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I Quit Social Media for a Year

joshcsimmons.com

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Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#321

Post by b3b0p »

If this persons definition of social media is only Facebook and Instagram then I removed social media for the last 3 or more years.

Removing these (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) were nothing and easy for me. I just logged out and never bothered to log in. I haven't bothered with these in years.

Now, not visiting places like Reddit, maybe Hacker News, and consider removing other similar like internet communities for a year as well was a lot harder and still is at times. So, I have delegated to limit myself for now and not make an account. At least I try.

I found myself having trouble of finding something to read while I eat dinner every night, so I try to only limit myself to reading and browsing Reddit while I eat dinner each night for example.

However, my Hacker News addiction continues.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#322

Post by DoubleGlazing »

tempsy wrote: post #55

My biggest issue with social media is less that it's distracting (IMO not necessarily an unhealthy thing) but that it has, for me, more than anything else seemed to make all aspects of my life a competition with others. On Instagram, you're competing with others on who has the happiest life. On LinkedIn, you're competing with others on who has the steepest career trajectory. Even on Twitter, perhaps more acutely in c…

I think the extreme opposite equally applies on social media, people who would moderate themselves in real life seem to let it all out on social media. So instead of pretending to be something they are not, they reveal their truest opinions and thoughts.

For example extreme political and religious opinions. I've seen long term real life friendships broken because someone said something extreme about Brexit on facebook. I have a very religious friend who berates me constantly on facebook for being an ex-Catholic, she tells me I need to save myself etc - but she would never say that to me in real life.

Social media is so good at making people say stupid things.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#323

Post by tvanantwerp »

young_unixer wrote: post #27

I used to use Twitter. My country's political news and related commentary usually got me into a mental state of frustration and misanthropy. I deleted Twitter. Political news still frustrate me but I rarely see them anymore. Ignorance is bliss. I've effectively created a safe space where political idiocy can't cognitively harass me. Is it wrong to be so uninformed? I don't know. I think a lot about it and I haven't c…

I find it so weird that society equates news consumption with being informed. In this era especially, news seems to be mostly opinion pieces about trivial events. I'd wager that those actively abstaining from the news have a better grip on the events impacting them and the world in general than those who are trying to stay up-to-date 24/7 on Twitter, or cable news, or any information fire-hose of your choice.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#324

Post by xfitm3 »

grawprog wrote: post #18
xfitm3 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting approach. I have to wonder though, if such a thoughtful strategy is needed to stay sane what else is unhealthy?

I always thought the way the parent poster uses social media is the way it's supposed to to be used. That's the only way I've ever used it.

I'm not so sure that's the real design. Any application I use tries to addict me to it. I think it is more for people to show off.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#325

Post by blaser-waffle »

Kifot wrote: post #267
Beldin wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is a form of social media, though: users submit content, comment on content and each other, and can upvote content and comments.

The main upside though is not feeling the urge to compete with other people which makes it different from the likes of Facebook/Instagram.

It still creates the internet karma points thing, visible in the top corner.

And there is "but there are people WRONG on the internet!" effect, which means demonstrating domain knowledge and winning arguments drive their interest -- something that seems strikingly more common with knowledge workers (e.g. lawyers, programmers, professors), than, say, construction workers. People wanna feel smart, esp. in their areas of proficiency and dominance.

I'm sure someone will post the relevant XKCD any minute now...

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#326

Post by tvanantwerp »

The first time I quit social media, the strangest part of the experience was figuring out what to do with my random observations. Maybe I'd have a clever though, or see an interesting sight to photograph, and my old instinct was to share immediately. Without social media, I had to relearn how to let go and allow my thoughts fade into nothing. I'm glad I went through that--really showed me how my brain was being rewired in ways I don't care for.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#327

Post by blaser-waffle »

knzhou wrote: post #139
agotterer wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I like social media and I’m capable of controlling my usage. I’ve developed some ground rules to ensure a good healthy experience. To start, I have an iOS rule that prevents more than 7 minutes of each social media app per day. I pretty much only use Facebook. After the timer is up that’s it for the day. I honestly enjoy seeing picture of my friends, their kids, their vacations, and the…

I don't know if we're in the minority, but I'm completely with you. I use social media for about 15 minutes a day and it only improves my life. I'm happy when I see my friends being happy. I think people who blame their life problems on social media have deeper underlying issues. Mark Zuckerberg didn't invent envy in 2004.

Envy has been around for a long time, but there is plenty of evidence that modern social media is essentially Ph.D's doing everything they can to make an addicting experience to drive ad revenue.

It's designed from the ground up to be addicting and attention getting -- envy is just one of the buttons they press to trip that addiction.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#328

Post by kerrsclyde »

criddell wrote: post #7

> the sole reason I have taken photos is to share them via social media That's quite a realization. I think it's true for a lot of people though and it's part of why people experience the best times of their life through a 6" display.

From mid 90's to mid 2000's I was a social teenager, nobody took photographs (nobody owned a camera). I wish I had some pictures of those times. Places we went, people I no longer see. Not hundreds but a few to help me remember.

So maybe I disagree with this a bit, but then we all have different motivations.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#329

Post by amonavis »

thecleaner wrote: post #273
scanny wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like Hackernews is more distracting to be honest, it's like crack, I just cannot stop looking through all these interesting posts.

Try reading books on mobile. Once you get used to it, you just cannot stop. I read 5 books in 2 months - on container shipping, nikola tesla's biography stuff like that - none very useful to me but the point is I read them.

Would you recommend a good resource for container shipping?
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