AIBU to quite social media entirely

[Saladleaves17]

I’ve been thinking about it for a while now so would be interested for anyone who has done it to share their experiences. What made you quit? How have you found it?

I only have FB and Instagram. Have never posted anything on my Instagram and stopped posting on FB a few years ago after I had a weird message from a old school friend who I hadn’t spoken to in about 15 years saying my son (baby at the time) was cute. It sounds innocent enough but there was a bit more to it and it worried me enough to block them and stop posting pictures of my son anywhere.

I tend to just scroll through and follow local community pages and things like bbc news to keep up to date. I will occasionally comment on friends posts and wish them a happy birthday etc, but I find myself getting increasingly irritated by complete strangers who make the ridiculous posts and comments on things. I don’t know why but I’ve got myself into this loop where most of the time I keep on scrolling, but sometimes I just feel the need to comment on it and afterwards I’m there thinking ‘why did I do that?’, and I feel like a complete and utter twat.

On the other hand, I really do like seeing updates from family (they all live miles away) and friends, and I get so many tips and ideas especially from Instagram.

I think like alot of people, I probably would say I’m addicted to scrolling so want to see what others think about quitting and what benefits you’ve found from doing it.

I came off all social media 10 years ago. I had FB and Twitter.

I missed it for a bit in the way you miss smoking when you give up …crave it, wish you could still do it…and then suddenly forget about it…and eventually wonder why on earth you ever did it in the first place? It seems genuinely bonkers to me now.

I watch grown adults scrolling mindlessly through TikTok or Instagram on my morning commute…people sharing photos online of their kids, sharing their location, their every fucking move…the boasting and curating and just absolute insincerity of it…the pathetic, childish spats and point scoring…the cringey influencers…the relentlessness of checking and scrolling and updating and keeping up…

…and I am SO glad my mind and life are free of the utter BS.

My husband and I quit FB during lockdown for mental health reasons - to spend less time aimlessly scrolling. We don't miss it. I definitely waste less time on my phone but then again, sometimes go through periods of scrolling aimlessly on other sites (like MN!). I'm not perfect but overall the temptation is less. Other benefits? I think I have a much more balanced view of the world, rather than what an algorithm is pushing. I also don't care much about what others think, or seek validation but maybe I never did in the first place. Overall I do tend to now go online for more useful(?) purposes - research, getting information, making purchases and general life admin.

I still have Instagram but haven't posted for a long time, probably over a year? Took all my photos down of my kid as felt weird about sharing (and I didn't share much to begin with). Dunno why I haven't deleted it yet but I did find it useful following parenting accounts when I had my first baby but he's older now. I had deactivated it for a while but had to reactive to check something.

Was forced to sign up for X as that's where my kid's school weirdly post their (closed group) updates. Never had an account previously so no temptation there - his school is the only account I follow.

The downside is the upside you mentioned - I don't know what's happening with certain family and friends unless we're close. I've lost contact with a few folk who I wish I'd kept in touch with via other means. But on the other hand, have no desire to keep in contact with people I went to school with 20 odd years ago, who I wasn't even friends with to begin with. Another downside is that a lot of businessess etc only have SM and no website so I can't connect with or contact them. I sometimes also feel I'm slow to hear about trends or breaking news!

But overall I'm glad I've curtailed my use. I truly believe SM isn't great for your mental health and I worry for my kids, about what impact it may have on them.

Mumsnet is social media, OP.

Which is always posted on threads like this and while maybe pedantically correct isn't what anyone ime ever means in when they talk about SM. We all know it's shorthand for FB/insta/tiktok etc, thats how it's used in normal conversation

I don't see why it has to be an all or nothing decision, just look at the bits you want to, no need for any kind of declarations or major life changes

However I say that as someone maybe older than you who can't imagine it being worth any kind of angst

I cut down for a bit but then it gradually crept back in. Facebook is especially pointless with all the stupid, stupid reels. I wish they'd stop the reels.

Listening to podcasts about social media addiction helped as well as watching 'The Social Dilema' on Netflix.

I don't think of MN as social media. It's anonymous, and is a discussion forum. The introduction of reaction emojis made it more SM-like, but I don't think it's SM.

<<misses point of thread>>

Anyway, YADNBU to quit social media. It's refreshing to not share everything.

Definitely second watching the Social Dilemma on Netflix.

I have deactivated my FB and Insta accounts about two months ago. I do spend more time here but it has drastically reduced my phone time! I just realised I was spending time arguing with trolls and it making me really cross - for what purpose?! And I was sick of feeling anxious and depressed by the state of the world. I deleted the apps from my phone. It took a while to get used to, I have finally stopped mindlessly picking up my phone to doomscroll. It feels very freeing. Totally recommend.

I had Instagram and Facebook, didn't use them loads but did find myself mindlessly scrolling. I got sick of the ads, the inanity, the stupid stupid comments from seemingly illiterate stupid people, the algorithms feeding more of what you looked at, it just all felt like it was both manipulating and rotting my brain.
I came off both around a year ago and I haven't missed them at all. If events or anything important happens in my village it gets physically advertised or I hear about it, if my friends and family go on holiday if I want to see their pictures I ask them to show me when I meet them, we have a family WhatsApp group so can share things if needed and I can see or phone people to connect with them.
It's so freeing, I wish I'd done it years ago.