starshadowFinally deleted all my big tech accounts!
durinnNoice! What made you take the first step?
I stopped using social media altogether about six years ago. I wanted to quit because I found people’s interactions fake, hollow and shallow. I needed to quit because it was making me sick all the time - constantly trying to compete with people in who was living the most glamorous life. This freed me from Meta.
At the same time - or shortly thereafter - I started to read up on online privacy, data brokers and mass surveillance. I don’t quite remember why, though. This freed me from Google. Went with Tutanota. This also freed me from YouTube and Spotify. Went with Newpipe and Tidal.
Now, people can reach me by calling me, sending me an SMS or joining me on Signal.
The way this affected me is that I’m not sick from competing mindlessly anymore. I live more in the present. My mental health has significantly improved. I have a sense of pride and security, thinking that my digital life is not being harvested and sold for profit anymore. I too listen to albums after having switched to Tidal. I never “listen to music” anymore. I listen to album X made by artist Y.
I struggle with cronic illness and I suspect social media plays a role. I’ve made some questionable decisions in my life and looking back I do wonder if social media instilled some drive for status in me that made me disregard my health. Not to mention doom scrolling on the couch for hours directly impacting my body.
It makes me happy to hear how these changes have positively impacted your life. I am also stating to feel that pride and security. It feels like I’ve killed some digital demon sucking energy from my soul and subconscious. I’m hoping its absence helps with my social anxiety.
It’s kind of a double edges sword, because while all the befinits are true, the majority of people around me still rely on social media and online dating. This just exacerbates my anxiety. It makes me feel that I’m being left behind and that I’m a weirdo. Of course, I know that this isn’t the case, but it’s how I feel sometimes. What a world we live in, where taking a stance against big tech and doomscrolling actually comes with the risk of isolation. :/
Yeah. I feel you. People make so many references to social media in conversation too. And people give me blank stares when I try to explain my world view. I just hope by going all in on my actual interests I’ll eventually find the people I actually connect with IRL eventually.
I took a class from a musician I really look up to and we connected over how Instagram has negatively impacted the music scene, specifically in terms of placing a huge emphasis on ego. Big tech and the modern music industry puts so much emphasis on becoming a rockstar. But in reality art is decentralized. Its scenes and subcultures are what truly impact the culture at large. Artificially boosted pop stars are just a way to extract money. He encouraged me to stay off social media and that really helped me feel more secure in my decision.
I don’t know if I would have been able to have that conversation a year ago. This shift in my life has defiently been isolating from my family and most of my friends, but I have some hope that I’ll get better at navigating the social world without big tech.