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Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

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Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#151

Post by yingw787 »

mindcrime wrote: post #102
yingw787 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered just using FB messenger @ messenger.com? You can log in with your email address instead of your Facebook account. You can also use it while your Facebook account is deactivated (I deactivated mine). No news feed, no ads, just conversations. Not associated with Facebook, just a happy Messenger user.

Not really, because I have an ideological aversion to closed off / walled-garden protocols like that. Part of what my switch away from the whole FB/Twitter/Etc. thing is going to be going back to mainly using XMPP for chat. And anybody who can't, or won't, join an XMPP network and use an XMPP client is somebody I don't need to chat with.

I think I like IRC as much as the next guy (probably more). But I also like talking to friends who aren't in tech, like those from childhood, high school, or college, and who went into medical school or business or who simply write code during the day and don't make it their life, and the one network we have in common is the one managed by Facebook. For me at least, I'd rather stay connected to my friends using any means necessary than die on a hill over a chat protocol.

I don't ever want to be the guy who's not there for his friends, and I don't want to be the guy who regretted not staying in touch with his friends on his deathbed. I think that's a good reason to use Facebook, as good as any. Just offering my two cents!

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#153

Post by Vysero »

new2628 wrote: post #38
papreclip wrote: post #18

I open facebook for 2 minutes a week and scroll through my relatives' baby and pet pictures. I don't get how the site is such a specter of misery for some people Twitter I would understand a little better. It's such a tar pit of negative energy, insults, rage bait, etc

I drink one glass of fine red wine once a week while having a nice conversation with a good friend. On other occasions I have a shot of strong brandy before stepping out on a cold winter evening. I don't get how alcohol is such a specter of misery for some people.

When you quit Facebook do you puke for 5 days straight and shake violently all the while?

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#154

Post by minikites »

luckylion wrote: post #122
minikites wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a country with a high standard of living and personal safety, doesn't affect me at all. The fact that it doesn't affect you means you're in an incredibly privileged position in your country, your life is not the same as everyone else's.

How would somebody less privileged be negatively affected by not knowing about the news ? Mind you, it's not about being affected by what's in the news, of course you're affected when the government decides on a new policy ... but how does knowing about it on the same day or in the same hour mitigate that?

How does consuming the news on a delayed basis address the issue of being distressed by the news?

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#155

Post by graeme »

bob33212 wrote: post #91
graeme wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like your two feeds are very different. I didn’t like facebook, then unfollowed everyone except immediate family. It’s nice now! Not distracting, occasional baby pictures. One of facebook’s worst long run mistakes was optimizing for engagement vs. enjoyment. It boosts metrics but makes people quit or go cold turkey. Instagram has never felt like that.

Facebook doesn't care about enjoyment. They want to maximize eyes on the screen time and sell that for maximum ad revenue. If you are someone who would like to spend 5 minutes a week on Facebook catching up with friends they do not care about you.

Possible. But I used facebook a lot more when I enjoyed it. I enjoy instagram now for example and use it a lot.

Facebook showed me stuff I didn’t care about it that aggravated me, so I stopped using it. now I’m in thE 5 min a week category. But I’d rather follow more people, but only the important stuff

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#156

Post by NoInputSignal »

anderber wrote: post #101
INTPenis wrote: post #89

What gave me the most satisfaction is quitting the news. Incidentally I don't have or use any social media either. Except imgur and sometimes among the funny memes I get news. But I'm afraid for people I meet who always remind me of all the awful things they've seen in the news. I'm aware of none of this until someone tells me. And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a c…

I absolutely understand what you're saying. But part of me feels an obligation to be informed to hold those in power accountable. If everyone follows the advice of avoiding the news, what effect would that have in our Govenment?

I think in a country like the US, where news networks can push a political bias (not needing to give both sides of an issue equal coverage), without accountability, it requires consumers to do their own homework on issues. I guess the question is, why not optimize and cut the news out of the middle?

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#157

Post by Vysero »

papreclip wrote: post #18

I open facebook for 2 minutes a week and scroll through my relatives' baby and pet pictures. I don't get how the site is such a specter of misery for some people Twitter I would understand a little better. It's such a tar pit of negative energy, insults, rage bait, etc

I don't get it either. Then again I don't get how Twitter or any of social media site could be either.. thin skin I guess.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#158

Post by yingw787 »

INTPenis wrote: post #89

What gave me the most satisfaction is quitting the news. Incidentally I don't have or use any social media either. Except imgur and sometimes among the funny memes I get news. But I'm afraid for people I meet who always remind me of all the awful things they've seen in the news. I'm aware of none of this until someone tells me. And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a c…

I read a great book, "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, that said "A problem you can't change isn't a problem, it's a truth and you have to accept it". I think that mental reframing helps process effectively immutable events.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#160

Post by Rudism »

anderber wrote: post #101
INTPenis wrote: post #89

What gave me the most satisfaction is quitting the news. Incidentally I don't have or use any social media either. Except imgur and sometimes among the funny memes I get news. But I'm afraid for people I meet who always remind me of all the awful things they've seen in the news. I'm aware of none of this until someone tells me. And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a c…

I absolutely understand what you're saying. But part of me feels an obligation to be informed to hold those in power accountable. If everyone follows the advice of avoiding the news, what effect would that have in our Govenment?

I've been avoiding news as well since the last Presidential election. I can appreciate that this is terrible advice in general, but for the sake of my blood pressure, health in general, and mental well-being it's the best choice for me.
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