Giving Up Social Media

[disneyfan83]

So I decided around Xmas time I would give up social media (Facebook, insta and Twitter). I was just sick of wasting my time on there and it was becoming either all politics (and becoming very disappointed with people who I thought were above being racist dickheads) or all that 'look how perfect I/we are' with their boring pictures of smoothies and gym machines (omg seriously! If you're in the gym, the workout still counts WITHOUT TELLING THE WORLD 🤦🏼‍♀️) or even worse the people who post 15000 pictures individually of their kids so all I see on my feed is their kids. I kept unfollowing people, until I didn't really have much left to look at 🤣 I also thought it wasn't really helping my mental health constantly comparing myself and my family to others.

So long and short - I deactivated and deleted just after Xmas and it's been ok actually! I know at one point I'm going to cave as I have in the past - but I don't want to!

Anyone else actually managed to ditch social media for good after using it a lot?

I uninstalled FB and Instagram on NYE. I have checked both on my browser at least once a day since. I've told myself it's in case I miss a notification (I'm admin of my work FB page) but that's bollocks. I've not posted, liked or commented on anything and it's a huge drop from how active I was before.

Tbh I've just replaced them with MN, Reddit and am playing Candy Crush more. So it didn't really help reduce the amount of time I stare at my phone, which was my main goal.

I couldn't ever deactivate FB totally as its a great way of keeping in contact with family who I rarely see, but I do feel better for not knowing the ins and outs of 200 odd people on a daily basis.

I ditched Facebook about a year ago, never used insta or Snapchat. I do have a Twitter, but only so I can enter competitions and I dont have any friends on it. At first I found I kept automatically reaching for my phone to scroll SM, after a while it's become the norm not to use it. It's amazing how much time I have on my hands!
The only downside is you do miss out on some stuff, so whereas a friend might update something on FB, but not think to let you know specifically IYKWIM.
I do enjoy not having it, it also irritates me how much time others spend on it. If my partner is on it whilst were out with the DC it gives me the ultimate rage. 😁

@AllGoodDogs I have found I'm using MN more and playing lemmings religiously everyday, I'm really trying to break the habit of just using my phone as a distraction from whatever is going on or as a way to pass the time! It's so hard!! I love reading so got a few books on kindle but none have really grabbed my attention enough. I do feel better without it, and I dont really have any family or friends that I can't keep up with on my WhatsApp groups. I think the point came for me when someone who I went to school with, someone who comments on my posts and I comment on theirs l, didn't say hi to me when we passed each other in a shop. I realised how fake it all was

@IHateTrains I'm noticing how often others are on it too! Like why are you sharing a picture of a glass of wine??? Who needs to see that?? Then I realise I used to do it and feel ashamed I was so lame 😂😂 it's great to know you've been going for a year! There is hope for me ☺️☺️

Sounds like you are substituting social media for others, if the whatsapp groups kicked off in a direction you like you would probably spend just as much time in there, no?

I think everyone knows now that the majority of people put on a front with facebook, esp insta (never been on it thank god) its all chasing likes and reactions.

Your friend might have just had one of those days where she was in a mind of her own and didn't notice you.

If you take social media at face value as to what it is you can still enjoy it, it's when you get knee deep in wanting likes, religiously reading everyones updates and being shocked that others can have a different opinion to you that it becomes the shit show.

The best thing about social media is you do not have to make polite conversation.

@Justanotherlurker I don't get how you think I was substituting social media for others? I have close friends and I'm surrounded by family, I like my WhatsApp groups because they are private and only consist of people I actually have a real world connection with (family, groups of friends etc.) and none of those people would share a picture of gym equipment.

Maybe she was having a bad day, but she looked right at me and then quickly looked away, I've seen (and done) enough of those looks to know when I'm being blanked. I was already on the fence with the whole farce of it and that kind of swung it for me because I know it's fake, I know the version of me I project to the social media world isn't the real me, and that the rest are doing the same so what's the point? I actually never bothered with the whole 'likes thing', and never took it at face value but that doesn't mean I still can't get sick of the pretending.

Amazing how you can make so many assumptions from a couple of paragraphs from me!

I dont have any SM apart from MN ,ive had a few people slag me off for this but i do what i want not what others do.i know alot of people that let FB rule their life its all they think about .

Disneyfan Lemmings??! As in the old school pc game??! Off to look for that!!

I love reading too, and have a stack to read. The trouble is where FB would kill 10 minutes while waiting for the pasta to boil, or waiting in the playground for DCs to come out, that's not really swappable for a book. I like to have the time to read a chunk at a time, not just a few pages.

I don't get how you think I was substituting social media for others?

Well you admit that you spend time on your phone on games, and your whatsapp groups are kind of empty, and the fact you are struggling to resist to go back.

It is easy to treat social media as to what it is, especially on places like insta, people projecting their "perfect" life, the fact you actively have to follow them means its a two way street so you cannot be riled in people having different political opinions or if some school mate from 20 years ago finds it funny that their child shat themselves in the middle of waitrose. You choose who you want to follow and who you want to interact with.

It's not for others to say if you should or should not go back to social media as each situation is different. It depends on how voyeuristic you have to be to want to know the ins and outs of facebook friends that you would only pass the time of day with in real life, or wouldn't even know in the case of instagram, or how you are on friends having different opinions on things.

For every over sharer there is an equal number of voyeuristic user, thats how social media has expanded.

I left fb about 2 years ago. I still get notifications but it’s no longer on my active apps, the same goes with instagram and I have completely left twitter. I keep notifications as just easier to stay in touch with certain younger generation relatives😀. Although they can be fun. I think the comparison and fomo aspects were not healthy plus information overload was getting too much. When I’m bored I miss them but have rediscovered the radio and discovered podcasts

@Justanotherlurker maybe you should stick to lurking instead of making sweeping assumptions and a load of pseudo psychology from little bits of what I said? How do you know my WhatsApp groups are 'empty'? Are you basing this on your life experience?

I'll go back to my original post: has anyone else given up SM and stuck to it? You have nothing of value to add to the conversation, apart from your misinformed judgement so I'll leave it there with my replies to you.

@Blessthekids this is the sort of thing I might try! I have signed up for audible, I love my music but sometimes want to get lost in another story without the bright lights of tv/phone and if I'm too tired to concentrate on reading. I've looked at a few podcasts but I can't decide what I would like, so I'm going to try a true crime one, just not sure which! I did listen to one but the person talking kept licking their lips and it was so uncomfortable to listen to 🤣 any suggestions would be great xx

@disneyfan83

maybe you should stick to lurking instead of making sweeping assumptions and a load of pseudo psychology

My puesdo psychology is based on your OP of you being riled that it's the others who are contributing to your MH and not accepting that you have actively followed them (esp insta) and you are struggling not to go back.

If you want a back slap for removing all the racists, wrong thinkers from your timeline then that's fine, pretending that you have not played a voyeuristic part in this, especially considering you are thinking of going back is as much cod psychology as it your OP is cod concern.