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Who here has quit social media?

Fox

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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?
 
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Fox

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One reason I haven't already is I love to travel, take pics, and meet new people.

It has been great to connect with a lot of people all over the place but when I really dig into that belief only about 10% of the time I spend on social media is talking to people and the other 90% is total nonsense.
 

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I quit facebook for for YEARS... Went back to it recently. I feel a tiny bit more informed about what's going on now. I could take it or leave it.

I am NOT some avid user.
 

MTEE1985

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I’m currently 9 years sober from any use. I’ll hop on LinkedIn occasionally if I’m trying to track somebody down but otherwise don’t feel like I’ll ever be on my deathbed wishing I’d spent more time online.
 
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zblundell

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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

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Fox

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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’ll still use YouTube which I really like and which is connected to my biz. I find it very valuable and I know people get a lot from the content I put up. Also it’s super challenging (video editing, speaking skills et) so it pushes me a lot.

I used to have a massive FB group which was somewhat connected to my biz but I shut that down. Instagram has always just been for personal use.

So for me the apps I want to fully get away from are IG and FB.
 

Ing

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I know that.
Trackyour FB habits and do only what you enjoy.

I closed my account many years ago. 2 years after I got a new one and needed another yeas to get the good „friends „ again.

I would stay and focos on what s useful for you.
 
Last edited:

Ismail941

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I don't post that much.
But the smart move is to leverage it for the business/project to get leads
Some of the FB groups are helpful.
Social Media is a Prospecting Tool for the business/project. Ads are great if you have money in your hand.

Some guys who post content in fb groups as growth hacking and get leads as invisible lol - they came up with this name growth hacking.
 

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I have deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I still have Twitter, though I do not scroll it - I just need an account to easily see content.

I find myself to be much happier when not playing the comparison game on Instagram.

Unfortunately I will have to install these apps again when the next marketing push starts (unless I hire a SMM)
 

amp0193

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Unfortunately I will have to install these apps again when the next marketing push starts (unless I hire a SMM)

This is where I'm at. Putting up with it until it makes sense to hire someone else to do it.

I got my first smart phone 2 years ago just so I could use the business Instagram.

I don't even like having the phone, even though I've got basically no apps on there anymore.

@Fox You will have more inner peace, guaranteed. I quit facebook 5 or 6 years ago.

Make an effort to replace all digital communication with in person, or a video call.


In Digital Minimalism, Newport suggests that all digital communication is virtually worthless as far as moving-the-needle for any personal relationships. Is actually harmful, because you are then less likely to interact with that person in a different way.

After reading the book, I now refuse to have text/chat convos with anyone anymore, and only use them for logistical purposes (i.e. where u at?)
 

broswoodwork

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To me, the people here doing cool stuff are infinitely more interesting than the people from high school pretending to do cool stuff.

Nobody even really seemed to share anything of themselves back when I quit; just quotes on pictures, links to clickbait, or selfies that hide the chipotle 3 nights a week.

I feel like Facebook peeked in 2009.
 
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Fox

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This is where I'm at. Putting up with it until it makes sense to hire someone else to do it.

I got my first smart phone 2 years ago just so I could use the business Instagram.

I don't even like having the phone, even though I've got basically no apps on there anymore.

@Fox You will have more inner peace, guaranteed. I quit facebook 5 or 6 years ago.

Make an effort to replace all digital communication with in person, or a video call.


In Digital Minimalism, Newport suggests that all digital communication is virtually worthless as far as moving-the-needle for any personal relationships. Is actually harmful, because you are then less likely to interact with that person in a different way.

After reading the book, I now refuse to have text/chat convos with anyone anymore, and only use them for logistical purposes (i.e. where u at?)

Ordering that now - I think @Andy Black mentioned it before.
 

MHP368

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deleted facebook in nursing school and found out no one texts or calls anymore, now I use it like a rolodex. I "block" everyone who isnt my wife or immediate family so my news feed is just groups i've joined or advertisements, no baby momma drama or kid or vacation pics or any of that.

Still check it probably too often but from a utility perspective having a website where 95% of people i'll ever meet are on it is pretty useful. Little schadenfreude hearing about the stock loss yesterday though, no love lost for FB here.
 

Almantas

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Sometimes I feel like in a Matrix.

Going down the street, surrounded by people who are glued to their phones. Today I saw a truck driver driving in a roundabout with a phone in his hand, another woman immediately after stopping at the stop sign pulled out her phone as well and if that is not enough, I stopped to allow a woman who almost jumped on the main road to drive on - but she was too blind to see my sign of generosity as she was also glued to her phone.

I don't know wtf is going on, but it is getting creepy, lol. Well done for considering a change.
 
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MTF

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I use Facebook for communication (Messenger) and for a local surfing group. I never post any personal updates on my profile (who cares?). I follow some local businesses to learn about stuff like new additions to the menu of a local restaurant or changes in a rock climbing gym. I also follow a few pages but they're all related to sports I practice and stuff like that; nothing I'd consider low-value content.

As for Instagram, I don't see a reason for a regular person to have it and am surprised when people ask me if I use it. Like for what? Posting pictures of my naked butt on a beach in Hawaii? (trust me, that wouldn't be a pleasant sight not being a hot fitness female model).

I'd delete IG and keep Facebook to keep in touch with people. I don't use anything else to communicate with people other than Facebook Messenger and text/call.
 

amp0193

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Along the lines of my previous post, I'm going to be backing this. It's the closest thing I've found to a non-smart phone that also doesn't suck.

 

Smuggo

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I use mostly Messenger. FB only for groups or to interact with invitations or some private meetings.

The IG is actually making me more motivated. I follow mostly educational stuff or kitesurfing posts so I can watch awesome videos or get some useful tips from other people.
 
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Andy Black

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Ordering that now - I think @Andy Black mentioned it before.
Yeah... there was a great podcast I listened to about it. I think I dropped it in here as a thread somewhere. My biggest takeaway is that this generation is the first generation ever to never have solitude.
 

GPM

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I don't like social media. This is as close as I get to it.

I had FB, and literally closed it after like 3 months of dating my wife (that was 8 years ago now!). I have never had twitter or IG.

I set up a new FB account maybe 4 years ago or something, this was to be able to get in touch for my first ever fastlane meetup. I have logged in to it maybe 20 times since its creation, and maybe twice in the last year.

I have about 3 close friends who live near me, and someone who is growing on me like a brother who I only get to see a few times a year. Other than that I don't really see the need to have a million contacts. Most of what anyone does at any given time is just fluff anyways. I don't care about the facade that most people put up, and I don't want to spend time thinking about it.

I want to grow my friendships through business and like minded individuals. So far I have been keeping in touch through whatsap or skype with these individuals. I send them photos as attachments when something cool comes up. I guess everyone else uses facebook for this, but it seems like too much effort and too artificial for me.

I find not having social media to be liberating. I can't think of any time anyone I know has been uplifted or liked themselves better for having it. However, I do continually see people I care about feel shitty for comparing themselves to unrealistic things they see on social media. I also see people hurt and confused by others. So that is whole lot of shit that I see, and nothing good.

Social media? Nah, I'll pass.
 

GPM

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However... I do utilize the F*ck out of LinkedIn! It is my own personal corporate directory for thousands of companies!
 

Andy Black

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I don’t think I personally have an issue with “social media” per se. I’m not addicted and actually have to remember to log into LinkedIn or Facebook.

I was on Instagram for a few weeks trying to get my head round it as a consumer so I could figure out how people use it as a marketing channel. I thought it was awful. I can’t even remember my login.

I log into LinkedIn once every few months when it occurs to me to do so. It’s a spam fest.

Facebook I’ll use to see what friends and family are up to. I’ll post occasionally, but little amusing things that the kids might have done. Mostly because I know they will pop up as reminders in a few years time. Partly because I have a reasonably big network of people I used to work with and it’s cool catching up.

I deleted Facebook from my phone again when I was checking the videos for research. They’re garbage click-bait designed to get money Adsense style.

I log into FB on my computer if I need to check various Facebook groups I’m in. I do find the (well run) groups are amazing resources.

I haven’t the patience to create a big free Facebook group. Spammers would annoy me. Negative mindsets would annoy me. I’d not want to have to run a group or community and police that. I’d prefer to send out emails or publish videos.

I have that Facebook newsfeed eradicator plugin on my computer so I’m literally in and out in 5 minutes or less.

Twitter? I couldn’t get my head round it.

YouTube? I love it. There’s videos on *everything*, and I like studying them and the ads too. I don’t think YouTube is social media though, but it could be additive and there’s plenty of people who’s goal is to turn us into consumers. I’m aware of that, but occasionally I’m annoyed with myself for aimlessly watching rugby or boxing videos into the small hours. Better than TV though, which I don’t watch.

The vast majority of my time online is in this forum. I may even be on here a bit too much, but I’m fairly sure I spend more time producing than consuming.

I don’t browse threads aimlessly. I don’t get sucked into things I’m not interested in.

In my work I go deep down various rabbit-holes, and I pop in here when I come up for air. In a way, if I didn’t document what I did then my brain would get clogged up. Documenting it on a blog would be lonely so hence I do it here because I like interacting with people and having feedback.

Hmmm... bit of a ramble. Hope that helped @Fox.

TL;DR? I haven’t quit social media because I can’t get into it in the first place!
 
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Hassassin

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@Fox

It's funny you bring this topic up. I'm writing an article on entrepreneurship/depression , and There's an actual causal link between social media use and depression /anxiety.

An excerpt:

"How am I stacking up?’ or ‘How is my life stacking up?’ compared to what these people are presenting. I think that what happens is that the more you use the platforms, the more social comparisons tend to induce, and that relates to these decrements in how people are feeling.” — Oscar Ybarra, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan

There’s a causal link between social media, depression and loneliness. Measuring yourself against the glitzy achievements of others dims your own sense of self-worth. It makes it nearly impossible to feel content."

Link:Social Media Increases Depression and Loneliness
 

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