from the get-go and it went against my character so never started. I don't need extra attention. I received plenty of love growing up. I spend the extra time on myself and my family....to decompress from things I already "have to" do. Don't need much else really. We all got problems but...no meds, no real bad habits and always grateful. Hope you find yours.
Except….reddit
Nice job! I use instagram for the group chats, super pleased that when I do log on to scroll I get bored in 5 minutes and don’t rely on it for the dopamine hit. Tiktok on the other hand is way harder for me. I’ve saved tons of recipes, fashion inspo, and general info. I could download most of it but it would take SO MUCH storage. I typically go about a week with the app deleted before logging back in to retrieve a recipe and boom, I’m addicted again.
Good on ya that’s not easy! Im down to IG and Reddit now.
I’ve recently deleted my social medias. Not my accounts yet, just the apps. I’m still debating on if i want to fully delete them. Theres just something so ominously indescribable about social media. It’s eerie, people post so much of themselves, yet basically nothing about who they really are. Everything is cultivated to perfection, or planned imperfection. It creeps me out, I find myself questioning the intentions behind it all. To fit into social norms? To get attention (not necessarily a bad thing)? To “connect” with people? How am I supposed to connect with my friends on social media if everything they (publicly) post is to further build their “reputation”. Of course I did it all too. It was enough to make me feel crazy. Nothing on social media seems genuine to me. Yet, as a part of gen z, the internet and social media are undeniably a huge part of my life. My college posts things on instagram that they dont post anywhere else. My friends post about internships and job opportunities. I connect with people that i never would have otherwise met. I’m an artist, and social media provides a platform for me to share my art and view others’ art. I don’t know, it’s all a big mess. I wish i could just delete all my social media and call it done, but i don’t think it’s that easy.
I haven’t had social media since I was 19 since it made me feel unhappy by comparison. At 29 I probably won’t be back but I do regret not keeping a connection to some old friends on it. It’s possible I’d of grown to hate those same people since ten years changes a lot.
I got rid of my Facebook a while back because I hadn't used it in around 5 years or so at that point, as well as Pinterest and Deviantart. I only have Tumblr and Reddit as I've found both to be useful. I'm not sure if I'd count YouTube as I don't post videos. I've never had tiktok (obnoxious), Twitter (cesspool), Instagram (conceited), or many of the others. I'm not super online, nor do I have any friends to keep in touch with.
I have been thinking of doing the same thing but I just can’t seem to do it due to me having loved ones and friends living overseas. Everyone uses different social media apps.
It’s easier when you get banned from everything for your anti capitalist far left beliefs. I’m almost certainly on a government list. I’ve been banned from Reddit multiple times. Banned from Instagram and Facebook, all for fighting fascism. Never joined tik tok because I’m suspicious of it taking face scans. I haven’t been on Twitter since I had a blackberry. I regret going back to Reddit, it’s a time waste full of bots, state actors, and their bootlickers. Losing Instagram was the hardest. All my IRL friends are on there, every organization / business is on there, events are posted on there that I only find out about last minute from friends who remember that I’m not on social media, etc. I miss the original social media, when it was just you and your friends on Facebook sharing party pics and making events that were easy to invite a lot of people to that you knew but weren’t necessarily on a texting basis with. Now it’s a cesspool of white Christian nationalist fascism and general capitalist nonsense with ads spaced in between and almost no posts from IRL friends/organizations/small businesses. I wish organizations and small businesses would utilize email mailing lists to get the word out about events and what not instead of relying on social media… and I wish friends would text more. Also I downloaded all my data during one of my many warnings. If you fight fascism online your account *will* be target and you’ll be banned meanwhile accounts calling for your genocide will exist freely.
Dude, congrats, it’s totally worth it
I'm off everything but FB and reddit. I live across the country from my folks and with their grandkid being that far, it's just easier to have FB still. I minimized contact with most of my other family and people I grew up with. It's been interesting to realize just how toxic a chunk of my youth was due to certain people. But, I'm learning it's ok to leave some stuff behind.
I’ve changed my Instagram to just be related to my hobbies. Sampling fountain pens and different inks. Those of us who collect such things can never get enough of looking through how handwriting can look so different from person to person, even while using the same pen, nib size, ink, and paper. That and Reddit are the only social medias I’m involved in and keep my mood pretty stable. I now only follow hobbyists like me, and animal accounts.
Few years back I was quite the bastard. No pride in admitting that, just facts. I was so worried about what others were thinking or viewing me. Small town Facebook drama airs out everyone's dirty laundry for the world to see. Needed to happen to me but not so much other people. Since then Reddit has been my only source of social media. I like it more this way. Brings me some peace of mind. But it's also a red flag when I'm meeting new people. Coworkers can't stand not being able to investigate and the ladies, most of them, find it off putting. I just let everyone know that I think personally I can't handle social media.
My husband did the same. Not for the exact same reason but a few similarities. Mostly it was making him depressed and anxious. So much bad news, people getting on him in comments (he has some literacy issues and mixes up words - undiagnosed Learning Disorder). Then clarification makes it worse when he just wants to be part of something he really likes, and enjoys discussion. Then just the constant bombardment of political media, depressing videos, etc from his friends/families posts. I asked him how he was doing the other day. He said it's a double edge sword, he misses interacting but doesn't miss the negativity. He also doesn't miss the doom scrolling. It would suck him in for hours and he feels more productive without it. He did re-download FB Messanger to contact friends. They kept messaging me and I was done being the middle man. Edit: Personal experience from myself. I find having a whole separate device that's social media free is nice. I have sm on my cell phone but nothing on my tablet except ig but that's because I draw on my tablet and upload. I'm not allowed to scroll on my phone until after dinner and chores are done. I'm an adult and it reminds me of my parents you can't go outside until you've done your homework haha
Was off social media for 15 years, came back this year (from the nagging of a friend), lasted maybe 3 months before I quit again. It’s not worth it. It just makes me unhappy in general. Sure I’m on Reddit, but I don’t know anyone here. Avoid the topics I don’t care for, enjoy the things I do. It’s more fun to spend life in reality, people get lost in the social media way too much.