Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Do you know anyone with Zero online presence?

151 replies

Window82 · 01/08/2023 10:01

That’s my question? My DH was like this until he had to set up a LinkedIn account for work, he also has a profile now on his work website. But no Social media.

I have a profile on my work website and also have Instagram and Facebook.

The only person I can think of is my Nan as she’s illiterate and her life is very basic. She is aware of things like social media from watching the television but she also speaks little English so has a very sheltered life.

I was trying to track down my old neighbour’s daughter to contact her and found nothing online. Also an old university friend who is a solicitor and I can she’s on the roll but I can’t find her on her firm website.

I can usually find out a lot about people straightaway (e.g. new prospective clients) because of their online profiles but some people have zero presence!

I have a client who works in IT he has zero presence out of choice! I find that really interesting. He said he’d rather there was nothing about him available online.

OP posts:
BlackberrySky · 01/08/2023 16:29

I have a friend who works with violent criminals. She has zero online presence and feels more secure that way.

NooNakedJacuzziness · 01/08/2023 16:30

I've only got Facebook. I did try to do Instagram but the questions to create an account put me off - "make it easier for people to find you". Err nooo thank you. I don't like the social part of social media!

Solaire · 01/08/2023 16:40

My dad.
He doesn’t even uses WhatsApp.
He has zero interest in social media & still uses his trusty old brick phone.

dressedforcomfort · 01/08/2023 16:52

My elderly uncle. He doesn't have a mobile, a computer, or any tech that would give him a social profile. He's in his 80's and is not interested.

usernother · 01/08/2023 17:09

Yes. They have no email, no mobile phone, no smart TV. Not old, just middle aged. No means of using the internet and they point blank refuse to learn to do it but are perfectly comfortable getting other people to order things for them online and sort things out for them. I'd tell them to do one.

lljkk · 01/08/2023 17:31

MN is social media. You may consider yourself anonymous here, but if you post here, you are using social media. And evidently, like it.

I know a guy ("Ed") who works with MI5 or MI6 or maybe both (contract analysis, not really spy stuff). Ed says he was advised by the spooks not to have any pictures of himself online. There is some professional profile info about Ed online because of his day job work history.

I think Ed's lack of any online picture screams "I'm hiding something!" but to each their own.

RuthW · 01/08/2023 17:36

My parents. Never been online in their life

rafeal · 01/08/2023 17:47

I don't have FB or IG or Linkedin anymore. Linkedin is a pain as employers think it odd that I don't have it and it puts me off changing jobs as I think its expected but I really really don't want an online presence

In every other way I'm completely normal and I'm all over WhatsApp and active on way too many groups.

SuperiorM · 01/08/2023 20:00

Re smart tv - I know gazillions of people who don’t have one or only use the Freeview element

VikingLady · 01/08/2023 20:02

Two, both because they escaped abusive marriages and need to stay hard to track. It's the only way to keep their kids' details offline.

NobbyButtons · 01/08/2023 21:33

My dad's wife - she is 80 and never goes online as far as I know. I know several people who don't use any social media. My mum didn't use any social media apart from WhatsApp, but there was information about her online from her professional life and clubs such as the Ramblers (unusual name so easy to Google).

I work for a small charity and on our website we have a page about the trustees with a photo and paragraph of information about each of them. One of them refused to have a photo or any information about him; he said he just hates publicity and attention. Think he has LinkedIn but that's about it.

Moneynewpence · 01/08/2023 21:39

My cousin doesn't even have an email address

Happiestinmygarden · 02/08/2023 08:17

My Mum has no social media other than WhatsApp but my MIL has nothing but a brick phone that calls and texts, a kindle paperwhite to read and a landline. She has no understanding of social media but asks me to look up people she went to school with on Facebook and can’t accept that I won’t just friend people I don’t know and snoop at their profile. She won’t touch a computer, smart phone, tablet etc. it does my head in as she asks us to do all her online ordering and booking things. During the pandemic it was an absolute nightmare and made her completely dependent on family. However, recently she has started downloading her own books to her kindle, using our Amazon account, but obviously didn’t realise we can see that she’s downloaded a selection of erotic fiction! Not so technophobic now she wants a bit of porn! She has no idea we know, she’s 79 and I can’t look her in the eye 🤣

Ineedwinenow · 02/08/2023 08:26

My husband works in IT and doesn’t have any social media presence.

He only uses his smartphone for WhatsApp, online banking and Email, he may occasionally scroll the internet for news updates but he definitely doesn’t use any of his free time on social media or just aimlessly scrolling shite like I do!!

He says he spends all day on a PC so doesn’t want to do it at home, he’s also a very private person so there’s no mention of him on my own social media pages either ( he asked me not to post about him and I respect his wishes on that)

HelpMeGetThrough · 02/08/2023 08:40

Me, well apart from this. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. nothing at all.

I work in IT and have done for years. Colleagues can't understand how I can be a technical person in IT and not have any of it. Simple explanation for me is, I don't need it.

Summerrainstorminagain · 02/08/2023 08:41

I'm only on here that's it. I used to have Facebook and Instagram but they got deleted a few years ago. I've never had linkedin (it's more intrusive than Facebook from what I can tell) and I'm not even on my company website.

pinkkpanther · 02/08/2023 08:42

I only use this and scroll on tik tok

Conqueeftador · 02/08/2023 08:50

My DP has no SM presence, not even LinkedIn. He’s a surgeon, and doesn’t feel it would be appropriate. Some of his colleagues have Twitter accounts to post regarding work, but he doesn’t feel the need, as those who need to know what he’s doing will know anyway🤷‍♀️ Google will find lots of hits for reviews by patients and to papers/research he has authored, so he’s not a zero presence exactly I guess.

He’s certainly tech savvy, latest phone, I-watch etc, just thinks SM is a potential nightmare so doesn’t bother.

Taytocrisps · 02/08/2023 08:56

Three of my family members (my two brothers and my sister) have no online presence at all. They just have zero interest in the whole thing. Their ages range from late 40s to late 50s.

Also, a close friend at work. She's also in her 50s. Afaik she has no social media presence at all.

Threenow · 02/08/2023 09:00

Yes, I know a few people who don't, mostly because they don't want to.

dooneyousmugelf · 02/08/2023 09:09

I'm on here, so I can't say I'm not on social media at all, but I find Facebook in particular really cringey and quite childish so I came off there about 5 years ago.

CerberusWoof · 04/08/2023 20:31

MN is social media. You may consider yourself anonymous here, but if you post here, you are using social media. And evidently, like it.

It's not really for the purposes of this discussion though, as it doesn't involve "you" (that is, one's real life self) having an "online presence".

I've been involved with forums like this for decades, since before widespread internet use was even a thing. It's all anonymous though, all text and no pictures, and nothing linkable to my real life or identity. AFAIK the gazillions of posts I must have made in that time under various usernames on various forums still exist, but no employer or the like would be able to link them all together and build a profile of "me" from them.

When people started getting FB and IG accounts in their own name, posting images of their actual life all over them, using them for their real life business etc, that was an absolutely different type of thing.

heartofglass23 · 05/08/2023 08:38

I've never thought of mn as social media.

TorrentiallyWretched · 05/08/2023 08:41

Me really I guess, no FB etc., I have a company ‘issued’ LinkedIn page after years of not having one, I’m not interested in it and it is just the basic profile page they created.

On here now and then (4 x a month maybe) but namechange frequently (EA toxic X who once quoted something I’d written on here to me).

SophiaElise · 05/08/2023 09:02

I officially have no SM presence. In reality, I use twitter and instagram pseudonymously, and have just joined threads. And mumsnet, of course. Not on LinkedIn, snapchat or TikTok. I read reddit sometimes but never post.

I'm just not big on posting, even on here. Prefer to read, which makes having a SM account in my name hard work as I'll be expected to respond to real life people all the time.

An example - someone I know in real life (through work) has recently lost her mother. She's very active on twitter and has been posting about her grief almost daily, inviting responses using the "@" functionality. I've offered my condolences in person and via email, but if we were mutual followers on twitter I'd be expected to respond to her posts there too.

Swipe left for the next trending thread