"I'm leaving social media" is becoming popular
Seems like this is becoming a movement: many are leaving social media or thinking about it.
What happened?
Many discovered social media does not make them happy – instead, it often makes them sad, upset or angry. Read the stores that appear at the link. Some blame divisive vitriol of online political activists but its not just them. I saw someone post a polite question on a photography group and then get trashed for asking a “stupid question”.
Social media seems useful to two personality types: narcissistic and arrogant.
- Narcissists enjoy being the center of attention. They have lots of followers. Some are highly attractive people who post endless photos of themselves.
- The arrogant tend to bully everyone else how to think. Think of “cause” enthusiasts and political activists who post frequent propaganda items. (There is a difference between arrogantly pushing versus informing or sharing information and tolerating alternative views.) The arrogant tend to congregate in echo chambers of the co-arrogant who enable their behavior.
- For those that are arrogant and/or narcissistic, social media is fantastic!
But then there are the rest of us.
While I am not abandoning social media, I have scaled back:
- I stopped using Instagram.
- I deleted tweets more than 3 months old.
- I removed about 5 years of Facebook posts, seldom post, and when I do, it will only be things I create (no links to possible fake news) and mostly non-public/friends-only.
- I removed about 90% of my tech blog posts (I stopped blogging 2 years ago but then re-launched with a different focus, so I removed the old content.)
- I’ll still use Flickr for photography.
I use social media if it adds value to my life or provides a positive, uplifting perspective.
Is social media impacting you in a bad way?
Will you be changing your use of social media?