> it's the fear of reduced social contact (or dopamine withdrawal more likely) that was stopping me.
Yeppp. I know exactly how you feel, brother. I gave up Facebook for New Years and will be deleting my account after I set up a blog so I have somewhere to blow off steam and tell bad jokes.
The compromise that helped me overcome the feeling of being cut off was that I will have an open comments section and email address, if my friends really want to stay in touch then they will take time out of their week to come say hi.
It's a lot harder than people think. And the last season of South Park was no joke... When I announced I was leaving Facebook, many people were shocked and genuinely concerned for me. They asked me if it was really necessary, if I couldn't just use it less.
But that isn't an option, it's all or nothing and within a few months I will never let Facebook save another cookie on my computer again.
But I know the concern is partially because they understand exactly what is going on in my mind but they don't see a way out. It's really depressing.
For the hell of it I briefly checked my feed last week and I felt like a recovering junkie, visiting their old friends and seeing for the first time what their lifestyle really looked like from the outside.