Social Media - it ain't great..

[A Twig]

So - I recently read a journal article that reviewed a load of studies and said in conclusion that if you are spending more than 2 non-work hours looking at your phone screen you are probably missing out on other "physical" opportunities (exercise, real life interactions etc).

I then reviewed my latest phone screen time report and it showed I was spending up to 3 hours a day on social media (primarily FB and Insta), let alone other usage. I took a deeper look at my social media usage, and very little was positive interactions with friends etc, was more passively ingesting semi-professional "my life is better than yours" content, which actually wasn't helping me mentally.

So I've decided to take the plunge and delete my accounts - no FB account for the first time since January 2006 :blink:

Currently in the honeymoon phase, but have already feeling happier, been a lot more productive, getting more household chores done, going to bed earlier, etc

Anyone else done similar and willing to share? Just getting super interested in it all now

[Chaosphere]

I haven't actively used any social media since early University, so 10+ years now.

I do still have a Facebook account, but I rarely log in - last time was likely to confirm Jasmine changing our 'relationship status' to married! I've never had accounts with the other big social media platforms.

Despite this lack of engagement I am still far too good at procrastinating, in particular avoiding housework and all the little DIY things I should be doing.

[albert]

Likewise, other than keeping in touch with close friends, I use no social media with the excpetion of links from news articles where I have genuine interest. I don't enable screen time on my phone so can't give you data but I will agree, little or zero general browsing through FB, Twitter, Insta etc. contributes to my personal wellbeing. I do however enjoy being in touch, especially in COVID times. I suppose it comes down to the choice does your life revolve around your personal interests of those of others or do you depend on social media reputation to live or thrive.

[suicidal_monkey]

to confirm Jasmine changing our 'relationship status' to married!

Nice to see the trust in your relationship is strong :roflmao:
...
I also have a mostly-dormant FB account (unless it auto-closed) and maybe an instagram (or some other similar photo app) one as very occasionally they are required/useful for things. Twitter seems useful for publicly harassing companies who aren't answering their support requests but otherwise meh.
...
On a related note I've been trying to extricate some people from whatsapp (into telegram or discord or something that isn't so linked to facebook and has better privacy policies) but people find it inexplicably difficult to imagine using something else (or more than one app) to send text messages :narnar:

Despite this lack of engagement I am still far too good at procrastinating, in particular avoiding housework and all the little DIY things I should be doing.

:withstupid::thumb:

[A Twig]

That’s the problem isn’t it. I’d rather use Signal/Telegram but then hardly any of my family and friends are on it.. WhatsApp has become so embedded around my social circle it’s that or nothing. A few friends are on Signal or Telegram but I can’t remember which ones use what so we all end up defaulting to WhatsApp

[Benny]

I managed to dump WhatsApp pretty much, but......
With lockdown I spend my evening watching telly and on my phone, let's see how I get on this week. Facebook is all Peloton stuff for my riding, it's so upsetting that it's all so pervasive.  Someone should code a scraper that only scrapes specific wanted feed from Facebook and the like.

 [ATTACH=CONFIG]5909[/ATTACH]

[violafist]

That’s the problem isn’t it. I’d rather use Signal/Telegram but then hardly any of my family and friends are on it.. WhatsApp has become so embedded around my social circle it’s that or nothing. A few friends are on Signal or Telegram but I can’t remember which ones use what so we all end up defaulting to WhatsApp.

I also migrated to Telegram since I found out about WhatsApp new privacy update.

[TheDvEight]

I've thought about it in the past as my wife (when we were still together) came off of facebook for similar reasons as explained by A Twig.

I use to only say I stayed on facebook to keep all of my old photos but since that account has got hacked into and I tried to reconnect with old friends from my teenage years (31) and having little success (they would talk to me but was not really interested in meeting up or anything) I do think what is the point on me being on there.

I have found a few jobs out of it that turned out to be bad ones even more reason to leave? I don't know what is stopping me from not having a facebook account scared I guess?

[A Twig]

Month and a half in - can definitely report an increase in happiness and general enthusiasm for life.

Several other positive knock-ons as well, a couple of weeks free from socials finally gave me enough enthusiasm to knock the booze on the head, and definitely seen a big uptick from that - weight, energy, diabetes numbers etc all going the right way.

Obviously the above won't be for everyone but do think it's worth just having a quick review of your habits as the harmful ones can all too easily sneak in.

[BrotherTobious]

Sounding good mate I have been off of FB for over 18 months but wasnt a big user. But feel happier, keep up the good work mate.

[TheDvEight]

Deleted it yesterday and feel the better for it, although I have no idea what to do on my phone now:roflmao:

[smilodon]

I dabble from time to time with Facebook but only connect with people I actually know and follow almost no-one.
To make the experience even remotely tolerable I use an add-on called Social Fixer which does a very good job of de-cluttering the dreadful FB interface.