To delete all social media

I've never used Instagram as you have to sign up to really look at it. I thought it was just a place people go to where they can brag. I avoid community whatsapp groups like the plague too as it is just people moaning about trivial things, and people on ego trips trying to manage everyones behaviour. I am very isolated because of it, but if i ever do come across anything on SM, I appreciate the isolation. It has made me less social I think, because it is competitive and argumentative. I can't compete with anyone and I don't want an arguement either.

I do use YouTube admittedly, but even now it is becoming just a junk heap of people's anger and brain farting.

Social media will kill itself eventually. The quality of content has gone downhill so much in the last couple of years because it has become more and more monetised, and seen as a vehicle to create behaviour change and propaganda. In years to come we will be amused at how manipulated we were by it. It will just end up with ego maniacs and angry people in an echo chamber left arguing amongst themselves and the rest of us will check out and get on with our lives. Many of us are getting nostalgic about simpler times and getting rid of SM is a quick win for that.

Deleted everything, I no longer cared what other people were doing and decided not to waste anymore of my precious time on social media, my Dp has it all, that’s his choice.
life is peaceful no one asking why you’ve not replied or seen this, some people have said it’s odd to have none ha, but I couldn’t care less a private life is a happy life, if I want you to know anything I’ll share it personally with you.
id never go back too busy enjoying living and no wondering or caring what other people do, most of it’s fake anyway tbf

Agreed! They absolutely are social media and can be an enormous time drain too.

OP I use an app that blocks all SM (including mumsnet!) at certain times of the day, which you can set. At first it irritated me and I kept trying to override it and this just made me realise how much time I was wasting on SM. I’m much better now, I know my times I can use SM (3 x1 hr periods a day - which still feels like loads!) and for the rest of the day it’s blocked and now I just forget about it. Lots more walking and reading happening here!

I deleted my Facebook account back in 2017 just before I got married. I couldn't be bothered with it anymore it was impacting my ability to switch off and enjoy life. I never joined twitter or Instagram or Snapchat or tic tok.

All I've got is Pinterest and even then it's completely private and I just create boards for my interests to help me when I am shopping.

I had a few friends who moaned at first but they got used to it. I use mostly text and WhatsApp to keep up to date with photos/group chats. And even then I mute a lot of them if it's nonsense.

I actually have a lot of friends and I always keep in touch and I don't feel isolated or left out. It's definitely kept me away from the craziness of the online world.

The other reason to delete it! Both ways. I have found myself being depressed envying others…..but then have spoken to friends who have confided in me “you have the life I want”….in reference to a period when I was dealing with depression!

😂

Social media is just people’s highlights reel and it is easy to forget that.

It used to be like that. Back in the good old days when the only things I saw on my FB and Instagram were the pages of friends / businesses / people I deliberately chose to follow. Then it became a cesspit.

Apparently you can apply restrictions on FB to recreate that though I have not looked into it as I don’t use it now.

Instagram it’s not possible so I just avoid it.

I use FB for hobbies and other interests, rarely post. Twatter got deleted a couple of months ago but I rarely went into that cess pit. Instagram: hobbies and other interests - architecture old budlings and also for sharing things with DC and vice versa.

Go for it. Social media is a farcical shit show.

I wish I could get rid of MN too sometimes as the bigoted twats/humanbotfarmcattle seem to infiltrate here. It has helped and hindered me in equal measure, so it's hard to walk away. I've had some great advice on here sometimes.

I deleted all but Facebook. Twitter is just a cess pit and Insta was making me hate people I like in real life. I also culled a load of people and hid several more, so now I have a nice streamlined FB page.

I use Instagram solely to follow local arts organisations, galleries, theatres, music venues etc to have reminders of what’s on, what’s coming soon etc — I don’t follow any friends and family at all, and don’t accept follow requests. I don’t use FB,Twitter/ X or anything else. It’s never been a problem.

I know people are saying 'I don't count Mumsnet / Reddit as social media' but they are absolutely social media. It doesn't matter that it's anonymous (most social media is, or at least can be, anonymous) - it's still fulfilling the function of talking to other people online and getting the same dopamine hit from updated threads, replies etc.

I feel like deleting Facebook. The racism in some of the news comments sections is off the charts and Facebook doesn't delete the comments.

I’ve quit all social media years ago. Best thing I’ve ever done (almost 🙂)
people at work hate it as they can’t check me out, same w DH

really weird concept if you think about it…putting up stuff about your life you can compare yourself w others

I only have mumsnet email WhatsApp and a phone number.
I dont do social media at all never found it interesting most of its bullshit.
I prefer a colouring book im my spare time very therapeutic.

find life is supremely better also, I avoid the bigotry and intense racism that is the norm now on social media. I logged into FB as I needed to get some photos to show my hairdresser.

I think this is the crux of it

i just want a group page for people I know not all the mass click bait

On one hand I would love to do this. I hate the comparisons that social media brings - seeing people out having wholesome family weekends, hiking, fitness, expensive days out while me and my dc slob around in pjs. It always makes me feel like I’m not doing enough.

However if I got rid of it there’s a lot of useful, inspiring stuff I’d miss. I love seeing people review books or share art or post about local events. It’s a shame everything is advertised through social media and there are very good elements about it but unfortunately the bad often outweighs the good.

I deleted twitter last November and haven’t missed it - though there are a couple of people & I wonder how they are, but one I have on WhatsApp

I have Facebook and rarely post and am contemplating deleting - it’s my Australia friends and relatives that I feel I’d miss out on - but it’s a cesspit and Facebook has evil undertones

Also I am far more productive!

As for friends - I am only out of the loop with acquaintances. Friends we keep in touch the old fashioned way. I have kept Facebook messenger though. I have friends across the globe so have chats on messenger and whatsapp that I use to keep in contact with them.

I deleted Twitter when Apartheid Clyde took over.

I regularly delete Facebook and Insta only signing on occasionally when I am looking for recommendations for hairdresser / things in my area.

I find life is supremely better also, I avoid the bigotry and intense racism that is the norm now on social media. I logged into FB as I needed to get some photos to show my hairdresser.

On my feed popped up two news stories, one of a missing 12 year old girl who happened to be black and the other the recent case in the USA of the woman who racially abused a 5 year old boy on camera and has been rewarded for it via a Go Fund me.

The comments on both were an absolute shit show and reminded me why I delete my social media.

This is something I need to do, I need to delete all my social media accounts because it’s depressing. All I see if everyone’s life’s being perfect and amazing and it just gets to me. I think I need to do this if honest for my own mental health.

Do you have children? Are there groups you need to be a member of in order to get information etc? DH decided to delete FB without realising that made me the default admin person. So anything from judo, guides, gymnastics and e-sport now falls to me. I really resent him for it.

I think it depends why you're considering deleting sm. I've got a lot out of it but I do have time limits so I don't mindlessly scroll. I've found so many webinars on all sorts of things. Followed companies that I now use.

The important people in your life will have your phone number and email address and so can contact you and vice-versa. So go for it.

I got rid of IG and FB in January (never had Twitter).
It has been so much better, I thought I’d struggle, but I realised a lot of what I was doing was looking at it for the sake of it. Adverts, weird A. I. videos etc. Don’t miss it. My social life is the same and I read more.

I had a break from social media for a couple of months once. It didn’t improve my life at all, to be brutally honest - I really missed joking around with my regular social media friends, especially the ones I don’t see in person, seeing their updates, getting their book and film recs and so on. Obviously I have real life friends
who I see and message, but I missed the regular small interactions with people I don’t see in real life very often / at all. The small fun things that wouldn’t warrant messaging.

However, I do think it completely depends how and why you use social media. I often see people saying that:

• they feel envious of other people’s lives on social media
• they feel under pressure to look as good as influencers etc that they follow
• they hate seeing people share distressing news content etc
• they have family/friends who share racist/scaremongering/conspiracy stuff that upsets them
• they’re irritated by people who share mundane life updates

but none of those things are the case for me. I only follow people I like and find interesting and I genuinely enjoy seeing their content, which is invariably funny / interesting / nice. I really like people’s holiday snaps and so on and my social media is pretty drama free so it works OK. But of course not everyone has that experience and for a lot of people it’s just not like that. I certainly know people who were happier after deleting everything.