I think it’s important to just communicate more intentionally outside of apps! Figure out what channel will be best for communicating with the people you love, if you’re sick of socials maybe primarily texting, email, maybe physical mail. One of the biggest things I see from people trying to quit these big socials is that they don’t want to leave their main method of communicating with their loved ones, and I think the trick with these apps is they’ve made themselves so convenient for sharing, sending, posting on stories and wall, that we aren’t really communicating with people in meaningful ways on there anyway. So let the people you care about know that you’re leaving your account up to not lose your photos and memories, but that you will be stepping away from social media, and tell them where they can reach you! Make an effort to reach out to start conversations over the first couple of weeks as well, because that will probably be when you’re most prone to reaching back for social media but soon you’ll realize how much you don’t actually need it.
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Give people your number. Text, call, make actual plans to hang out and put them in your calendar. Also it may seem annoying, but you have to tell people you are leaving the platform so they know to reach out to you else-how. Take the initiative to be the one to reach out to build the habit of actually catching up, rather than passively consuming life updates via “content”
The dirty little trick of social media is locking you in via the relationships you are trying to sustain. It’s hard AF, but once you’re out, you’re out!
Aug 24, 2024
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I’m going through the same thought process right now. My twitter/x has been long gone, I’ve gotten rid of meta, and frankly if tik tok comes back purchased/changed/etc. I will no longer be using it either. So for me I’ve done a few things: I’ve made new social media on healthier apps (which sounds counterintuitive to less social media but hear me out). I made a Pixelfed and it’s like the old old instagram. No ads, no distractions taking you to new links, no memes unless someone happens to post one on their personal account. It’s literally just people organically posting pictures of things they like from their breakfast to the view of their nature walk. Because it’s so simple again, I don’t really think there’s room for doomscrolling. This is me if you want to see what I mean!
Next: I use Bluesky partially to see some goings-on in the world to keep up to date, I went to the library of congress website and specifically subscribed to their email newsletters on bills being introduced and news in congress to stay up to date, and I’m vetting some news sources looking for something more objective and reliable to start reading from.
Also: a while back I got some digital cameras like I had when I was a kid for nostalgia reasons but now they’re coming in handy. I’m transitioning to using a flip phone! You don’t have to go this extreme but honestly I’m excited for it. I’ll have a flip phone so not everything will be so convenient and at the touch of my fingers, so I hope that my internet usage will become much more intentional. I’ll be leaving only a few apps on my smart phone, music, reading, this app and pixelfed for periodic social interaction lol, and that’s all I can think of right now. I’ll essentially be taking the SIM card out and using my smart phone as a wifi connected ipod lol.
My goal is to get back into my hobbies! Reading, sewing clothing, knitting, painting, being outdoors, gardening. I’ll communicate more intentionally with family and friends and not just through sending memes. I won’t doomscroll for hours and then feel bad that I wasted the day away. A lot of the sinister stuff going on between social media monopolies and the government recently is making the transition even easier. It’ll be hard at first because you’ll be so used to reaching for something to do for some instant gratification or stimulation, etc. but it’ll be so overall rewarding in the long run! Good luck❤️
Jan 19, 2025
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once i got realistic about what type of content i consumed on ig and twitter, i realized so quickly it was not expanding the way i think and in fact was keeping me stuck in the same (oftentimes negative/harmful) thought loopholes. social media is addictive in part because it algorithmically reproduces the way we already think. it keeps us comfortable.
start questioning: what can help expand your life? what other creative and consumptive outlets do you find fulfilling? is there a book you want to read? something you want to draw or write about? or, in general, consider how your older self would have wanted your time to be spent. you are so right that social media makes us feel Bad-- but we don't have to! it is an act of self-care and deep love to work on stepping away from things that hurt!
as far as practical tips, the best things that helped me were:
a) like some others mentioned, deleting ALL social media apps from my phone so i can only access them on my computer. this helps because the online interfaces are a lot clunkier so it reduces some of the quick gratification that keeps you addicted. also you have to be literally sitting at a desk to use it, so the portability aspect/mindless scrolling is largely removed.
b) keeping a journal because it's a much safer space to dump thoughts than a private story
c) prioritizing in-person connection rather than mediating relationships through tech-- meet a friend for coffee! cultivate intimacy rather than superficiality, and notice how irl vs. online connection feels different
d) nervous system regulation and grounding practices to counteract how scrolling can make you anxious/stressed/disembodied!
finally i did struggle a lot with fomo and being behind on trends at first but then i realized it doesn't really matter. trends are fleeting. even without chronic online-ness i am still funny and relatable and i find it much more interesting to hear about people's lives when i haven't been informed about them in an endless information stream online!!
Oct 31, 2024
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So we all think it’s sketchy that Tik Tok is already back right? And that they posted a statement kissing Trump’s ass and making him out to be the one saving Tik Tok when he isn’t even sworn in yet? And now Trump wants the US government to have a 50% ownership, aka turning Tik Tok into state owned media just like I thought was happening. And I’m sure most people won’t be able to stay away from Tik Tok and Meta which is so disappointing. I want nothing to do with Tik Tok now because I know the app as we knew it is already gone at this point.
Jan 19, 2025
There’s something about the quality of digital camera photos that make a picture of anything you take look more pleasing (to me anyway). The nostalgia, the saturation, I love them. I have a couple cameras that still work from when I was a kid, but I also bought one on eBay that was similar to one that used to be a favorite of mine. I just throw it in my purse and take it everywhere, and it’s so much more fun than trying to get the “perfect shot,” especially now that I’ve deleted Meta and gone with Pixelfed it seems that people love posting anything from the little things they see or their drinks. It’s making photo sharing fun again! Although, if you do download Pixelfed (which isn’t the point of this post but) I highly recommend using it in your browser on your phone for now, they’ve already made things run smoother from when I first downloaded but they’re definitely still working on the app.
Jan 20, 2025
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I’ve already read 48 books in 2025 while being on my flip phone, social media detox life. Yes, some of them were just trashy romance, but still. It’s been so nice to get back into reading for enjoyment again. It’s nice to be out and about and not have that constant urge to reach for a phone and check notifications.
I don’t even have most social media apps downloaded on this anymore, I love this app though, and the urge to click on an app and doom-scroll is nonexistent. This brick of technology has really turned into my iPod and Kindle, and the occasional pop back on here.
Mar 13, 2025