Social media use is a symptom of a bigger problem. That through automation and specialization we have run out of productive attention-occupying things to do.<p>Running a small business requires lots of decision-making and attention. Being a corporate drone is mind-numbing and does not. And it turns out, people have an inherent need to keep their attention busy with something. So when productive things run out, they fill their attention span with garbage.<p>That also means that quitting social media is only one half of the solution. The other half is to find a productive activity to take its place. And if you look deeper, you might notice that the current corporate hegemony is only sustainable when most of people's attention is drawn away from things that would create value for them.
I ditched Twitter about 3 months ago but now find myself missing the regular contact I had with some of my followers. Unfortunely, even utilizing Twitter's tools to manage the content of my feed (muted words, retweets off) my feed is still too "schizophrenic".<p>I've moved away from a "one feed" model of social media. I might still visit Twitter, or read someone's tweets but I'm not looking to have them "pushed" to me in one large messy feed.<p>Humor, News, Hobbies, Friends etc. are now all siloed to allow me to engage with them based on my mood & needs.<p>IMHO, "the feed" is the problem.
>I realized that nothing in this social media hellscape was going to help me because even in so-called “safe spaces” I was met with vitriol and hatred in the exact time I needed understanding and comfort.<p>What a fantastic way to sum up all of my issues with social media. How occasionally, or even most the time you do get support, when people say really f*** up things it's going to affect you. For me the negatives by far outweighed any positives I was gaining from it.<p>>Dating offline now is as challenging as it was for my dad. That’s how I think of it. But I feel like it’s just the right way to do it. It just rings truer.<p>At least for me it's actually much easier, I don't waste time swiping on fake profiles or talking the bots. In 2019 I would meet people basically at random, send one or two text messages seeing if they wanted to go out, and that's it. Every courtship indicator I've seen, has dropped tremendously in the age of social media. I recall my first relationship partially failed because I was so afraid of what she'd post on my Facebook, and who would see what she posted. There's no need to introduce this extra stress and bullshit into your life.<p>I've never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I did find social media and online dating would become addictions for me, it wasn't making me feel happy.<p>Since I got so much time back from not using social media I was able to teach myself Python in 2019 and significantly increase my income. I went to tons of Meetup groups, found people willing and ready to chat me up, got set up on a date since I attended an alumni event.<p>I'm very much hoping things get back to somewhat normal this year, I'll also say for certain populations social media can be extra traumatizing. And at that point it comes down to, do you want to be called slurs and re-traumatized every single day. Or do you want to wake up and live. One of my partners I met just because I thought I saw her from someplace else, and we had fantastic fun. It wasn't something where like I felt I was owed a partner, but a gift was given to me. I hope I can always live life like that.
I gave up my smartphone 2 weeks ago, after a year or two of paring down apps and accounts, and experimenting with techniques like leaving my phone in a fixed spot in the kitchen most of the time (including at night).<p>I finally took the plunge, as I hate the direction that Google is taking the Android ecosystem, and I also realised that allowing Whatsapp so much power over my social life is a terrible mistake. It ties you in - you need a smartphone, typically a Google account, and the benevolence of Facebook, to maintain your "friendships".<p>I found that, for the first few days after this change, I was incredibly stimulated, and didn't sleep till late. I wasn't overtired, at night or in the morning, and my sleep settled back down, but it was a very interesting effect.<p>I have two small kids, so not sure how much my sleep is better now, but I can say that this is one of the best decisions I have ever made. My mental acuity and productivity, both at home and at work, has gone through the roof.
Exactly. Just delete your personal social media accounts and the apps and save yourself from the noise and you're saving time. It's really that simple and you're really not missing anything on there.<p>Unless you enjoy waking up with the first thing to do is to check your smartphone with either Mastodon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok on speed dial. <i>every.</i> <i>single.</i> <i>day.</i>
I ditched social media and it did make me happier, at least until the pandemic hit. Now I find myself a bit lonelier, since I don't really have many friends to talk about tech with.<p>Sometimes I contemplate getting on Twitter, but then I'd hear from my friends about the latest ridiculous controversy and abandon that idea. It's all so silly when you take a step back.
I quit social media last year and started putting my energy into communicating instead of scrolling/browsing. People I care about are happy to text me instead of using whatever platform, and if I want group communication, I use discord. Neither medium is anything more for me than a way to communicate with people I care about, so I don't have to worry about likes, feeds, etc. It's worked out excellently so far
It's been years since I had Facebook and Instagram. I stopped whatsapp recently, no longer have Imgur on my phone, etc, etc.<p>Slowly I'm getting my attention span back, Only recently have I been able to read an article online completely again.<p>It's bad for you. Truly. It's an addiction and a hard one to get rid of.
I hope we can fix our brains to focus better. I don't through a better routine, I mean something that truly targets the problem at a neurological level.
Personally, I turned off the news in mid-October and that has improved my quality of life tremendously. I always told myself that since I was listening to NPR it wasn't the same garbage as cable news channels. Nope. Same click bait garbage. Particularly during the Trump era.<p>My wife has commented that I have been a lot more relaxed and less likely to snap at the kids since the change. I know that I feel more emotionally balanced without it.