Who here has quit social media?

[Art777]

I agree with everyone here, social media is cancer, HOWEVER it is amazing for business. I never understood the point of sharing everything with hundreds of people but now I see that it can be a great lead generation platform for my ads agency.

It's basically free leads on autopilot, as long as all of your "friends" are potential clients (there is 5000 limit, so remove all your "friends" and instead add your potential clients, so they see your posts). They will see all your testimonials/case studies/brag posts and PM you to do business with you, with 0 ad spend.

I see tons of people doing this and getting good results, so I will start doing the same then outsource it to someone else as soon as I get a chance.

Facebook Groups are amazing though, I think it's impossible not to use them as they are extremely valuable. I met my whitelabel business partners there that aren't actively advertising, you pretty much can't find them anywhere else, so you NEED to use Facebook Groups to watch interviews, meet people, get recommendations, etc. as otherwise you're just losing out on tons of valuable info.

I have the newsfeed eradicator installed so I don't see any crap that people post, and I don't know how people get addicted to Instagram, it's basically a place for showoffs to make everyone think their lives are better. However, it is amazing for business, as your clients are using it, same with Twitter.

 

[Deleted78083]

Quitting social media is like quitting sugar (and i have done both). Difficult at the beginning then you get used to it. I found myself thinking less about people, being less self-aware and anxious and in a better mood. You do miss a dopamine drive though, and many people replace it with another addiction. So my advice is quit everything: porn, fap, cigarette, alcohol, tea, coffee, entertainment, social media and sugar. Personally, quitting porn, fap, social media, alcohol and sugar have allowed me to be more focus and to have MUCH more energy.

The only drawback about quitting are the events: i am missing all the parties if no one tells me, but since i dont really enjoy them, i don't really care.

 

[Visionary96]

I recently came back from a 1 year backpacking trip and plastered my IG with perfectly edited photos of me posing with other ‘cool’ people or ‘cool’ spots during my trip. At the time, when you have finished editing that perfect picture with the perfect lighting and you see the likes and comments come in, its instant gratification at its finest. Then you want a better and more ‘out there’ pic than the day before.

Bit out there example but It honestly kinda feels like smoking as you get cravings to upload new pics in which the likes from other people act as the nicotine. I got roped in hard with insta and its only when I returned from my trip and got back to reality did I almost cringe at my profile. I was living a fake life and only cared for the photo in all the environments I was in. Got rid of it and plan to only use it to make money off in the future/gather leads.

 

[Andy Black]

How I imagine career social media users:

View attachment 32195

There’s something about Gary Vees content that just irks me. I don’t accept that you can’t grow a business without posting 100 (he literally says 100) pieces of unique content per day.

Easy to do when you’re a client of your own Top 3, 750 employee marketing agency.

If you’re an internet entrepreneur, yes... not a Productocracy...

You 100% don’t need to post daily content, or even post content. That kind of advice just makes me face-palm.

 

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[DeletedUser0287]

Need to be on social media for business, it is vital to know the sentiment and what is going on in the world for marketing purposes and messaging.

I use social media as a tool personally for product design inspo. Helps a lot. Social media shows you more of what you look at.

If most people are talking about all the other BS on social, FB/Insta doesn’t even show me that anymore. Only things related to my interests.

Will never quit social media.

 

[Defection]

Here's how I've dealt with keeping a Facebook account that will only ever be used for business:
News Feed Eradicator Chrome Extension - This basically stops you from seeing your news feed, and replaces it with a motivational quote instead.

Removed Facebook app from the home screen on my phone - I have a LOT of apps installed on my phone, and just the minor inconvenience of having to manually go to the menu to open it really made me not bother anywhere near as much. It's amazing how much effort swipe, swipe, scroll, click is, compared to simply 'click'.

 

[SarahK]

I cannot say I've quit social media because with the lockdown, it's the only way I can stay connected with friends. However, I make it a point to only log in during weekends and that too, only to converse with people without browsing feeds and watching stories. I've been SO much happier and healthier mentally! Social media isn't for everyone.

 

[jaypi]

The only social media platform i’m active on is youtube. it’s pretty much my source of procrastination (unless i’m learning something there).

What’s sad is that i recently reactivated my instagram (for some survey :/) and i didn’t miss a thing. Every post is the pretty much selfies, family/friends, and gym stuff.

 

[bwl772]

I have been tracking myself a lot this year I can spot a clear trend... the more time I spend during the day on social media = the worse I feel.

I get lazy, distracted, and sometimes slightly depressed. And I am very much a positive, focused person.

I shouldn't be surprised cause I know a lot of you have been talking about the dangers of social media for years.

At this stage, I am thinking about quitting Instagram and Facebook forever.
I can make a new Fb account just to run my students group and shut down everything else.

Do those people with some long term experience (quit social media for over one year etc) want to chime in?

What has been your experience?

Done with all of it.

Couldnt be happier.

Looking back, it's disturbing how much time it all stole from me and affected my mood. It's embarrassing, really.

I read stoicism now, it's much healthier and practical in the current environment.

I truly believe social media creates and/or exacerbates mental health issues.

It will be the cigarettes of our time.

Edit:

I still use YouTube. It has a very practical application, though. I watch YouTube to learn how to do things all the time.

 

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[zblundell]

I do not use social media, but if I do eventually get a business started, it would be wise to use it for marketing in business. I guess its been over a year? My wife still uses it but the only thing I use is Pintrest and Youtube for inspirational advice. I am more laser focused because I use my free time to research things that are important to me instead of scrolling on social media.

 

[Fox]

3 years off FB. 1 year off IG.

Twitter/LinkedIn only for business.

Hows it feel?

Pros/cons?

 

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[Andy Black]

Quit instagram for a year and a month so far. I need to get back on to make cash but social media does my mental health no good

Make it a red flag whenever you use the word “need”. Do you *really* need to?

 

[ShamanKing]

I use IG as a picture journal. Time to time ill scroll through my feed and reflect on different times in my life.

 

[GoodluckChuck]

Social media like FB is really helpful when I need to ask questions or search groups for info I need.

Something I noticed a year or two ago is that Everytime I go to FB for something, I immediately get distracted and start scrolling. After a few seconds I have forgotten why I was there in the first place.

Once I noticed this happening I just stopped. I go to FB once or twice a week to message someone or look something up. I don't scroll anymore.

It's not that it's not a dopamine rush. It is. But I also noticed that the more I look at what other people are doing, the more I compare myself, and obviously that's useless in most cases, especially on social where everyone is overinflating the awesomeness of their life.

I lump browsing FB in with video games and Netflix binging. There's some useful bits but overall it's just a waste of time.

 

[Andy Black]

Here’s that thread:

• Cal Newport podcast: Digital Minimalism

 

[Swift]

I have been tracking myself a lot this year I can spot a clear trend... the more time I spend during the day on social media = the worse I feel.

I get lazy, distracted, and sometimes slightly depressed. And I am very much a positive, focused person.

I shouldn't be surprised cause I know a lot of you have been talking about the dangers of social media for years.

At this stage, I am thinking about quitting Instagram and Facebook forever.
I can make a new Fb account just to run my students group and shut down everything else.

Do those people with some long term experience (quit social media for over one year etc) want to chime in?

What has been your experience?

Deleted snapchat, instagram, removed everyone but business/mentor groups on facebook, twitter with under 150 people followed, and Linkedin is just for business outreach. Social media is a great tool to get your product or service out there if you use it right and allocate only some time each day to work on it but otherwise, it'll consume you with distractions.

 

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[jacobp]

I have been tracking myself a lot this year I can spot a clear trend... the more time I spend during the day on social media = the worse I feel.

I get lazy, distracted, and sometimes slightly depressed. And I am very much a positive, focused person.

I shouldn't be surprised cause I know a lot of you have been talking about the dangers of social media for years.

At this stage, I am thinking about quitting Instagram and Facebook forever.
I can make a new Fb account just to run my students group and shut down everything else.

Do those people with some long term experience (quit social media for over one year etc) want to chime in?

What has been your experience?

I have felt a similar feeling HOWEVER.... due to the nature of our work and society, i feel as though it is almost impossible to quit these platforms, especially as technology continues to grow.

the advice I take comes from the ALL FAMOUS TIM FERRIS! where he explains that he keeps his phone on airplane mode throughout most of the day, and only allows a window of time once a day to check these platforms and respond/post etc.


doing so minimizes the urge and need to check out other peoples lives and focus on our own.

 

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[BellaPippin]

I use these:

News Feed Eradicator for Facebook
Facebook Marketplace Ad Remover

No more distractions and junk in my head.
.. But, I keep the messaging and events systems.

It is now exactly how I want it: I use Facebook.
Not the other way around.

I highly recommend this if you're on the fence of terminating your Facebook.
As you can always disable these blockers again, and nothing is lost.

I use the Eradicator! That way I can just see the 50+ posts of puppies my parents post on my wall but nothing else. I leave the mandatory "awwww" then I go on with my business. I don't have the app on my phone just messenger.

 

[Alexio]

this is my first post here in the forum

and I have 4 Facebook profiles

1 is an old profile from 2009
where I used to delete about the 100 "friends"
after 100 deleted friends I did not want to waste some more time deleting the other 170
so I've decided to create a new profile where now I have 87 "friends"

then I have 2 more Facebook profile, where a manage 4 different pages for "business" (a zero asset business) both with zero friends and a few followed pages (for interest and motivation), no there are no narcissist picture in the home
and 1 IG profile for one of the zero asset business

then I have 4 different youtube channels
and from my first VIDEOSCRIBE I can not watch any video from YouTube or Facebook
ones I've put myself on the other side of the screen (the content creator and not the watcher)
I can see how the director see the viewers : chickens

So I have decide -6 month ago- to use the social media and not to be used from the social media and the people how create videos and posts (better late then never)

if you feel depressed, start to go to the toilet without the smartphone in your hand
and buy a classic alarm clock so the first thing that you will touch in the morning will not be your smartphone (that's what I've done)

 

[MattR82]

I was also on twitter but removed myself. That platform is absolutely toxic.

I'm glad I never got into twitter. I see nothing good come from it. Toxic is definitely the right word.

 

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[ecommercewolf]

No instagram app or Snapchat on my phone. That's half of the battle right there.

I'll check Instagram via desktop a couple times a week that's all.

A good book on social media minimalism is "Digital Minimalism" By Cal Newport

 

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[LightningHelix]

I've never got on twitter or instagram. Twitter seems incredibly toxic and I don't understand the benefit of instagram. I recently deleted the fb app off my phone while cleaning it up, as I barely ever use it. I keep fb messenger, because people i know prefer it over texting. I use Linkedin sometimes.

I used to use fb alot, its was a huge time waster and usually led to alot of useless political arguments. It never gave me happiness or knowledge.

Its a rotten fruit that needed to be cut off.

 

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[Vigilante]

https://twitter.com/warrenbuffett?lang=en

”It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

View: https://youtu.be/NRCWbFFRpnY

 

[Pritesh]

I only have social media accounts to run ads, nothing else.
My last timeline post on Facebook was back in 2010, so 10 years ago.
I use Facebook groups actively to prospect clients.
I don't have Instagram, Twitter, etc.

 

[Ernman]

I took myself off FB after the last US election cycle. I just couldn't believe the ignorance, hate and lies being spouted by people I thought better of - not to mention those I didn't know. It also became clear that the "news" on social media was being manipulated to an even greater extent than what we see on TV and the echo chambers were/are dangerous to the truth. At least on TV I can choose to change the channel and see what others are saying. Social media algo's are designed to force feed us whatever will keep us on the channel and so the echo chamber develops.

Here I am, four years later, back on FB but for a very different reason. Social media - like it or not - is a very valuable marketing tool. Like all tools in business, we need to learn to use it. Like it or not, it's business - not personal.

I try very hard to avoid the political BS and don't comment on FB timeline posts, etc., unless it is really a friend or relative and non-political issue. I engage in targeted groups and pages to learn and build reputation. Because I'm actively developing a YouTube page, I have to watch and engage in related content. BUT, I set limits and stick to them.

 

[MattR82]

I see zero political stuff on any of my social feeds, and the couple hundred friends I follow are all cool, normal people. Just gotta give the flick to those that are narcissistic. The last person I unfollowed was my 23 year old cousin posting daily duckface bikini pics. Bu-bye.

The only stuff I see is educational, motivational and a little bit of entertainment with sports I follow like MMA and Motorsports plus a few comedians.

When I flip over to my clients accounts though, and see the influencer situation, it's quite a bit sickening. Instagram is basically soft core porn now. And my business interactions with "influencers" or as I now call them "narcissistic F*cking liars" is 95% painful.

 

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[GravyBoat]

I installed Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator on my laptop for FB. This allows me to see none of the stuff I don't care about, but still allows me to access groups and ad accounts etc.

I'm still addicted to IG. It's 100% pure garbage. In fact, I think I'm going to delete it today. There's just no point unless it's making you money.

I've used it for Influencer shoutouts in the past, and communication with people in other countries. But otherwise, the ROI is not there.

EDIT: Just deleted.

 

[Deleted77793]

Same as many people in this thread, the more time spent, the worse feeling.
But they are useful, only for very precise purpose.

What is difficult by quiting is the fact that our relations might be very dependent with this canals (whatsapp too, etc...) one day, i met in my cinema school a girl from Greece,she was video maker like me, very kind and we were talking muchabout our projects. She asked me my instagram and facebook and i told her i hadn't these, she told me i was very weird and she never talked to me after that.

I was very suprised by the reaction. Sometimes, quiting social networks can help to filter real friends and open minded contacts.

 

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[Deleted78083]

Very inspiring !
Did you stop suddenly stop all this thing or did you made every change one by one ?

It started when I read "your brain on porn" by Gary Wilson. I stopped porn and fap altogether. After a couple of weeks, I started feeling way more energized and focused during the day, so I looked more into what addictions do to your mind and body and essentially, they pump up your energy. So I slowly cut all of my "addictions" (let's say consumption of addictive products), one after the other, replacing them with "healthy" addictive practices. For example: replace screen entertainment by a book, coffee by tea, then by water, go to the gym to empty out your addictive frustration, replace carbs by meat, vegetables or dairy (I have a carnivore diet now, legit changed my life) etc. Replacing your addictions by healthy practices is key, otherwise, it is very difficult.

 

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[Benedict]

It started when I read "your brain on porn" by Gary Wilson. I stopped porn and fap altogether. After a couple of weeks, I started feeling way more energized and focused during the day, so I looked more into what addictions do to your mind and body and essentially, they pump up your energy. So I slowly cut all of my "addictions" (let's say consumption of addictive products), one after the other, replacing them with "healthy" addictive practices. For example: replace screen entertainment by a book, coffee by tea, then by water, go to the gym to empty out your addictive frustration, replace carbs by meat, vegetables or dairy (I have a carnivore diet now, legit changed my life) etc. Replacing your addictions by healthy practices is key, otherwise, it is very difficult.

Awesome! Sound great! Would like to read more on that.

I am looking on my "addictions" these days too, thanks to @ChrisV s very interesting thread about Dopamine.

What I find myself to use is

• FastFood or potatoe chips
• Fap/Porn
• Gaming
• Checking my phone
• Alcohol (at least I only drink it on weekends)
• other short term "quits" that let me stop doing what I "should"
• Oversleeping

I also want to share what helped me so far:

• Celebrating after doing one task and giving me some reward
• Going to the gym (+ being around people there)
• Working in the Lib or in a café instead of in HomeOffice
• Going on a hike on weekends instead of drinking with friends
• Reading (altough I often won't read because other options seem more attractive. Like Gaming or checking the phone)
• Sleeping

I guess that also goes for Social Media (addiction) and quitting it. You need to replace the stuff and start new ways to get your dopamine kicks.