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Use social media mindfully

danielleheberling.xyz

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Re: Use social media mindfully

#31

Post by webdoodle »

Aeglaecia wrote: post #26
taurath wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dropped Google news and Reddit in the last few weeks. I have watched several people have nervous breakdowns, coworkers report having to step back from everything, one even said he’d developed a twitch. However informed we desire to be, that desire seems to be usurped by this constant spin-up mechanism of current media. HN is probably gonna have to go soon too for me, I have enough ways to keep informed, and it’s ha…

when vampires are knocking at everyones front door , a sizeable proportion of the populace will be vampirized , such that any barricades to your domicile will be inevitably breached

You have to welcome vampires in.

Re: Use social media mindfully

#33

Post by Insanity »

galleywest200 wrote: post #20

My rule for 2026 is to limit short-form media. No Twitter/X, no Bluesky, no Mastodon, no Instagram, no TikTok. If it is designed to be short-form (limited characters, quick videos) then it is not for me in 2026. I had already avoided short-form video but I added short-form text this year.

I stopped watching short form content last year. I’m not on instagram/X etc, only on YouTube.

My only annoyance is that YouTube still insists on shoving them in my face on the app homepage even though I don’t watch them. It just requires a modicum of willpower now not to click and go down the rabbit hole, which I’ll occasionally fail at.

Re: Use social media mindfully

#34

Post by Insanity »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #5

I just don't do Facebook, any more. It's been ages since I logged in. I never really did Twitter/Twatter, or anything else. The closest thing I have to social media, is HN comments.

Same for me!

I kinda forget they exist. Last time I used Facebook is around 2015, and I never jumped on Instagram.

Stopped using Twitter when Musk bought it.

Sometimes I forget how much of a luxury it is to not spent cycles doomscrolling on those apps. Until an article like this pops up and I’m just grateful that I don’t feel the need to use social media.

Re: Use social media mindfully

#35

Post by jmathai »

Insanity wrote: post #33
galleywest200 wrote: post #20

My rule for 2026 is to limit short-form media. No Twitter/X, no Bluesky, no Mastodon, no Instagram, no TikTok. If it is designed to be short-form (limited characters, quick videos) then it is not for me in 2026. I had already avoided short-form video but I added short-form text this year.

I stopped watching short form content last year. I’m not on instagram/X etc, only on YouTube. My only annoyance is that YouTube still insists on shoving them in my face on the app homepage even though I don’t watch them. It just requires a modicum of willpower now not to click and go down the rabbit hole, which I’ll occasionally fail at.

Try to turn off YouTube watch history.

You get no feed at all. It’s marvelous.

Re: Use social media mindfully

#36

Post by compounding_it »

I quit (deleted accounts) all social media 5 years ago (before reels and short form media entered) and LinkedIn a year ago. This whole 'there is value in comments and DMs and connections for jobs' is the hook basically. I considered whether it was worth it. The answer for probably most people is 'No'.

Here is something I noticed: More present in the real world (no more head buried in the phone, neck feels better too). Less social comparisons (the worst part of social media that people don't understand). Depression and anxiety got better. Believe it or not but my quality of social interactions vastly improved after quitting social media. I also no longer take my phone out for pictures unnecessarily. There is no platform to show or compare or share. So I just take pictures for myself when I want to remember something and live the experience for just me. This is not selfish, this is just how reality is. But given that I am more present, I actually engage in the world and remember things as they are cause I am not distracted. I am mindful.

I have been an advocate for a while that social media is a really bad thing. My entire family is so addicted to all this. Mindfulness is the most important part. People are subconsciously comparing their lives to this world and it's driving their decision. Children are sitting with phones scrolling. I really find it concerning that people don't see this as a serious problem.

Get rid of it and don't think twice. The people really important and close to you will either call you or meet you for a meal. Everyone else was probably just a casual connection.

Re: Use social media mindfully

#37

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

taurath wrote: post #23
galleywest200 wrote: post #20

My rule for 2026 is to limit short-form media. No Twitter/X, no Bluesky, no Mastodon, no Instagram, no TikTok. If it is designed to be short-form (limited characters, quick videos) then it is not for me in 2026. I had already avoided short-form video but I added short-form text this year.

I dropped Google news and Reddit in the last few weeks. I have watched several people have nervous breakdowns, coworkers report having to step back from everything, one even said he’d developed a twitch. However informed we desire to be, that desire seems to be usurped by this constant spin-up mechanism of current media. HN is probably gonna have to go soon too for me, I have enough ways to keep informed, and it’s ha…

"I also don’t like that ycombinator is run by, for and with people who I don’t share values with."

I think if you are careful to avoid clicking on YC startup ads or applying to YC, and you make sure to write a lot of comments calling for regulatory crackdown on AI†, then you can be fairly certain that you, as an individual user, are not contributing to YC's bottom line.

† I contributed to the campaign of Alex Bores, running for Congress in NY-12 https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TbsdA7wG9TvMQYMZj/consider-d...

Re: Use social media mindfully

#38

Post by 112233 »

fchicken wrote: post #32

Telegram channels are great sources of news and perspectives.

They are once you know them. I still haven't found great sources of telegram channels. Only ones being surfaced are from the funnels "how to run k5s on a baked potato? I just published guide on my tg, which you can find on my linktree that is in my ig profile!"

Re: Use social media mindfully

#39

Post by [deleted] »

dfajgljsldkjag wrote: post #18

It is such a relief to see someone say you do not have to delete your accounts to be healthy. I find myself opening these apps purely out of habit when I am bored or anxious. The idea of pausing to ask yourself why you are logging in is something I definitely need to try.

[deleted]

Re: Use social media mindfully

#40

Post by themafia »

compounding_it wrote: post #36

I quit (deleted accounts) all social media 5 years ago (before reels and short form media entered) and LinkedIn a year ago. This whole 'there is value in comments and DMs and connections for jobs' is the hook basically. I considered whether it was worth it. The answer for probably most people is 'No'. Here is something I noticed: More present in the real world (no more head buried in the phone, neck feels better too)…

> There is no platform to show or compare or share.

That's the irony of social media to me. Thinking back to it's genesis I really thought of it as a way to connect "grandma" to the family and share pictures with her. At the time there weren't many great technical solutions for this and the average grandma was not technically capable enough to do much more than login and check facebook now and again.

Once the fundamental problem got solved the tone and scope of social media slowly changed as the networks lost users and struggled to maintain a high MAUs to shove ads into the face of.

> The people really important and close to you will either call you or meet you for a meal.

Which is easier now than it ever has been.

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