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I deleted my social media accounts

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Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#11

Post by epolanski »

fredzel wrote: post #7

> Once the accounts were finally gone, I realized just how much of a grip these platforms had on me. The number of times I reflexively typed "t" or "f" into my browser bar (which autocompletes to twitter.com or facebook.com) was honestly terrifying. Waiting for assets to build? Hit Twitter. Software update running? Quick Facebook check How many different accounts do you have to delete though? For many of those people…

100% this.

While I deleted all of my social media, I will still end up spamming on reddit or reading HN or watching Youtube.

But I have to say I find them better alternatives, as those social medias are nothing but people screaming for attention.

During work time I have an extension that blocks them all.

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#12

Post by joemanaco »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #3

> and why you should too This is not actually explained in the article. It rightfully explains how X, meta and others have taken a turn for the worse to say the least, but it doesn't say why I should delete my Facebook or Twitter account. Neither do the hundreds of calls to delete such accounts in the past few weeks or months have. I get that the point is "You should stop using such social media", but I don't get wha…

It’s not clear, yes: I think they have way too much power in the wrong hands. Now, hypothetically speaking: If they were to lose most of their users, they would lose their power. So, in one way or another, everyone supporting those platforms (by using them) is part of the problem - and that would be the reason to stop using them (again, I know this is quite hypothetically).

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#13

Post by atrettel »

bflesch wrote: post #2

I wouldn't delete social media accounts because they might become available to register for malicious actors who can then impersonate you. Keep the accounts, just don't use them any more.

There isn't anything unique about your account on most social media platforms. This isn't a "plant your flag" situation like when trying to prevent identity theft. You don't need to register your account before a bad actor does. Sure, I created an online account with the IRS, credit bureaus, etc. before somebody else could. That's important because they are tied to unique identifiers like your SSN, etc. But somebody could just create a social media account impersonating you even if you already have an account on that social network. There isn't anything enforcing the uniqueness.

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#14

Post by robin_reala »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #10
chmaynard wrote: post #6

I love this: "Maybe I’ll go old-school and write more blog posts. Like back in the early 2000s, when you actually had to think before sharing your thoughts with the world. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it?"

It is quaint but if my friends and family each had their own blog that they wanted me to look at, I wouldn't. There's a reason these social media places caught on, because they act as aggregators. I get it, it's different types of content, one requires more effort than the other, and the argument is that, if you don't have anything of substance to say, don't say it, but it still requires extra effort to read that I p…

That’s what RSS is for.

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#15

Post by ipython »

bflesch wrote: post #2

I wouldn't delete social media accounts because they might become available to register for malicious actors who can then impersonate you. Keep the accounts, just don't use them any more.

Agreed. I’ve done this and I’d you have an existing fan base on those platforms, a final post that explains where you are and why you’re not active can help keep those folks engaged.

Plus I feel like I’m still costing the platform the fractions of fractions of a cent to keep my data stored, replicated and active somewhere

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#16

Post by johnea »

Excelent call to action.

The distictions between made "deleting the accout" and "just stop using it" are really mute. The main point is to disengage from such platforms.

Of course, almost no will. In spite of the clear conection between these platforms and individual mental health, and even more importantly massive distribution of seriously mileading "fake news", most people quite frankly just don't give a shit.

Look at the near total indifference to the petro mafia's distruction of the natural world. Most people just can't be bothered.

So when you compare something like failing to respond to corporations eliminating the ecosystem services required for life on earth, to a call to action against the crimes of asocial media, do you really expect a significant number of people to care?

I'm doubting it...

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#18

Post by PaulHoule »

... this was me in 2016. (Facebook had Cambridge Analytica, LinkedIn had taken on a demonic element to me in that I'd spent years prospecting and it had brought so many grifters and bullshitters into my life I felt like I was becoming a bullshitter... It would have been one thing if I was making money but I wasn't.)

I got back into social media about 1.5 years ago when Mastodon seemed to be coming on strong. I've lately gotten into Bluesky and all I can say is: (1) come on in, the water is fine, and (2) sure it will go bad someday when the money gets tight but back in the day we expected platforms to decay and for the cool kids to move on to the next one.

Re: I deleted my social media accounts

#19

Post by marginalia_nu »

I don't think deleting social media accounts is a good idea. Used appropriately, social media can be very useful and open doors that would otherwise not be available.

The problem is when you are just looping[1], absentmindedly opening and closing news and social media sites for hours. This can eat a lot of time, and is generally pretty draining.

I've been adding separate user accounts based on what tasks I'm doing, and locking them down so they can only perform those tasks.

I have a social media account (which I'm on right now), I have a coding account which I can not access news or social media from, and I have a few other accounts. This creates friction when task switching, and makes it so I have to be a bit more deliberate with how I use the computer. (I have social media blocked on my phone, as I find that's just not compatible with a happy life)

I've also recently been setting up Site Specific Browsers[2], basically custom PWAs, a web browser with no URL bar and no tabs, to further add barriers between tasks (like checking CI) and just noodling on the web. (I use electron to do this, but you can also use chrome by starting it with --app=https://www.example.com/ . Sadly Firefox has removed the ability to do this. )

[1] https://xkcd.com/1411/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site-specific_browser

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