RE: deleting social (zaibatsu.circumlunar.space), 03/06/2020
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Over at gopher.black there is a phlog post about "the effects of
deleting a social medium"[1]. The insight about the effect of the
magnifying glass icon in the Instagram app was fascinating, go have a
read!
The post also asked this of us fellow phloggers:
> I know this community is filled with folks who have gone through
> similar changes. What's your experience with cutting out a social
> platform? Has it remained cut out? Do you still see the tangibles in
> your life, or did those fade to some sort of "rest state"? Were
> there notable negatives?
My use of social platforms has always been somewhat limited, but I did
use FB heavily for a number of years, and cut it out... a year or two
ago? I actually can't remember exactly when. I haven't gone back. I
removed all my content. The account exists still for a client (I have
to login and post on his page from time to time), but I never use it
aside from that one specific use (I don't check anything, scroll, etc.
I'm just not interested.)
I'm extremely happy to be free of the shackles of FB. It was a waste,
in every real sense. Nothing that it provided can't be had in some
other way.
I did see some benefits from quitting, but my issue has been this:
given excess resources of time and energy, I'm left to decide how to
use them, and I often choose poorly. FB can't be blamed for my
choices, and my choices haven't necessarily gotten better because FB
is gone. They've just become different. My "rest state" is one of
squandering; anything better requires work. I hope to do more work,
and am continually trying to be something more than I am in my rest
state.
There have been no real negatives to quitting the little bit of
social media that I use. Friends and family still talk to me. I still
see plenty of photos. Life goes on, and I don't feel like I'm missing
anything important.
[1]
gopher://gopher.black:70/1/phlog/20200306-the-effects-of-deleting-a-social-medium