I deleted both my social media apps a week ago

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Facebook and Reddit. I’ve never had any accounts on any other social media sites.

I don’t miss either one. I thought I would. I think this will be much better for my mental health and give me more time to focus on the more important things in life.

I was thinking about all the things I could regret not spending enough time on in my life in the future and decided I would never regret not spending time on social media or thinking about it.

I’ve had Facebook for 12 years and Reddit for 5. Both have turned much more toxic and much less fun during that time, especially Facebook.

Anyone else done the same?

[Virginiá]

I stopped using Facebook and most other social media years ago. It wasn't a good influence and once old people began flocking to FB, I never looked back.

I still use Reddit for news and other interesting reading. I just don't look at the comments 99% of the time. I don't really consider that website 'social media' in the traditional sense.

[Santander]

I live for the 'gram and TikTok.

[The Dowager Mod]

I still have a Facebook account but after I got a notice from them that I was my husbands "legacy contact" I logged out and have not been back.

[Damocles]

I still have a Facebook account but after I got a notice from them that I was my husbands "legacy contact" I logged out and have not been back.

😔 🤗 🕯 ✝️ ⛪️

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I mostly just use it to post about emo at this point.

[Santander]

I mostly just use it to post about emo at this point.

We're talking about social media, not Atlas.

[T'Chenka]

I quit 7 years ago and I'm so very happy that I did.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I have never been on either Facebook or Reddit. When I deleted Instagram three years ago, it was a glorious decision.
I don't have any social media right now unless you count WhatsApp and Discord.

[Neptunium]

I seldom use those account, even I haven’t delete those account.

[Former President tack50]

Do people count reddit as social media? I always looked at it more as a sort of forum if anything; closer to Atlas than to something like Facebook.

Anyways in terms of social media I have:

Facebook: Literally never use it, no idea why I have it, though it sometimes comes in handy to "Sign in with Facebook" on certain services

Twitter: I have a completely blank account other than like 2-3 Nintendo Switch screenshots which I posted there to share them with friends

Instagram: Use it often to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances, as well as seeing what everyone has been up to. I almost never upload content myself though

Reddit: I stopped using it for a very long while (like 3 years or so) and came back very recently, though even now I barely use it

Whatsapp: Yeah, I use this a lot for communications. Here not having Whatsapp means basically no texting as no one I know of has used SMS in over a decade now.

Discord: Use it to talk to some Atlas users as well as one Spanish politics server I got into.

[bagelman]

Congratulations.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

Haven't had a Facebook in...about six years.  

Facebook went from being a place where you could keep up with friends to a clickbait dumping ground.  

[Middle-aged Europe]

I still need FB for work because admin/moderator functions are going through my private account.

But it's certainly true that the intensity of my private FB usage has declined over the last couple of years. The increase in shared racist content by (mostly former now) FB friends was a significant factor there.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

I still need FB for work because admin/moderator functions are going through my private account.

But it's certainly true that the intensity of my private FB usage has declined over the last couple of years. The increase in shared racist content by (mostly former now) FB friends was a significant factor there.

I've popped in occasionally since deactivating my account and it's astonishing how much potentially dangerous pseudo-medicine is allowed there. 

"This actually works! Drink 1/2 cup of soy sauce a day.  The electrolyte spike will kickstart your metabolism and lead to fast weight-loss!"

[muon2]

I deleted my Facebook account at the beginning of 2019 since it was too cluttered and no longer useful. I month later I started a new account for very limited purposes. I have a small number (~20) of friends that I want to be able to engage on Messenger. I also use it to participate in a few Facebook groups where I can maintain regular contact with others.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I never got on Facebook because I knew very well that it would be a time sink for me.

[Mr. Smith]

I never joined Facebook, and still have such a shirt advertisin such.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Yeah, Facebook is only good for a handful of important groups and keeping up with some people on Messenger.

Reddit I only really use r/accounting for, whether it's to complain, talk about careers, or laugh at memes.

Instagram is on the only app I heavily use.

Discord is only on my laptop, and only for chatting with some Atlas/AAD users.

Twitter was fun in high school, but after that it made no sense, and once 2016 came around it became a very negative place.

My problem with a lot of these apps is that as time goes on, they become more and more complicated and filled with junk I don't need. Facebook and Reddit are incredibly slow and crash often now, simply because there's just too much sh*t going on with the site. And I'm pretty mad that Facebook took over Instagram because now they are doing the same things to it, aggressively trying to promote videos and shopping when I just want to look at pictures.

[muon2]

Whatsapp: Yeah, I use this a lot for communications. Here not having Whatsapp means basically no texting as no one I know of has used SMS in over a decade now.

When I was visiting Germany in 2019, I installed Whatsapp because it was clear that it was how groups and individuals messaged each other there. Here I find that Messenger provides the same function among groups and individuals, and I haven't used Whatsapp since I got back from Europe. Both free you from a single device which is what happens on SMS tied to a single phone number. Nonetheless many of my contacts prefer SMS, presumably since they are 1) older and 2) have my mobile phone number already.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Facebook is good for family, friends and groups. Wouldn't be overly concerned if Facebook failed.

Instagram I use for business and checking up on 31yo European ski models.

I upload 3 photos of my products every weekend to Instagram. It helps validate my business internationally.

The exposure is monstrous (1.2 billion users in 2021 predicted) but the average enquiry is low quality in terms of expected sales.

I now have AI managing customer messages pin the first instance. As someone from FB or IG approach the business, you can give them multiple choice options or even write personalised messages saying you will get back to them or getting them to call you based on the nature of their enquiry.

It is very clever.

[Former President tack50]

Whatsapp: Yeah, I use this a lot for communications. Here not having Whatsapp means basically no texting as no one I know of has used SMS in over a decade now.

When I was visiting Germany in 2019, I installed Whatsapp because it was clear that it was how groups and individuals messaged each other there. Here I find that Messenger provides the same function among groups and individuals, and I haven't used Whatsapp since I got back from Europe. Both free you from a single device which is what happens on SMS tied to a single phone number. Nonetheless many of my contacts prefer SMS, presumably since they are 1) older and 2) have my mobile phone number already.

Actually whatsapp is (for some dumb reason) still tied to your phone number. You can use it on PC by scanning a QR code with your phone, but it is somewhat clunky.

I will say that this seems to be country dependent as when I was abroad, Facebook Messenger seemed to indeed be how people communicated with each other. It's just that in Spain Whatsapp has de facto replaced all sorts of texting, for all purposes.

The only other social media that even comes remotely close is Instagram in my experience and even it gets a fraction of the communication Whatsapp does.

[Sir Mohamed]

I closed my Facebook profile in 2017 or so, after barely logging in for at least 2-3 years. I registered in 2010 when it was cool.

I'm lurking on Instagram, but don't post anything on my account.

If WhatsApp counts as social media, that's the only one I use for both private and job-related business, though with 2 separate accounts.

[HillGoose]

I deleted Twitter a while ago because it's just so negative, and I've been considering deactivating my Facebook because I barley use it plus it's all politics garbage now and every time I open the app I see some stupid political thing someone has shared and it makes me like them less.

Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok are all great though.

Snapchat provides a great way to where there's no "fights in the comments section" sort of stuff because if somebody has something to argue with you about what you posted they have to DM you. I don't really post anything controversial on my Snapchat story anyway though.

Instagram as a whole is just an incredibly positive environment, which to be honest a lot of it probably has to do with the fact I sort of made it that way because I pretty much only follow people I like personally who are generally chill, and I don't really post anything to argue about.

TikTok has its good and bad sides, I love the content for the most part although there are some things on there that freak me out typically because of paranoia. For instance, when I was scrolling a few days ago I got one basically listing strange things the user had noticed in their life that weren't normal (one was something to the effect off, not having seen any ants or spiders in a long time, another was time moving faster than normal, etc) and not all of them felt real to me but also just because I struggle with anxiety and paranoia it wasn't great to see. Not to mention one I saw several weeks ago about something called "gangstalking" which freaked me the hell out and I'm still on edge over it.

That sorta stuff has made me get on TikTok less just for mental health reasons I guess but I still enjoy that app massively.

[RINO Tom]

Don’t use Reddit, but good for you, dude!  Something I’ve been wanting to do, but random things keep me from doing it (e.g., seeing pictures of more distant friends’ kids/families or seeing my extended relatives share stuff).  I’ve been good about cutting back throughout the pandemic, though, and I’m hoping to keep that up.

Not sure if non-story Snapchat counts, but I wouldn’t be able to reduce that usage.  My friends regularly use that as a group chat.