This is a wonderfully thought-provoking post. I’ve tried (poorly) and failed in the past, but you’re giving me incentive to restart and do it properly this time.
Your social media abstinence is impressive! My social media use is probably more than it should be, though I do limit myself to pretty much Facebook (for family and immediate friends/people I know and spend time with in real life), Instagram, and a blog. Some of that is necessity: as a writer and entrepreneur, being findable and reaching people is part of the process, but balancing that with escaping the tug of the internet for my own sake is also important. (I also lean into not learning new platforms! I'm happy to be "too old" to learn a new medium!)
I read TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier (in the reference photo) a few years ago, and it had some great and helpful insights. I also found THE SOCIAL DILEMMA on Netflix illuminating from the algorithm angle. I never really understood what it was and how it worked before, but learning more about it was horrifying. Since then, I make sure I only follow accounts that make me happy (mostly art and humor and notebooks!), and I never do the discovery scroll. I've also found turning off the "likes" counter on Insta posts to be soothing. Ads are still a problem, though!
This is a wonderfully thought-provoking post. I’ve tried (poorly) and failed in the past, but you’re giving me incentive to restart and do it properly this time.
Your social media abstinence is impressive! My social media use is probably more than it should be, though I do limit myself to pretty much Facebook (for family and immediate friends/people I know and spend time with in real life), Instagram, and a blog. Some of that is necessity: as a writer and entrepreneur, being findable and reaching people is part of the process, but balancing that with escaping the tug of the internet for my own sake is also important. (I also lean into not learning new platforms! I'm happy to be "too old" to learn a new medium!)
I read TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier (in the reference photo) a few years ago, and it had some great and helpful insights. I also found THE SOCIAL DILEMMA on Netflix illuminating from the algorithm angle. I never really understood what it was and how it worked before, but learning more about it was horrifying. Since then, I make sure I only follow accounts that make me happy (mostly art and humor and notebooks!), and I never do the discovery scroll. I've also found turning off the "likes" counter on Insta posts to be soothing. Ads are still a problem, though!
Thanks for the newsfeed eradicator tip - I love it!