Author Topic: Deleted social media  (Read 11449 times)

Bearblastbeats

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Deleted social media
« on: January 24, 2018, 01:40:32 PM »
How many unplugged from the internet and social media world?

I have been an avid user since the beginning of MySpace (deleted years and years ago) Facebook and Instagram. I had my FB and IG account since their inception and just today, as I write this post, have decided to delete them both.

What a weird and almost scary feeling I am going through. No more are the days of posting pictures of my dogs, drums, or sharing shameless self promotions, or feeling the warm fuzzies from thumbs ups, likes, and hearts.

I don't know how long this will be but for now it feels right.

Have anyone of you removed yourself or stopped using them? What did you find to pass the time outside of watching cat videos or liking your friends baby pictures?

slappy

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2018, 01:47:03 PM »
I did this several months ago. I do miss it sometimes, but I am really glad I got rid of it. Honestly for me, the most annoying thing is that I can't post my kids stuff for sale on the facebook yard sale sites. Also I have a hard time finding recommendations for local things. For example, my photographer moved away and since I didn't have the mom's group on facebook, it was a bit more challenging to find recommendations for a replacement. Obviously I could google, but a lot of places do most of their business on facebook now. So I might google and get the name, but it directs me to a facebook page. I keep meaning to go back on and just get rid of all of my friends and just use it for the yard sale feature and the occasional recommendation. I tried to make a fake one for that reason, but it was too much of a pain to deal with.

I replaced my facebook habit with a MMM forum habit. :)

deek

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2018, 01:49:22 PM »
I've all but gotten rid of twitter. I only use it to follow my favorite teams really. It's a news source for me.

I exist on Facebook, but only use it to track events, and see the occasional uplifting video. Family contacts me on there once in awhile.

I keep Instagram because I love photos and it's a way to build a brand in the future. I do get caught up in the memes sometimes with my friends, but I don't scroll through it much because of how obnoxious people are on it, whether it's females always commenting 'fire' emojis on other girls' pictures or seeing the annoying selfie/inspirational quote nonsense.

Basically I have them, but don't interact with them a whole lot. They have at least a little value to me. I have all notifications shut off though.

slappy

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Bearblastbeats

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2018, 01:51:12 PM »
I did this several months ago. I do miss it sometimes, but I am really glad I got rid of it. Honestly for me, the most annoying thing is that I can't post my kids stuff for sale on the facebook yard sale sites. Also I have a hard time finding recommendations for local things. For example, my photographer moved away and since I didn't have the mom's group on facebook, it was a bit more challenging to find recommendations for a replacement. Obviously I could google, but a lot of places do most of their business on facebook now. So I might google and get the name, but it directs me to a facebook page. I keep meaning to go back on and just get rid of all of my friends and just use it for the yard sale feature and the occasional recommendation. I tried to make a fake one for that reason, but it was too much of a pain to deal with.

I replaced my facebook habit with a MMM forum habit. :)

That is my intent as well, here and with my drummer forums. The one thing I did keep was the messenger app because there is a handful of people who I still talk to daily who i do not have their phone number.

poetdereves

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2018, 02:05:06 PM »
I recently deleted all of my social media except Facebook messenger, which I use to keep in touch with my friends in Europe and Central America. It has been great for me so far. I don’t get caught up lusting after the exotic travel pictures on Instagram or bugged by the political rants of my uneducated family members on Facebook. I read more, exercise more, and am genuinely happier when I am engaged in the life I am living right in this moment than I was trying to take the perfect picture or be in the coolest location to show off. It’s all so shallow really.

DS

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2018, 02:09:13 PM »
I went two years without any accounts on any platform. I realized how I could use the platforms more productively, mainly by only friending people who interact with each other/me and having that community feel. I stopped following pages except for a few businesses that I actually go to. This has made the social media usage feel more valuable for my life overall.

Before, I had like 700-800 friends and never really connected with people because of all the "spam." Now, I have about 300 friends and that feels like too many.

Last Night

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2018, 02:10:13 PM »
I've all but gotten rid of twitter. I only use it to follow my favorite teams really. It's a news source for me.

I exist on Facebook, but only use it to track events, and see the occasional uplifting video. Family contacts me on there once in awhile.

I keep Instagram because I love photos and it's a way to build a brand in the future. I do get caught up in the memes sometimes with my friends, but I don't scroll through it much because of how obnoxious people are on it, whether it's females always commenting 'fire' emojis on other girls' pictures or seeing the annoying selfie/inspirational quote nonsense.

Basically I have them, but don't interact with them a whole lot. They have at least a little value to me. I have all notifications shut off though.

I got rid of IG and FB, didn't really use much other traditional social media.

I did create a generic FB account with no friends on it just to be able to access certain groups for my business and things of that nature.  I log into it once a week tops when needed.

Twitter, same thing.  Don't follow anyone of personal interest, only business related things and I do the same thing as MMM, I don't have the app on my phone and can only access it via desktop/laptop so basically once in the morning.

FireHiker

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2018, 02:16:14 PM »
I don't know that I could entirely delete facebook because it's the only platform for the local Buy Nothing Group. I have been trying to minimize how much I use it though. I only use it from my phone and move the icon around regularly so that I have to look for it and be more mindful as opposed it being an automatic habit.

One thing I did that has really helped my facebook experience (this might have worked for you Slappy) is to go through and liberally unfollow people. Your friends can't tell they've been unfollowed because you are still connected as friends, but their posts don't show up in your newsfeed. My mom is an obnoxious sharer of the "like and share if" variety, so unfollowing her has been the best thing ever. It would be too much drama to unfriend her though. Same for family members who are political and outspoken. I have curated my newsfeed to only have things that bring value to my life: buy nothing group, local neighborhood group, specific friends and family, needlework page that I enjoy, some minimalism pages (although there's one that I think is about to be unfollowed because so many of the people on that minimalist group are...not minimalists).

GuitarStv

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2018, 02:17:44 PM »
In the past ten years I've logged in two or three times to my facebook account.  It always seemed like a giant time water.  I recently was looking for a job and created a linked-in account.  Hopefully won't have to log in to that again any time soon either.

That's it.

SC93

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2018, 03:29:05 PM »
The only reason I use the platform that I do is for business. If not for business, I would never have had an account on any social media. But I sure hope everyone else stays on board with broadcasting their life. It makes me lots of money.

Just Joe

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2018, 03:40:21 PM »
I think I still have an account registered to my work email address.  I haven't checked it in ages.

I had social accounts and deleted all of them. It can be socially isolating b/c that is the only way some people I know seem to communicate.

I think social media can be detrimental to IRL relationships. Not necessarily forum discussions like we have here but FB, Twit, Instagram, etc.

Hobby forums (MMM, Garage Journal, Practical Machinist, others) have been a wonderful addition to life so I can't complain about them at all.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2018, 09:20:33 AM by Just Joe »

Bearblastbeats

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2018, 05:28:32 PM »
I think I still have an account registered to my work email address.  I haven't checked it in ages.

I had social accounts and deleted all of them. It can be socially isolating b/c that is the only way some people I know seem to communicate.

I think social media can be detrimental to IRL relationships. Not necessary forum discussions like we have here but FB, Twit, Instagram ,etc.

This is all very true and why I decided to delete it. Nothing is personal anymore whether you like it or not.

Bearblastbeats

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2018, 06:27:29 AM »
My first night without it was peaceful. I had an appointment with my barber, so that was essentially me going out for the night. It was a quiet evening for the most part aside from a few texts messages.

They opened the gym back at my apartment so I can get back to my schedule there, also my powered speaker is fixed so I can practice on my ekit at the apartment between actual practices.

The only thing I seemed to miss right now and the ability to promote for tomorrows show, which the other members can do.

I might reactivate it so I can see when bands I like come to town, but most of the time if I get invited somewhere I ignore it.

DirtDiva

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2018, 06:38:01 AM »
I deleted the app icon from my phone and found that not having that little red notification dot essentially made me lose interest in looking at Facebook.  I don't miss it at all.

Lmoot

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2018, 08:14:04 AM »
I’ve never been a big enough part of social media, or it of me, to make much of a difference whether I quit or not. I’ve never had Instagram or Twitter, I had Snapchat for a quick minute just so I could make one photo. I pretty much have always only been on Facebook, and I just use that to keep up with friends and family, and post photos of things I’ve done, or things that are meaningful to me. I’m also part of several groups which align with my hobbies and values in real life.

NoStacheOhio

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2018, 08:31:31 AM »
I took everything but Instagram off my phone, and I'm only on there occasionally (I'm a photographer, so I only really follow people who make great images and a few close friends).

Twitter I just kind of quit using. I still have an account, but recently set it to private. I have a few Facebook groups that I'm really fond of, so that's 90% of my FB time, which isn't a ton, and is only at a desk.

I also added back Instapaper where Apple News used to live on my home screen. So now when I have downtime I try to curate/consume longer, high quality articles about topics or ideas rather than day-to-day headlines. The news still trickles in there, but it's more analytical and less "here's what happened an hour ago."

I also turned off all notifications except for text messages, the app daycare uses to send us updates/pictures and emergency alerts.

I set my email refresh to manual. Fortunately, my employer provides a separate phone (which is still set to fetch hourly), so I don't have any work-related stuff on my real phone.

I've noticed a pretty big difference in the short time I made these changes.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2018, 08:34:14 AM »
While I have not deleted them , I only look at one or the other I'd say once a week. Twitter, facebook, instagram and snapchat. With kids around the country I will check to see once in awhile what they post and or something for the Grandparents. I dont scroll and read about peoples fake fairy tale lives or about the occasional one that nothing goes right for.

rothwem

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #18 on: January 25, 2018, 08:48:27 AM »
I took everything but Instagram off my phone, and I'm only on there occasionally (I'm a photographer, so I only really follow people who make great images and a few close friends).

Oddly enough, I've found that instagram is the worst/most tempting of all the platforms for me.  The explore tab, in particular, is the worst.  I look at that and I suddenly feel like the ugliest, least fit, poorest, dullest and least traveled person in the room.  Also, one of my friends also keeps liking pictures of "suicide girls" too, and that's always awkward to have show up on your phone when you're looking at your explore tab. 

I deleted instagram for a while, but my sister isn't on facebook and we like to share stupid memes on IG.  It might get deleted again though, before I buy a Ford Raptor or BMW M3, or quit my job to become a professional mountain bike bum in Colorado. 

Tobias

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #19 on: January 25, 2018, 08:54:33 AM »
I was in college when Facebook came out and I signed up right away, so I've had it my whole adult life.  I found myself mindlessly scrolling and getting into political arguments with acquaintances and strangers, so I deleted my account for a year.  This was also the year I was pregnant and gave birth, and it was really nice to keep these personal events off social media.  My family and friends respected my wishes not to post about my pregnancy on social media, as I was at risk of being laid off if my work found out before I signed my next annual contract.

I filled my Facebook void with Twitter and Instagram, neither of which I find addicting and I only check them a few times a week.  But I never had the same level of engagement.  I enjoy writing reviews of movies, books, and TV shows to make recommendations my friends, and never got the same level of engagement on Twitter as Facebook.  I also started reading MMM and hung out on a forum for AirBnB hosts (they told me about MMM actually, when I asked for some financial advise!). 

I used Facebook to curate open-ended discussions about pop culture and just general life topics; I'm a professor in the humanities so I enjoy bringing friends together to talk through their ideas.  A lot of people missed my posts and begged me to come back, so I did with more discipline.  I hid or unfriended the people whose posts I didn't enjoy seeing or I felt tempted to just reply to argue.  I made a point of not mindlessly scrolling.

I am also part of a small fandom (community of fans of an old TV show) that has an annual gathering, and I missed keeping in touch with people in between our yearly convergence.

When I returned to Facebook, I made a point to reform my ways: no oversharing, no engaging in arguments, no no mindless scrolling.  However, I've been back a little over a year on Facebook, and am back to some of my bad habits.  The toxic people are gone from my feed, and I don't post many status updates anymore, but I still read Facebook for a half hour before bed instead of reading books.  I think I need to learn some intentionality/mindfulness techniques to kick my Facebook habit so I can have an account without being on it all the time.  This is really my only "vice."  My other vices (videogames, social drinking, recreational pot) I have no problem using moderately and they don't interfere with my productivity or self-improvement. 

NoStacheOhio

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #20 on: January 25, 2018, 09:03:10 AM »
I took everything but Instagram off my phone, and I'm only on there occasionally (I'm a photographer, so I only really follow people who make great images and a few close friends).

Oddly enough, I've found that instagram is the worst/most tempting of all the platforms for me.  The explore tab, in particular, is the worst.  I look at that and I suddenly feel like the ugliest, least fit, poorest, dullest and least traveled person in the room.  Also, one of my friends also keeps liking pictures of "suicide girls" too, and that's always awkward to have show up on your phone when you're looking at your explore tab. 

I deleted instagram for a while, but my sister isn't on facebook and we like to share stupid memes on IG.  It might get deleted again though, before I buy a Ford Raptor or BMW M3, or quit my job to become a professional mountain bike bum in Colorado.

I never use the explore tab, which seems to take care of most of these problems.

simonsez

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2018, 09:09:56 AM »
I had an appointment with my barber, so that was essentially me going out for the night. It was a quiet evening for the most part aside from a few texts messages.

They opened the gym back at my apartment so I can get back to my schedule there, also my powered speaker is fixed so I can practice on my ekit at the apartment between actual practices.
There is some irony here that this sounds like what people would tweet about or put on fb.

the_fixer

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2018, 09:20:28 AM »
I had Myspace back in the day but deleted it when Facebook came out and never made the transition to face book.

Too many people from my past that wanted to connect that I wanted nothing to do with for various reasons.

However over the last 6 months or so I have noticed many businesses have almost abandoned their web presence and focus updates on Facebook between that and and my family pretty much moving to 100% Facebook for communication/ posting pics I am tempted to join.

What bothers me the most about it is how intrusive it is with being able to find / connect people.


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NoStacheOhio

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2018, 09:33:18 AM »
However over the last 6 months or so I have noticed many businesses have almost abandoned their web presence and focus updates on Facebook

That's probably a massive mistake for those businesses, since Facebook just said they're de-emphasizing content from Pages and Publishers

Bearblastbeats

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2018, 11:40:38 AM »
I had an appointment with my barber, so that was essentially me going out for the night. It was a quiet evening for the most part aside from a few texts messages.

They opened the gym back at my apartment so I can get back to my schedule there, also my powered speaker is fixed so I can practice on my ekit at the apartment between actual practices.
There is some irony here that this sounds like what people would tweet about or put on fb.


You're not wrong. X|

rothwem

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #25 on: January 25, 2018, 12:03:49 PM »
I took everything but Instagram off my phone, and I'm only on there occasionally (I'm a photographer, so I only really follow people who make great images and a few close friends).

Oddly enough, I've found that instagram is the worst/most tempting of all the platforms for me.  The explore tab, in particular, is the worst.  I look at that and I suddenly feel like the ugliest, least fit, poorest, dullest and least traveled person in the room.  Also, one of my friends also keeps liking pictures of "suicide girls" too, and that's always awkward to have show up on your phone when you're looking at your explore tab. 

I deleted instagram for a while, but my sister isn't on facebook and we like to share stupid memes on IG.  It might get deleted again though, before I buy a Ford Raptor or BMW M3, or quit my job to become a professional mountain bike bum in Colorado.

I never use the explore tab, which seems to take care of most of these problems.

Ah.  See, I don't have enough instagram friends to only look at my feed. 

Dammit, now I'm the least cool person in this room too...

SquareD_01

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #26 on: January 25, 2018, 07:33:44 PM »
I went completely off the social media grid almost 10 years ago and haven't missed it a minute. Although I've fell out of touch with a lot of people I would most likely have stayed "virtually connected" with, it's great to run into old friends and actually catch up with what they are doing in life.  I'm actually looking forward to FIRE and ditching the cell phone all together, being on call every day of my life since 2004 has made me despise it. Maybe I'll just have a tablet with a message app for the evenings or a house phone 🤣

TheCatWhisperer

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #27 on: January 25, 2018, 07:52:28 PM »
I'm trying to quit FB for 2018, but it keeps dragging me back in because I was lazy and used it to sign up with other sites like AirBnb. So I have been deactivating/reactivating my account as needed. I haven't missed the mindless scrolling and the political echo chamber.

The pop ups that appear when deactivating a FB account are hilarious. They really do have a "yeah, but" to every possible reason you could give for leaving.

marty998

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #28 on: January 27, 2018, 01:45:42 AM »
Why would anyone follow political groups???

I'm as politically knowledgable as most, but that is not a step I'd take for the obvious bile and vitriol I'd have to endure.

Knowingly torturing yourself is a silly thing to do!

Villanelle

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #29 on: January 27, 2018, 02:06:45 AM »
I think I would be exceptionally miserable.

Living on the other side of the world from most of my friends and family, FB is a wonderful way to stay connected.  Likewise, many of the social groups of which I am a part operate via Facebook.  I would be exceptionally isolated here, and miss out on a lot of info, and as a de facto leader of several of those groups, I wouldn't be able to do what is expected.

I am super selective about who I am FB friends with.  Until it became impractical for reasons too complicated to get in to here, I had a fake name, and when are done with the current set of DH's orders, I will likely go back to a fake name, precisely because I don't want a friend request from the kid I sat next to in fourth grade.  (I wouldn't accept, but that does sometimes get uncomfortable when it's a casual acquaintance that I see frequently, rather than a kid from 30 years ago.) 

big_slacker

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #30 on: January 27, 2018, 06:01:21 AM »
I really only use FB, but when I decided to take a break from it I found that it actually HAD been enhancing my life. I love keeping up with friends I can't physically see anymore. I love sharing my adventures with my friends and family as well. The bad parts are endless scrolling and arguments about bullshit. So I got the facebook News Feed Eradicator plugin for chrome. Removes the news feed completely so no scrolling. There is also Facebook Purity which lets you filter and customize what you see so you can for instance remove political nonsense from the feed which is awesome.

Don't do the rest of the social media things, Instagram is mostly random advertising images, snapchat is like an app programmed by a 13 year old and twitter is like a convention hall full of people shouting at no one in particular at the top of their lungs.

Khaetra

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #31 on: January 27, 2018, 07:47:15 AM »
I think I would be exceptionally miserable.

Living on the other side of the world from most of my friends and family, FB is a wonderful way to stay connected.  Likewise, many of the social groups of which I am a part operate via Facebook.  I would be exceptionally isolated here, and miss out on a lot of info, and as a de facto leader of several of those groups, I wouldn't be able to do what is expected.

Same here.  I have many friends who live around the world (many I met online, some in person) and having social media keeps us all in touch.  I am selective in who/what I follow, no one is into MLM's (thank goodness!) and being able to share things via FB/Twitter/Instagram let's us all see what everyone's been up to.  I'd be miserable without it.

mathlete

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #32 on: January 27, 2018, 07:59:54 AM »
FB is a good place for me to warehouse my photos and keep up with things like birthdays. It's also how most of my socializing gets planned, so I can't cut it of completely. I deleted the app from my phone though. So if I want to check it, I have to log into the mobile site which is a considerably less cozy experience.

A curated Twitter has become important to me since I've been more politically active in 2017 and 2018 for... reasons.

Retire-Canada

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #33 on: January 27, 2018, 08:36:16 AM »
Have anyone of you removed yourself or stopped using them? What did you find to pass the time outside of watching cat videos or liking your friends baby pictures?

I've stopped posting to my own FB page. I use it mostly to organize bike events and to have an easy communications mechanism with my actual friends. I put a cap of 100 friends on my feed and a couple times a year I go through my friends list and cull it back to 100. I'm not going have more than 100 people I need to stay in touch with at any one time so I figure this keeps me honest.

I've turned off all notifications on my phone other than calls [mostly work] and texts [mostly close friends and GF]. So I don't get bothered my pings all day long and have to open FB to see what's happening. I don't engage with most of my friends' posts...just ones I find particularly meaningful to me. That way FB doesn't get too busy. I also don't do the endless scroll. I spend 30-60 seconds scanning my feed a couple times a day and as soon as that time is over I start punching out.

I haven't missed anything about my reduced FB engagement.

Icecreamarsenal

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #34 on: January 29, 2018, 08:36:58 AM »
I deleted Facebook and recently had to resign up for it to join the ChooseFI local groups.

No one's on it anymore anyway; it's all meme sharing and political rants by older folks.  That's what I used to see anyway.

Instagram, however...
A comedian whose name slips my mind said that Twitter is for stupid people, and instagram is twitter for people that can't read.

I justify my use by using it as a tool to aggregate photos I don't want to lose.  That explore button is killer though.

PDXTabs

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #35 on: January 29, 2018, 09:12:18 AM »
I found it took a few tries to rid myself of facebook/deleting it off of my phone. Each time I deleted the the app I went longer and longer before installing it. I don't think I've had it on my phone in 6+mo. Once it was off my phone, I never look at it. Realize that like any addiction, you may relapse but don't lose the war just because you lost a small battle.

I probably log in to facebook on a pc once every month or two, mainly because my wife prompts me to look at an invite from a friend.

I have friends and family all over the world, and as such I like Facebook, but I still find it super addicting. My solution is to only check it on my desktop/laptop, and I try to keep it to once in the morning and once at night. Some days I am more successful than others.

No one's on it anymore anyway; it's all meme sharing and political rants by older folks.  That's what I used to see anyway.

Wait, I'm not supposed to post political rants?

undercover

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #36 on: January 29, 2018, 09:26:39 AM »
It completely depends on how you use it.

The correct way to use social media is to very selectively follow people and/or visit their pages directly rather than relying on the machine learning algorithms designed to keep your attention for as long as possible. If you use it as an extension of things you would do anyway: talking/keeping up with friends, following people that you consider wise or knowledgable or"important", or using it as a digital archive, then it makes perfect sense.

If you're using it how 95% of people use it which is mindlessly scrolling through your feed and just feeding your dopamine cravings then you're doing it wrong. Facebook news is absolute trash. You really have to carefully curate your friends/who you follow in order to create the best experience.

Quitting completely is a perfectly valid choice, but I don't think it's necessary. I rarely use mine to the extent that I wouldn't really miss much except posting my pics on Instagram.

Pigeon

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #37 on: January 29, 2018, 10:56:41 AM »
I like Facebook.  I have family scattered around the country and the world and I like getting regular updates of photos and stories of nieces and nephews and their kids.  I've also liked reconnecting with some people.  I quietly unfollow family members whose political posts get under my skin.  I don't spend much time on it, maybe 15 minutes/week.

There are a few other sites like NextDoor and LinkedIn I check maybe a total of five minutes/week.  I occasionally find useful stuff, like recommendations for new plumbers.

I have accounts on a few others that never seemed worth it to me.  Twitter I just don't get.

Bearblastbeats

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #38 on: January 29, 2018, 11:52:03 AM »
Well, I ended up back on FB and IG but I deleted a ton of people and am somewhere around 100 friends.

However, I created a Musician/Artist Instagram account to be strictly music related. I have 43 follows right now. Is this the high life or what?

DS

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #39 on: January 29, 2018, 12:56:44 PM »
It completely depends on how you use it.

The correct way to use social media is to very selectively follow people and/or visit their pages directly rather than relying on the machine learning algorithms designed to keep your attention for as long as possible. If you use it as an extension of things you would do anyway: talking/keeping up with friends, following people that you consider wise or knowledgable or"important", or using it as a digital archive, then it makes perfect sense.
posting my pics on Instagram.

Agree with this. I regularly purge friends off my list and unfollow pages that aren't posting things relevant to me.

hadabeardonce

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #40 on: January 29, 2018, 01:01:20 PM »
I deleted all of my accounts. Friends and relatives can always contact me via talk or text if there's something I really need to know.

It calms the waters...
- No expectations to respond/post/like/comment/friend/etc.
- No friend requests from co-workers
- No crosstalk between friend/family groups
- No photo tags
- No one gets offended when you don't wish them a happy birthday or don't tell them you're impressed with their child
- No involvement in arguments that always lead nowhere... politics/religion/etc
- No one can find out what your doing - you have a private life again and can choose who knows what
- No comparing, keeping up with the Joneses
- No news of celebrity deaths and seeing people being fake about liking them

Overall it's a lazy way to communicate with people that facilitates the establishment of lazy relationships. I don't see a lot of value in cookie cutter responses or likes. These days my definition of a social interaction includes sitting down face to face and a cup of coffee... it's not for everyone, but I like it that way.

(and if you came to the conclusion that social media is better off with out me, I'd agree with you.)

HPstache

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #41 on: January 29, 2018, 01:03:32 PM »
Couldn't imagine getting rid of my social media

RetirementDreaming

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #42 on: January 29, 2018, 01:05:03 PM »
I have never had any social media account.  I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

GuitarStv

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #43 on: January 29, 2018, 02:01:16 PM »
I strongly suspect that social media is a net negative for humanity as a whole.  It's a kind of perfect storm of pretense, envy, misleading information, and false closeness to others.

NoStacheOhio

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #44 on: January 31, 2018, 06:47:02 AM »
Just came across this article, which I thought was relevant to the thread. The headline is a little hyperbolic, but the actual content is pretty good: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/startup-your-life/201801/why-your-smartphone-is-destroying-your-life

Villanelle

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #45 on: February 01, 2018, 12:26:02 AM »
To me, this is like people who say that credit cards ruined their finances or their lives.  Nope, the way they used credit cards ruined their lives, but not the credit cards themselves.  CCs are inherently damaging and in fact can have several large upsides, and the same is true with smart phone or social media.  It's how people choose to integrate them into their lives that can be a problem. 

ketchup

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #46 on: February 01, 2018, 08:13:09 AM »
I have a Facebook profile (and no twitter/instagram/snapchat/etc), but I log into it maybe 2-3 times a year.  I don't have the app on my phone.  I've had the same profile picture since 2014 (I think).  It's not a big part of my life.

Also, I just watched the Nosedive episode of Black Mirror last night.  Yeah.

NoVa

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #47 on: February 01, 2018, 09:53:11 PM »
I have Twitter because my company gave me a bonus to get it and follow them. I think I have 20 posts lifetime and haven't looked at it in at least a year. I consider it the static of the internet, all noise and no actual signal.
I have Facebook because some groups use it to organize stuff, and it is required to participate. I spent the first 30 minutes turning things off.
I have LinkedIn for jobs and networking.
No Snapchat or any other similar platform.
None of these things are on my phone, and I don't look at them unless I want to use them myself.

Mika M

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #48 on: February 12, 2018, 01:53:02 PM »
I haven't but one of my resolutions this year was to lay off social media until after kiddo goes down for the night (she's a night owl so this rule only allows me to waste a few minutes before I'm ready for bed myself)... I haven't been super strict about it but whenever I've noticed my FB-feed-time-wasting start to creep back up I remind myself of my resolution.

I've gotten much much better since new years. Now I get super bored by the time I've scrolled past about three posts and find something else to do (sometimes some other mindless activity involving the ipad (like browsing around on Zillow), sometimes actually putting it down to pick up a book or pay more attention to what my kid is doing ;P )

I still keep it for actual communicating (if I'm bored, instead of getting letting myself get sucked into the feed I've started bugging my sister to chat more so we now keep in far more contact than we have since college so win-win)... helps that I can just select the chat as an app by itself in lieu of the main FB app.

Overall it's still liberating, even if I haven't cut it out entirely.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2018, 01:57:16 PM by Mika M »

Zamboni

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Re: Deleted social media
« Reply #49 on: February 12, 2018, 02:05:57 PM »
I killed my facebook profile after a 60 minutes piece that showed just how morally corrupt facebook is . . . best decision I ever made.