Same.
I tried to stop using all social media apps a while ago and all it resulted in was me losing connection with most of my old friends. š
Re-using it with moderation now. I have been able to re-connect with some of my past classmates and found new ones through communities I joined (which I am only aware of thanks to social media).
i want to stop using social media altogether but unfortunately itās the main mode of communication with friends and family. I just hate the feeling of opening up instagram or facebook but i also donāt want to miss out on what my friends/family are up to. Itās especially more important for me to have facebook to keep up with relatives because I live away from ALL of my extended family and only get to see some of them once every 1-2 years.
I think you probably need social media even more than me... ā¹ļø I can still meet my family regularly IRL, but from time to time, using social media to share with each other what we are doing, is neat/helpful.
I understand that using those apps & sites can be rather exhausting, which is why I mentioned that "I use it with moderation". Give yourself a break if you are too tired of checking them. Following other accounts that align with your interests might help too.
Best of luck for you random stranger. Hopefully you can stay connected with your loved ones. Maybe try to arrange your schedule so you can meet up with them in person too (if it's possible of course).
The thing I HATE about these apps is that there's no way to access only the chat function. I don't care for Instagram at all as an app but for some reason everyone that I know insists on using its chat function
Yes, the ones I joined are hobby/interest related set in my city. I had only recently joined them, but I have known a couple of the "regular" members. IMO, if they are approachable they can help you to settle in the group.
Lmao Why did you cherry pick the least valuable example of social media in OPās post to try to make a point? No, Tik Tok wouldnāt help you get a better social life, but a combination of the other ones, especially Facebook, indeed would.
Oh, nvm. I thought you were being a wise ass. No, I was mostly referencing Facebook since virtually everyone is on there. Iāve never had any of the others.
I don't have tiktok and will never install it. I do sometimes miss out on whatever it is that's trending on it and it's their topic. I just usually say I don't have tiktok what is it about and they'll gladly share!
Nah u donāt normally follow friends or see friends posts on TikTok. TikTok is more for watching funny videos or smth, like YouTube. For messaging friends or followings your friends highlights youd use Facebook or IG
But if you want to talk to your friends about smth funny or topical you saw on TikTok then thatās a great way to connect too or laugh about together but yea
So for me (late 20s) I got off social media for like 7-8 years and it does not matter at all. I see my friends in person or call them to be up to date with their lives. I'm still part of several social circles,still hanging out etc. The only possibility I'm missing is that old school mates, old friends or people I knew in life at some point can't reach out to me directly but personally ,for me, that's a good thing.
So either its "you're in my bubble of 50-150 ppl or you're not". I choose who's active in my life and over the years I've learned you're not missing out without Social media, that one friends vacation can ne a blast but: either he's telling you at some point or he's not due to missing chances. it's not affecting your life at all and nobody's having the expectations that every friend needs to know everything about everyone's life. At least I'm my bubble
That's the same principle! For us its WhatsApp=just a phone number and a chat, it keeps things light as you don't post or use profiles with medias on it,just a chat for everything
This happened to me too. Immediately after deleting facebook, I have this feeling of relief which also suprised me and let me know my decision was right
It gets rough when you see people you went to high-school with in a happy relationship with kids, a good job, and a house and it can make you feel like you're behind in life compared to others. It took a while, but one thing I noticed is that those people's lives aren't perfect either. Their struggling with situations unbeknownst to us because on Instagram and Facebook, they only post positive things that they want others to see. Which isn't bad, but it does nothing for your mental state when you feel like you're behind on life compared to others.
Exactly! Iām Asian and turning 30 soon. No husband, no kid, no splendid career but I know Iām going just fine until I see those posts on facebook. Itās hard to feel good nowadays.
I was thinking about leaving the internet altogether, and I guess become a spectator. I'd watch YouTube videos and stuff but not interact with the people of the internet anymore.
That's me every time I give up Reddit.Ā
Then when I feel better I think "You know what sounds nice?" And fire up Reddit.
World's stupidest addiction cycle.
Same, I deleted Facebook/logged off for a few weeks and it was wonderful. Permanently deleted now, my relatives/friends can see me physically if they want my number now
I used to have a really vibrant social life, I actually do have really strong social skills. The reason I donāt have much of a social life now is because I had a baby and my husband and I moved to an island and live up a mountain now š . Our neighbors are cows, chickens, and people 2-3 times our age LOL. We just got here a couple of months ago though so I know weāll find our circle once we get acclimated.
And in the majority of cases, that person IS a catfish if they refuse to make the effort to confirm they're real. I wanna make that clear in case anyone reading this happens to be new to online safety or doesn't understand how this scamming stuff works.
A coworker actually asked me if I was in a cult the other day because I told him I have no social media š
(I do have ONE , I just dont want to add people from work)
I quit using Facebook and people who literally have my PHONE NUMBER refuse to contact me since I'm no longer on messenger
So I guess it did with some people but I don't regret dropping it bc the drama was too much-- esp with coworkers and managers who wanted to add me. Absolutely not lol
Yep. It does, but you get some sort of relief even if you're not doing what everyone do. Social media is terribly engaging. I literally distract myself with anything and deleting them helps a lot.
Even in my 30's I'm finding that some people just update their social media more often than they update their friends. It's really sad, but I can either stop talking to them or keep up with their feeds more often. It's particularly frustrating on Facebook because they've stopped allowing you to get specific people's notifications.
I think it really depends, as long as you have connection with those people without social media, and they're not constantly online it wouldn't matter much.
I've been told that a lack of social media presence is a red flag and makes people wary of being around you in real life, because "they don't know what you're hiding" or some shit.
Seriously, what a weird conclusion. Granted, some people do spout nonsense online and it makes it easier to avoid annoying people, but those people are often just as obnoxious in person.
Not in the slightest. I am a bit older, but when I did have social it didn't contribute positively to *real* relationships in any way. What it actually did was show who really wanted to be in my life; I had friends that as soon as they were on my social, only communicated that way despite knowing I didn't like it. When I deleted Faecebook, suddenly cut off even though prior we chatted via text, etc.
Yes. Everyone around me is on it and I'm not. That means I don't have to play the social media game. If you want to talk to me, message or call my number.
Also I don't know what friends are up to unless we talk. That's a big downside, cause we don't often talk.
As a teenager who barely had any social media for the majority of his life this is something I think about so often (this a long comment get ready):
I wanna start by saying that if you gotta good social life, then not having social media is a great thing, I just feel that it ended up being a terrible mistake for me. From elementary to early middle school, I had no social media apps other than youtube & later on reddit. I was never allowed to have any when I was little, so I honesty had no interest in them at all.
Jump to 7th grade, and my friends convince me to make a snapchat. Itās the only one I have, and I literally only open it when someone messages me. By march, this little thing called covid sends us all home, and this is where my lack of any online contact w others REALLY starts to hit hard.
By early to mid 2021, im in 8th and have pretty much been alone with ZERO digital or physical contact with anybody (other than family), for months and months of lockdown. The friends I did have numbers for slowly stopped talking to me, and the ones I didnāt had literally no way of contacting me. My lack of any social medias made me genuinely have no clue what kids my age were like or what they were doing. In these very developmental years, I regressed so much because I fr didnāt know what was considered āsocially acceptableā or normal for my age. I had no one to compare to!! This would transform into the worst social anxiety ever when I had to go from being alone everyday to starting high school with like 2,500 other kids. Itās like if I mentally stayed a middle schooler for an extra year.
The point is, I think not having social media is great for your mental health, but ONLY when you have a close enough social group that you can talk to at anytime. Unfortunately as a later gen-zer, almost every kid my age has an account for something, so trying to avoid that for so long is ultimately one of my biggest regrets š¤·āāļø
Manageable without. Best practice would probably he delete all the apps and use social media like a tool. Login and check when you actually need to.
Getting rid of the utility of social media I.e. the ability to connect and stay connected virtually may impact your social life negatively.
Getting rid of the autopilot scrolling aimlessly wasting time instead of working on yourself or socialising in the real world would only make you a more interesting positive person and inevitably benefit your social life.
Immensely especially if you travel/are an immigrant. My biggest mistake is dismissing social media after I left my country. I lost contact with so many people.
I know so many that make new friends and even date off of instagram. If you have a lot of mutuals with someone you can usually dm them and go from there. Having a small network severely limits that.
Sure you can definitely have a social life without it, but if anything happens to your friend group, good luck making new friends.
Depends on your friends. If your friends tend to make plans on social media or share ideas about plans, then yes, your social life may suffer. But if they all tend to make plans over text, then you may not see a difference.
I somewhat stopped using it, in the sense that I uninstalled them from my phone.
I scroll once, or twice a day (morning, evening) , 5 to 10 minutes through them from my pc. Should I really have something to post and can't get to my pc in the evening, I woud install them, post and uninstall again.
Best decission made
As someone who has been doing it for over a year now, unfortunately yes. Your mental health will probably improve a bit but you'll lose a lot of friends you're not as close with.
Not to mention you're a ghost and don't have a real way of maintaining old friendships and progressing new ones.
Overall, best method would probably be to reduce use.
I think the way to look at this is to not give up on the communication but ignore the news feeds. That way you won't loose out on contacts but won't have the mental trauma of somebody posting about what they ate that day.
There was a ritual with my old friends on Facebook that pissed me off. They would reach out from time to time to ask about my life and then say they want to meet me someday and then never really showed any intentions of it. Nowadays commenting on someone's beach photo is enough to keep calling someone a friend but honestly it does nothing for me.
There are so many studies done on the negative side of social media. These aren't theories either, they are facts. Entire books are written on this, so I can't begin to summarize the damage they do in a paragraph or two. The negatives are huge and numerous.
I also refuse to use those apps you mentioned. Social media promised to connect us more, yet most people report they feel more disconnected than ever, and they say they have fewer friends than a decade ago.
I'm trying to find real friends (not people 2,000 miles away who clicked a "friend" button and don't even know me), and I want them to be local so I can hang out with them---the way I believe nature intended for us. Meetup(dot)com certainly is a great way to do this. I'm trying to find some other ways too. Can anyone else suggests ways to find real friends locally?
What kind of plans are you reffering?
I mean, all my friends have my number. If they plan something, we call or text through whatsapp.
Also, OP could do as I do. Uninstall them from the phone and just access them once, or twice a day and scroll 5 min through the.
That way, you are still connected, but don't waste a lot of time on them
Yea i mean in general.. alot of events informations are on social media.. but yea ur friends will call u if they rly like u and they know u cut off socials
It makes keeping in touch harder, for example you can easily make conversation based on replies to passing stories, instead of actively contacting them.
However, it doesn't affect me. personally I am old school. I prefer face to face life updates rather than through text. Therefore, currently I only socialize with people nearby, and barely talked to far away friends so it's a "once we met it's like we never parted" thing.
It is kinda sad to lost touch with older friends. But oh well, such is life. Friends come and go.
Deactivated LinkedIn last week, and Reddit is now the only social media app I have.
To answer your question: yes and no. I've never been invited to a lot of hangouts. I prefer smaller groups with people I know and can have good conversations with than loud banter and superficial chit-chat on parties where you have to scream at each other to understand what is being said lol
I have a very small friends circle who I kinda detached from around Christmas. I think I'm just doing way better without friends or family around. It's all depressing and dragging me down, or I was in a weird phase, no idea but now that I haven't talked to anybody since December, I feel much better and almost free of social obligations. I socialise 3 times a week in the office, and that's enough for me.
I didn't have the best experience, especially lately. Trusted a lot of ppl, emotionally attached to them, invested time, thoughts, and money, and turned out they just pretended to enjoy my company and started ghosting me the first chance they got. That absolutely broke my heart and took me almost the entire last year to recover... I know super lame but couldn't help it.
I think I came to the realisation that I'm just better off in solitude, and I'm quite content with that. So I don't need social media anymore.
I'm sorry that happened. It is tough to recover from betrayal. Hopefully you realized they are not your people. I heard a great quote regarding dating but I also think it works for friends - "If they like you, you'll know. If they don't, you'll be confused."
Absolutely, Yes! Itās cause thatās the easiest way of finding out a person personality, hobbies, interests etc. Based on the information gathered through social media of that person, you evaluate their worth and value to you based on your ideals, beliefs etc!
All in all, itās a definite factor unless the person has the same ideal or mentality as yours which is very rare to find in an age that is connected together for much worse than good when it comes to the apps you mentioned.
If thereās a disconnection in human interaction because of social media, that might be old fashioned intuition telling you that connection does not serve you. The right people have the right access to you.
Iām thinking about getting Facebook or Instagram but Iām not sure if my social life would really improve. I just canāt say, it seems you have to know people already and then you have to post stuff at least once in a while.
Not even sure if itās a lot like Reddit where you can engage in short discussions with people you may or may not interact with ever again (and choose not to do that if you feel itās not going anywhere) or if thereās any real interaction besides liking each otherās posts.
What I can say for sure is itās not making a difference with the people I have already known, okay thatās not many, but very rarely have I been asked if I had social media so I guess it doesnāt matter when you talk to each other anyway.
You never used FB and Instagram before right? They are not like Reddit. You interact with people you knew, or at least their names are often real (not like spaceguy or something haha). So yes they will remember you if you say something they don't like. So if you prefer anonymous chatting they are not the Social media you want to use.
My anxiety decreased. When I am with people, I feel like I'm... more in the moment than they are? Hard to explain. The longer I was off social media, the more I noticed how my thinking patterns changed from using it. I stopped thinking about/reframing things as if they were to be a post, if that makes sense. An experience is just an experience and there's no longer something else in my mind that is in between me and the experience wondering how to describe/beautify it for the internet.
Not really. The only difference for me is that I donāt have ready access to everyone I follow and vice versa anymore. People didnāt reach out before, I did. Now neither of us do lmao. The people who care enough will either use my number or attain it from a mutual friend. More peaceful that way
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Depend on your social circle/friends. My friend RARELY update on social media. So I wouldnāt miss anything about them. We just love to call each other
Other than discord, I donāt really much use social media. I post pictures I want to keep hold of on Instagram and do nothing else there. I havenāt logged into my Facebook in months.
My social life remains good.
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Especially lately with how busy Iāve been with work. If I donāt talk to friends on instagram, telegram, facebook, etc then Iām not talking to anyone.
Iāve recently deleted TikTok, insta, FB(messenger too), twitter or whatever itās called now, all of it. I only have you tube, and Reddit. But to me I donāt really consider those last two the same. I know I wonāt be in the loop as much and thatās kind of sad. But if my family, and āfriends.ā Want to contact me, theyāve got my number. Iāve got theirs. Everything else in SM is just a waste of time.
I'd say it might? Anecdotally speaking. I didn't have most social media till I was 20 or so, and wasn't a regular user till I was 22. I was homeschooled and didn't have a social life till then, either!
But I have managed some very fruitful correspondence over email, so there's that - if email doesn't count as social media.
I quitted Twitter 15 years ago and had to re-start it for work recently.
Last year, I deleted Facebook for 3 months and had to restore it due to family. Iāve stopped scrolling through my feed (only when necessary) because of scams and the never-ending ads locally.
Iām somewhat more active on Instagram. Rarely posts just random scrolling throughout the day. The same applies for TikTok. I really hate the ads which is generally irrelevant to my life. Screw algorithms. I doubt, it has much negative effects (on and for me). What I felt is, looking through social media diminishes my actual life experiences than social life.
For example: Recently, I was in Japan and getting to the trendy places became an annoyance rather an enjoyment as my expectations superseded actual reality. Moreover, my partner and I were awfully sick throughout. It did not help much knowing most of my countrymen were in Japan and they seemed like having a blast whereas it was crowded and nasty for us everywhere (this was in kyoto). Once we got to tokyo, we skipped the main and touristy areas and went to the unorthodox places based on local recommendations from my university mate and my partnerās colleague. Had a blast subsequently but didnāt post much on instagram. Iāve gotten some DMs here and there enquiring about some places and eateries but didnāt reply to any as I have no obligation to š¤
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I got off IG in May and entered a wasteland of no friends. But the ones who matter will reach out and check on you.
I got off cause Iām in a small sports community and all the bad behavior and drama that has taken place has happened on social media. Including from me. People (me) use it as a tool to reward and punish those who do them right or wrong. I started feeling how nonsensical and toxic it was.
Recently got back on to advertise a store opening and got TONS of messages from people missing me which felt nice. But then I started worrying again about things and I got all insecure again (Iām 43) and so I realized tonight that I need to set limits once more. I am not sure what the limits should be. But they are necessary.
Sigh. Why is this so hard?
Only sometimes when meeting new people, it's harder to exchange contacts because they presume you're on the mainstream platforms.
Other than that I'd say it improved, since now I have to talk about my life and that of my friends, which makes it more personal, even though less frequent. Sometimes I intentionally don't tell my stories even over text so that I can tell them in person. It's much more engaging that way.
So I would say, not being on social media is a downside in quantity but a huge upside in quality. If you want to keep in touch, you will. Otherwise, why follow on any platform?
More negatives to having social media to be honest. A few are short attention span due to constant scrolling and seeing people that are doing way better then you will only harm your self esteem if you already have a low self esteem. Although if you have social media and it doesn't effect you negatively then keep using it.
Yes but also no. Personally I use socials to follow brands/to know about events - it's how I find out about events (I'm an events planner and go to other events too for research).
My friends are online but don't actually really post, so you can't keep up with them online anway. So I only use it for work really.
Even if a lot of people donāt really use their facebook, itās still an invaluable organizing events tool. The others impacting social life mileage varies
I have never done much on social media. A little when i was a teenager and it was still kind off new. But nowadays I spend 1 hour a week watching reels that my girlfriend sends me and that it.
It definitely affects your social life. People communicate a lot on social media and unfortunately it seems to have become kind off expected from one to do so or be seen as rude or uncaring.
It's not great but in my opinion I'm also not exactly loosing out on anything interesting socially, because those interactions don't have any value for me, so it really depends on what you value or want from a social interaction.
I'm not saying that I don't care for people's chats, just that I prefer real life conversations a lot more.
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Personally it doesn't affect me at all. I have amazing friends that have great communication though. If something happens online (an event, an important post, etc) I have multiple people tell me either in person, via text, or a call/FaceTime. I'm also typically with them for whatever they're taking pictures for/making posts about. If I'm not there, they tell me... seems super normal tbh. Imagine having social media, and not seeing a pic/post yet, and a friend tells you... it's the same outcome.
Some things, like holidays posts, I'll usually check out on another friend's socials and then spark a conversation to said friend about their travels.
If not having a social media account is something you want though, you should try it. Your friends should respect it and adapt if they're good friends/people. Not everything revolves around social media, it's just a display of real life events.
It doesnāt really, but itās different. Iām out of the loop so I donāt get updates on peoples lives unless my friends tell me. My friends have to call/text me if they want to share something, or plan something. I would say all my friends and I have healthier relationships for it. We actually see each other. We dialogue about life more. Its not a āscroll-like-move onā dynamic. Sure I donāt keep in touch with as many people, but the ones I do, they are the ones I want to have as friends.
When social media was really getting popular I chose not to indulge in it because I had no reason to, none of my friends were doing it. To this day my closest friends are not on any social media platform. I am honestly glad I didn't because social media is really addictive, yeah it does isolate me from most of my generation but that's fine.
I would think not. Not being on social media is more common than you think. I know people in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s who aren't on social media at all. It doesn't affect your social life at all and could even be used to your advantage.
When it got to the point the only thing people shared were trigger or clickbait articles/videos of various subjects, on top of the increasing amount of ads, it was draining so I deleted the apps. Still have messenger because there, my friends and family still share photos of their day.
Life has felt much more peaceful after that, and āmissing outā really hasnāt been an issue
It made me more focused on myself and what I have going on in front of me. Helped me meet ppl in person instead of online. Also itās jus nice to not care about what everyone else is doing so it makes sure you are doing things jus because you want to not because itās trendy
For myself, social media does not have an impact on my relationships because most of my friends are hardly on it. Also, because of the algorithm if my closest friends posted, I probably wouldnāt even see it. Thatās why I donāt enjoy Facebook!
Social media IMO is destroying society. But, I am so addicted to it I donāt know what I would do without it. I open my eyes and go straight to social media.
No. I got myself a real group of friends where we hang out or text when we want to catch up. Keeping up with people through social media is one step below a parasocial relationship.
I'm on Facebook and rarely use it. I'm usually on Reddit and I don't know others in my life that really are. My friend send me ig and TikTok posts and sometimes my phone won't let me open them without signing in so I just don't reply and no one cares.
No one cares.
yes and no. I definitely miss out on some stuff but my social group is secure enough thankfully that I get looped in on all the important stuff like actual life events ECT. the biggest plus is that I don't see all the hangouts I don't hear about/get invited too, which is okay! I don't have to be at every event, in fact if I was id have 0 time to pursue solitary hobbies or go to work ECT. however, opening the app and seeing that oh I guess so and so went out with so and so and didn't invite me? fomo time. ignorance truly is bliss when it comes to knowing other people's social lives. I'm very pleased that I've stripped my social media down to reddit, Pinterest, snapchat, and discord and that's it! reddit can sometimes be a problem (for entirely different reasons, I take rage bait too often and consume too much negative political content on here), and Snapchat sometimes can create the same fomo issue, but it's a lot easier to avoid than it was on say instagram or facebook. reddit and Pinterest are for hobby stuff mostly, Snapchat and discord are for primarily communicating with my friends, altho discord also is great for some hobby shit too.
tldr: my advice is to cut out social media that is primarily "hey look at me and my life!" and keep the ones that are more anonymous and hobby/activity based or are primarily a messaging app
I donāt have a tv or cable so YouTube and TikTok have become my news and entertainment. Facebook allows me to have contact with the family that Iād rather not see in person but am able to say āhiā to once in awhile. And the Facebook messenger allows me and my 2 sisters to āFaceTimeā when they both have androids and i have iPhone. If I let all of it go, I think Iād be pretty bored. Who knows. I donāt even know what kind of case Iām making.
Pro social media vs anti social media?
I guess Iām pro.
Well, I'm in my early 20s and I don't have Instagram or Tik Tok. Most of the people who asked me about my Instagram were impressed and said that it's so cool I don't have it.
So I will say it might make getting a job harder because some jobs will not hire people they can't find on social media. They want to see who they are hiring first....
It does in different ways. I use it just to keep in contact with friends to meet up or info. I try not to chat on it too much so I see people in person more.
I got rid of Instagram in the middle of last year. The only thing it ever did was make me jealous and insecure. The only thing it doesn't help with is trying to share snips from Facebook. I know I have been a lot happier after letting that one go.
Facebook: only use it for my business
Instagram: only use it for my business
Snapchat: Havent logged in in 7 years
Twitter: never was my thing. Havent used it in 2 years
TikTok: I browse sometimes but mainly use it to upload content related to my business
LinkedIn: Only use it for my business
I don't need to be on social media for my personal use to have social interactions. I would say that my friends who regularly use socials have their social life interfered with. They cant get off their phone for more than 5 minutes before having to check their FB or ND or something.
Yes, you would have plenty of time to do so many other thingsā¦outside. Iāll start looking at social media and the next thing I know, 6 hours went by.
Yes, when I was in middle school not having social media was a problem. Itās been years since then so I bet not having social media is an even bigger deal now. Just get Instagram to communicate, you donāt have to use it for anything else
For the most part no, but there will be times where youāre inconvenienced for not having it.
When I was in college and in a group project theyād want to use social media to connect.
At my current job they have a fb group chat, of which Iām not a part of. So they always have to relay things to me separately, which I feel a bit silly for, but oh well.
So things like that.
Not really, why would it? Ok you don't send the same repetitive memes to your friend while he does the same. Now what? I gave up social media and when I felt like talking to a friend I simply called them and asked about how have they been. Social Media worsened my social life if anything.
I only have Snapchat and Iām fine with that. I deleted Facebook a while ago because I got tired of seeing people post their everyday lives, I got rid of tik tok because it was literally taunting me about having children and I have been much happier since. Oh and instagram, I just thought it was pointless.
No, only thing I need is Messenger (without facebook).
I dont use instagram, but when i meet someone new and and we want to share contacts, first thing is that person asks for my ig. I just say i dont have it and we share number or messenger.
I would say insta is good, just use it for texting only.
Yes. It totally does. Without social media, you might end up having an actual social life.
Flippant joke aside, āa social lifeā and āsocial mediaā are two completely different things. Itās like asking, ādoes avoiding Starbucks mean you wonāt wake up in the morning?ā You donāt need a product to make friends, especially when that products **ONLY** purpose is to increase your engagement with the product.
I repeat - social media is not intended to connect you to people. It is intended to increase your screen time interaction with the platform. That is itās ONLY purpose. It actually robs you of a social life, using other people as bait to trick you into accepting a cheap simulacrum over the real thing.
Depends.
I went off social media for 3 months - insta, snap, twitter . (I am a grad student and had to focus on research). I gave everyone around me a headsup. Initial days are the hardest.
I constant used youtube shorts to quench my reels thirst. Friends and family sent me some content to my whatsapp sometimes and watched on browser. No one ever forced me to be back on social media either. So if you have a good support system it works.
Slowly, got used to it. These 3 months felt so good and I felt like I focused better on my relationships with people. I was sort of a screen addict constantly watching reels for 3 hours straight. I wish I can forever stop using but I am back on social media again. What I now do is to switch off notifications so that I don't get distracted.
I think it does. If I wasn't on Instagram I'd miss out on posts of social events I'm a part of. I won't know when's the next event's going to be. Forming connections will be limited. You might miss out on opportunities if you're not on social media.
Tried not to use my tiktok for almost a month and when I had outing with my friends I felt so left out because I didnāt know what they were talking about
Idk about snap for communication purposes, but I dont use anything else anymore because I suck at doing anything in moderation, and it was becoming a problem. Granted, I only talk to 3 friends anyway. But as far as not knowing what's up, it's been effecting me way less than I thought it would, especially with tiktok. I thought I would be missing a shit ton of references but either no one references them to me, or there aren't any to reference. I guess if your friends have a hint of a life outside of social media and value you, you should be fine. You just might miss fads and trends and stuff, but it's not bad so far. You could naturally start to drift from the people who are constantly on socials though. For me at least, it's super alienating and kind of dystopian to watch everyone in the room hunch over their phones for multiple hours when you're just there.
Unfortunately yes
Same. I tried to stop using all social media apps a while ago and all it resulted in was me losing connection with most of my old friends. š Re-using it with moderation now. I have been able to re-connect with some of my past classmates and found new ones through communities I joined (which I am only aware of thanks to social media).
i want to stop using social media altogether but unfortunately itās the main mode of communication with friends and family. I just hate the feeling of opening up instagram or facebook but i also donāt want to miss out on what my friends/family are up to. Itās especially more important for me to have facebook to keep up with relatives because I live away from ALL of my extended family and only get to see some of them once every 1-2 years.
I think you probably need social media even more than me... ā¹ļø I can still meet my family regularly IRL, but from time to time, using social media to share with each other what we are doing, is neat/helpful. I understand that using those apps & sites can be rather exhausting, which is why I mentioned that "I use it with moderation". Give yourself a break if you are too tired of checking them. Following other accounts that align with your interests might help too. Best of luck for you random stranger. Hopefully you can stay connected with your loved ones. Maybe try to arrange your schedule so you can meet up with them in person too (if it's possible of course).
You could just text them and ask what they're up to?
The thing I HATE about these apps is that there's no way to access only the chat function. I don't care for Instagram at all as an app but for some reason everyone that I know insists on using its chat function
Then just unfollow everyone BUT your family and friends. Easy fix.
Use WhatāsApp instead. Try to avoid social media that presents a āfeedā.
Are these communities local? Can you hang out in person with these new friends?
Yes, the ones I joined are hobby/interest related set in my city. I had only recently joined them, but I have known a couple of the "regular" members. IMO, if they are approachable they can help you to settle in the group.
So if I got something like tik tok I would start getting a better social life?
Lmao Why did you cherry pick the least valuable example of social media in OPās post to try to make a point? No, Tik Tok wouldnāt help you get a better social life, but a combination of the other ones, especially Facebook, indeed would.
Because I feel Iām missing out as I donāt realise what other people are talking about when I hear them talking about stuff they heard on there
Oh, nvm. I thought you were being a wise ass. No, I was mostly referencing Facebook since virtually everyone is on there. Iāve never had any of the others.
Ah I get you. Since Iām Facebook you can see everyone and that
I don't have tiktok and will never install it. I do sometimes miss out on whatever it is that's trending on it and it's their topic. I just usually say I don't have tiktok what is it about and they'll gladly share!
Oh thatās what I usually do but I feel bad when they have to explain to me
Nah u donāt normally follow friends or see friends posts on TikTok. TikTok is more for watching funny videos or smth, like YouTube. For messaging friends or followings your friends highlights youd use Facebook or IG But if you want to talk to your friends about smth funny or topical you saw on TikTok then thatās a great way to connect too or laugh about together but yea
Maybe, but would your sense of worth and self esteem levels be the same?
Probably not but I donāt think anything can do that
I'm not sure walking down the sidewalk with your attention glued to your phone is a better social life...
So for me (late 20s) I got off social media for like 7-8 years and it does not matter at all. I see my friends in person or call them to be up to date with their lives. I'm still part of several social circles,still hanging out etc. The only possibility I'm missing is that old school mates, old friends or people I knew in life at some point can't reach out to me directly but personally ,for me, that's a good thing.
So either its "you're in my bubble of 50-150 ppl or you're not". I choose who's active in my life and over the years I've learned you're not missing out without Social media, that one friends vacation can ne a blast but: either he's telling you at some point or he's not due to missing chances. it's not affecting your life at all and nobody's having the expectations that every friend needs to know everything about everyone's life. At least I'm my bubble
A lot of my friends and family use Facebook messenger to get in touch with me. Other than that my social media is rarely used
That's the same principle! For us its WhatsApp=just a phone number and a chat, it keeps things light as you don't post or use profiles with medias on it,just a chat for everything
The chats that came from social media are the worthwhile components to salvage from social media as technology and communication progress.
Agreed! I wish Instagram Messenger was something apart from the app, like Facebook
Same
I've noticed that once I Gave up social media, I wasn't as depressed anymore
This happened to me too. Immediately after deleting facebook, I have this feeling of relief which also suprised me and let me know my decision was right
It gets rough when you see people you went to high-school with in a happy relationship with kids, a good job, and a house and it can make you feel like you're behind in life compared to others. It took a while, but one thing I noticed is that those people's lives aren't perfect either. Their struggling with situations unbeknownst to us because on Instagram and Facebook, they only post positive things that they want others to see. Which isn't bad, but it does nothing for your mental state when you feel like you're behind on life compared to others.
Exactly! Iām Asian and turning 30 soon. No husband, no kid, no splendid career but I know Iām going just fine until I see those posts on facebook. Itās hard to feel good nowadays.
I was thinking about leaving the internet altogether, and I guess become a spectator. I'd watch YouTube videos and stuff but not interact with the people of the internet anymore.
That's me every time I give up Reddit.Ā Then when I feel better I think "You know what sounds nice?" And fire up Reddit. World's stupidest addiction cycle.
Im a new reddit user and this to me is wonderland compared to instagram or tiktok doomscrolling. At least people seem to be real
Aw, that's lovely (and I think true.) I hope you keep enjoying it, and that you find the subreddits with your people!
When I pick up my phone to do something, I go to Reddit first for some reason and then do what I wanna do.
Same, I deleted Facebook/logged off for a few weeks and it was wonderful. Permanently deleted now, my relatives/friends can see me physically if they want my number now
I donāt have much of a social life. I got off of social media and still donāt. So hasnāt really affected much. LOL
This is so accurate it hurts.
So true, dude. I thought itād make me wanna connect more w ppl irl. Wrong.
Maybe you should think about going out and practise your social skills?
I used to have a really vibrant social life, I actually do have really strong social skills. The reason I donāt have much of a social life now is because I had a baby and my husband and I moved to an island and live up a mountain now š . Our neighbors are cows, chickens, and people 2-3 times our age LOL. We just got here a couple of months ago though so I know weāll find our circle once we get acclimated.
Yeah. And somtimes ppl doubt if you're real. Lol.
And in the majority of cases, that person IS a catfish if they refuse to make the effort to confirm they're real. I wanna make that clear in case anyone reading this happens to be new to online safety or doesn't understand how this scamming stuff works.
A coworker actually asked me if I was in a cult the other day because I told him I have no social media š (I do have ONE , I just dont want to add people from work)
I quit using Facebook and people who literally have my PHONE NUMBER refuse to contact me since I'm no longer on messenger So I guess it did with some people but I don't regret dropping it bc the drama was too much-- esp with coworkers and managers who wanted to add me. Absolutely not lol
It was the opposite for me. I was the only person I know who didn't text and only used messenger because I would very often not pay my phone bill.
Yep. It does, but you get some sort of relief even if you're not doing what everyone do. Social media is terribly engaging. I literally distract myself with anything and deleting them helps a lot.
Even in my 30's I'm finding that some people just update their social media more often than they update their friends. It's really sad, but I can either stop talking to them or keep up with their feeds more often. It's particularly frustrating on Facebook because they've stopped allowing you to get specific people's notifications.
I think it really depends, as long as you have connection with those people without social media, and they're not constantly online it wouldn't matter much.
I've been told that a lack of social media presence is a red flag and makes people wary of being around you in real life, because "they don't know what you're hiding" or some shit.
Riiiiight. Because having social media means you have nothing to hide?
Seriously, what a weird conclusion. Granted, some people do spout nonsense online and it makes it easier to avoid annoying people, but those people are often just as obnoxious in person.
Not in the slightest. I am a bit older, but when I did have social it didn't contribute positively to *real* relationships in any way. What it actually did was show who really wanted to be in my life; I had friends that as soon as they were on my social, only communicated that way despite knowing I didn't like it. When I deleted Faecebook, suddenly cut off even though prior we chatted via text, etc.
Yes. Everyone around me is on it and I'm not. That means I don't have to play the social media game. If you want to talk to me, message or call my number. Also I don't know what friends are up to unless we talk. That's a big downside, cause we don't often talk.
As a teenager who barely had any social media for the majority of his life this is something I think about so often (this a long comment get ready): I wanna start by saying that if you gotta good social life, then not having social media is a great thing, I just feel that it ended up being a terrible mistake for me. From elementary to early middle school, I had no social media apps other than youtube & later on reddit. I was never allowed to have any when I was little, so I honesty had no interest in them at all. Jump to 7th grade, and my friends convince me to make a snapchat. Itās the only one I have, and I literally only open it when someone messages me. By march, this little thing called covid sends us all home, and this is where my lack of any online contact w others REALLY starts to hit hard. By early to mid 2021, im in 8th and have pretty much been alone with ZERO digital or physical contact with anybody (other than family), for months and months of lockdown. The friends I did have numbers for slowly stopped talking to me, and the ones I didnāt had literally no way of contacting me. My lack of any social medias made me genuinely have no clue what kids my age were like or what they were doing. In these very developmental years, I regressed so much because I fr didnāt know what was considered āsocially acceptableā or normal for my age. I had no one to compare to!! This would transform into the worst social anxiety ever when I had to go from being alone everyday to starting high school with like 2,500 other kids. Itās like if I mentally stayed a middle schooler for an extra year. The point is, I think not having social media is great for your mental health, but ONLY when you have a close enough social group that you can talk to at anytime. Unfortunately as a later gen-zer, almost every kid my age has an account for something, so trying to avoid that for so long is ultimately one of my biggest regrets š¤·āāļø
yeah its great don't go on it
What are these things you speak of?
Medieval age I see
Yes.
Manageable without. Best practice would probably he delete all the apps and use social media like a tool. Login and check when you actually need to. Getting rid of the utility of social media I.e. the ability to connect and stay connected virtually may impact your social life negatively. Getting rid of the autopilot scrolling aimlessly wasting time instead of working on yourself or socialising in the real world would only make you a more interesting positive person and inevitably benefit your social life.
Immensely especially if you travel/are an immigrant. My biggest mistake is dismissing social media after I left my country. I lost contact with so many people. I know so many that make new friends and even date off of instagram. If you have a lot of mutuals with someone you can usually dm them and go from there. Having a small network severely limits that. Sure you can definitely have a social life without it, but if anything happens to your friend group, good luck making new friends.
Depends on your friends. If your friends tend to make plans on social media or share ideas about plans, then yes, your social life may suffer. But if they all tend to make plans over text, then you may not see a difference.
I somewhat stopped using it, in the sense that I uninstalled them from my phone. I scroll once, or twice a day (morning, evening) , 5 to 10 minutes through them from my pc. Should I really have something to post and can't get to my pc in the evening, I woud install them, post and uninstall again. Best decission made
As someone who has been doing it for over a year now, unfortunately yes. Your mental health will probably improve a bit but you'll lose a lot of friends you're not as close with. Not to mention you're a ghost and don't have a real way of maintaining old friendships and progressing new ones. Overall, best method would probably be to reduce use.
I think the way to look at this is to not give up on the communication but ignore the news feeds. That way you won't loose out on contacts but won't have the mental trauma of somebody posting about what they ate that day.
There was a ritual with my old friends on Facebook that pissed me off. They would reach out from time to time to ask about my life and then say they want to meet me someday and then never really showed any intentions of it. Nowadays commenting on someone's beach photo is enough to keep calling someone a friend but honestly it does nothing for me.
There are so many studies done on the negative side of social media. These aren't theories either, they are facts. Entire books are written on this, so I can't begin to summarize the damage they do in a paragraph or two. The negatives are huge and numerous. I also refuse to use those apps you mentioned. Social media promised to connect us more, yet most people report they feel more disconnected than ever, and they say they have fewer friends than a decade ago. I'm trying to find real friends (not people 2,000 miles away who clicked a "friend" button and don't even know me), and I want them to be local so I can hang out with them---the way I believe nature intended for us. Meetup(dot)com certainly is a great way to do this. I'm trying to find some other ways too. Can anyone else suggests ways to find real friends locally?
Yes bcs ur other friends will make plans on social media and u will miss out on alot of social things in general
What kind of plans are you reffering? I mean, all my friends have my number. If they plan something, we call or text through whatsapp. Also, OP could do as I do. Uninstall them from the phone and just access them once, or twice a day and scroll 5 min through the. That way, you are still connected, but don't waste a lot of time on them
Yea i mean in general.. alot of events informations are on social media.. but yea ur friends will call u if they rly like u and they know u cut off socials
It makes keeping in touch harder, for example you can easily make conversation based on replies to passing stories, instead of actively contacting them. However, it doesn't affect me. personally I am old school. I prefer face to face life updates rather than through text. Therefore, currently I only socialize with people nearby, and barely talked to far away friends so it's a "once we met it's like we never parted" thing. It is kinda sad to lost touch with older friends. But oh well, such is life. Friends come and go.
Definitely does
What is most important? Real connection or fake?
I'm happier without it. I deleted insta, fb, etc a year ago and this was one of the best desicions I've ever made.
Deactivated LinkedIn last week, and Reddit is now the only social media app I have. To answer your question: yes and no. I've never been invited to a lot of hangouts. I prefer smaller groups with people I know and can have good conversations with than loud banter and superficial chit-chat on parties where you have to scream at each other to understand what is being said lol I have a very small friends circle who I kinda detached from around Christmas. I think I'm just doing way better without friends or family around. It's all depressing and dragging me down, or I was in a weird phase, no idea but now that I haven't talked to anybody since December, I feel much better and almost free of social obligations. I socialise 3 times a week in the office, and that's enough for me. I didn't have the best experience, especially lately. Trusted a lot of ppl, emotionally attached to them, invested time, thoughts, and money, and turned out they just pretended to enjoy my company and started ghosting me the first chance they got. That absolutely broke my heart and took me almost the entire last year to recover... I know super lame but couldn't help it. I think I came to the realisation that I'm just better off in solitude, and I'm quite content with that. So I don't need social media anymore.
I'm sorry that happened. It is tough to recover from betrayal. Hopefully you realized they are not your people. I heard a great quote regarding dating but I also think it works for friends - "If they like you, you'll know. If they don't, you'll be confused."
Absolutely, Yes! Itās cause thatās the easiest way of finding out a person personality, hobbies, interests etc. Based on the information gathered through social media of that person, you evaluate their worth and value to you based on your ideals, beliefs etc! All in all, itās a definite factor unless the person has the same ideal or mentality as yours which is very rare to find in an age that is connected together for much worse than good when it comes to the apps you mentioned.
If thereās a disconnection in human interaction because of social media, that might be old fashioned intuition telling you that connection does not serve you. The right people have the right access to you.
Iām thinking about getting Facebook or Instagram but Iām not sure if my social life would really improve. I just canāt say, it seems you have to know people already and then you have to post stuff at least once in a while. Not even sure if itās a lot like Reddit where you can engage in short discussions with people you may or may not interact with ever again (and choose not to do that if you feel itās not going anywhere) or if thereās any real interaction besides liking each otherās posts. What I can say for sure is itās not making a difference with the people I have already known, okay thatās not many, but very rarely have I been asked if I had social media so I guess it doesnāt matter when you talk to each other anyway.
You never used FB and Instagram before right? They are not like Reddit. You interact with people you knew, or at least their names are often real (not like spaceguy or something haha). So yes they will remember you if you say something they don't like. So if you prefer anonymous chatting they are not the Social media you want to use.
I donāt feel impacted without instagram. Twitter I miss a bunch of spam/useless stuff I guess? I do have Facebook and Snapchat
My anxiety decreased. When I am with people, I feel like I'm... more in the moment than they are? Hard to explain. The longer I was off social media, the more I noticed how my thinking patterns changed from using it. I stopped thinking about/reframing things as if they were to be a post, if that makes sense. An experience is just an experience and there's no longer something else in my mind that is in between me and the experience wondering how to describe/beautify it for the internet.
Not really. The only difference for me is that I donāt have ready access to everyone I follow and vice versa anymore. People didnāt reach out before, I did. Now neither of us do lmao. The people who care enough will either use my number or attain it from a mutual friend. More peaceful that way
honestly not really. Only problem is that Iām not that caught up on others life and sometimes feel out of the loop
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Don't have those... Because I want to enjoy y life away from my š± cellphone or laptop š» etc...
Depend on your social circle/friends. My friend RARELY update on social media. So I wouldnāt miss anything about them. We just love to call each other
For me it felt like a relief getting off of social media.
Other than discord, I donāt really much use social media. I post pictures I want to keep hold of on Instagram and do nothing else there. I havenāt logged into my Facebook in months. My social life remains good.
No - probably because my circle doesnāt use social media very often. We text or message each other in other ways
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Absolutely
Not really. I don't get the memes sometimes but that's it
Totally dude. But I'm happier off all that bullshit .
Especially lately with how busy Iāve been with work. If I donāt talk to friends on instagram, telegram, facebook, etc then Iām not talking to anyone.
Iāve recently deleted TikTok, insta, FB(messenger too), twitter or whatever itās called now, all of it. I only have you tube, and Reddit. But to me I donāt really consider those last two the same. I know I wonāt be in the loop as much and thatās kind of sad. But if my family, and āfriends.ā Want to contact me, theyāve got my number. Iāve got theirs. Everything else in SM is just a waste of time.
I'd say it might? Anecdotally speaking. I didn't have most social media till I was 20 or so, and wasn't a regular user till I was 22. I was homeschooled and didn't have a social life till then, either! But I have managed some very fruitful correspondence over email, so there's that - if email doesn't count as social media.
I quitted Twitter 15 years ago and had to re-start it for work recently. Last year, I deleted Facebook for 3 months and had to restore it due to family. Iāve stopped scrolling through my feed (only when necessary) because of scams and the never-ending ads locally. Iām somewhat more active on Instagram. Rarely posts just random scrolling throughout the day. The same applies for TikTok. I really hate the ads which is generally irrelevant to my life. Screw algorithms. I doubt, it has much negative effects (on and for me). What I felt is, looking through social media diminishes my actual life experiences than social life. For example: Recently, I was in Japan and getting to the trendy places became an annoyance rather an enjoyment as my expectations superseded actual reality. Moreover, my partner and I were awfully sick throughout. It did not help much knowing most of my countrymen were in Japan and they seemed like having a blast whereas it was crowded and nasty for us everywhere (this was in kyoto). Once we got to tokyo, we skipped the main and touristy areas and went to the unorthodox places based on local recommendations from my university mate and my partnerās colleague. Had a blast subsequently but didnāt post much on instagram. Iāve gotten some DMs here and there enquiring about some places and eateries but didnāt reply to any as I have no obligation to š¤
Most of the stuff I've been invited too is via social media š
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I got off IG in May and entered a wasteland of no friends. But the ones who matter will reach out and check on you. I got off cause Iām in a small sports community and all the bad behavior and drama that has taken place has happened on social media. Including from me. People (me) use it as a tool to reward and punish those who do them right or wrong. I started feeling how nonsensical and toxic it was. Recently got back on to advertise a store opening and got TONS of messages from people missing me which felt nice. But then I started worrying again about things and I got all insecure again (Iām 43) and so I realized tonight that I need to set limits once more. I am not sure what the limits should be. But they are necessary. Sigh. Why is this so hard?
I tried but a lot of services give information on Facebook, so I need to have one.
Only sometimes when meeting new people, it's harder to exchange contacts because they presume you're on the mainstream platforms. Other than that I'd say it improved, since now I have to talk about my life and that of my friends, which makes it more personal, even though less frequent. Sometimes I intentionally don't tell my stories even over text so that I can tell them in person. It's much more engaging that way. So I would say, not being on social media is a downside in quantity but a huge upside in quality. If you want to keep in touch, you will. Otherwise, why follow on any platform?
Quite a bit. You become somewhat of a ghost even to people you've known for years.
More negatives to having social media to be honest. A few are short attention span due to constant scrolling and seeing people that are doing way better then you will only harm your self esteem if you already have a low self esteem. Although if you have social media and it doesn't effect you negatively then keep using it.
Yes but also no. Personally I use socials to follow brands/to know about events - it's how I find out about events (I'm an events planner and go to other events too for research). My friends are online but don't actually really post, so you can't keep up with them online anway. So I only use it for work really.
Even if a lot of people donāt really use their facebook, itās still an invaluable organizing events tool. The others impacting social life mileage varies
Reddit is my only social Media now
I have never done much on social media. A little when i was a teenager and it was still kind off new. But nowadays I spend 1 hour a week watching reels that my girlfriend sends me and that it. It definitely affects your social life. People communicate a lot on social media and unfortunately it seems to have become kind off expected from one to do so or be seen as rude or uncaring. It's not great but in my opinion I'm also not exactly loosing out on anything interesting socially, because those interactions don't have any value for me, so it really depends on what you value or want from a social interaction. I'm not saying that I don't care for people's chats, just that I prefer real life conversations a lot more.
Na, my boyfriend doesnāt use any social media and it doesnāt affect anything. I think not being on WhatsApp would affect it though!
Thatās the point of not having sm
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Personally it doesn't affect me at all. I have amazing friends that have great communication though. If something happens online (an event, an important post, etc) I have multiple people tell me either in person, via text, or a call/FaceTime. I'm also typically with them for whatever they're taking pictures for/making posts about. If I'm not there, they tell me... seems super normal tbh. Imagine having social media, and not seeing a pic/post yet, and a friend tells you... it's the same outcome. Some things, like holidays posts, I'll usually check out on another friend's socials and then spark a conversation to said friend about their travels. If not having a social media account is something you want though, you should try it. Your friends should respect it and adapt if they're good friends/people. Not everything revolves around social media, it's just a display of real life events.
No. I have social media for a long time, posting ofter etc and no friends.
It doesnāt really, but itās different. Iām out of the loop so I donāt get updates on peoples lives unless my friends tell me. My friends have to call/text me if they want to share something, or plan something. I would say all my friends and I have healthier relationships for it. We actually see each other. We dialogue about life more. Its not a āscroll-like-move onā dynamic. Sure I donāt keep in touch with as many people, but the ones I do, they are the ones I want to have as friends.
When social media was really getting popular I chose not to indulge in it because I had no reason to, none of my friends were doing it. To this day my closest friends are not on any social media platform. I am honestly glad I didn't because social media is really addictive, yeah it does isolate me from most of my generation but that's fine.
I would think not. Not being on social media is more common than you think. I know people in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s who aren't on social media at all. It doesn't affect your social life at all and could even be used to your advantage.
When it got to the point the only thing people shared were trigger or clickbait articles/videos of various subjects, on top of the increasing amount of ads, it was draining so I deleted the apps. Still have messenger because there, my friends and family still share photos of their day. Life has felt much more peaceful after that, and āmissing outā really hasnāt been an issue
It made me more focused on myself and what I have going on in front of me. Helped me meet ppl in person instead of online. Also itās jus nice to not care about what everyone else is doing so it makes sure you are doing things jus because you want to not because itās trendy
It would affect your social life content, not necessarily interfere with it. This is no longer quarantine time, we can make friends in real life now.
For myself, social media does not have an impact on my relationships because most of my friends are hardly on it. Also, because of the algorithm if my closest friends posted, I probably wouldnāt even see it. Thatās why I donāt enjoy Facebook! Social media IMO is destroying society. But, I am so addicted to it I donāt know what I would do without it. I open my eyes and go straight to social media.
I strickly use it for memes and funny vids lol
No. I got myself a real group of friends where we hang out or text when we want to catch up. Keeping up with people through social media is one step below a parasocial relationship.
I have them and don't use em. I am yet to see any consequences
Yes (in a positive way) But you're on reddit so it cancels out
I'm on Facebook and rarely use it. I'm usually on Reddit and I don't know others in my life that really are. My friend send me ig and TikTok posts and sometimes my phone won't let me open them without signing in so I just don't reply and no one cares. No one cares.
It shouldn't if you don't think of social media as the basis of your social life.
yes and no. I definitely miss out on some stuff but my social group is secure enough thankfully that I get looped in on all the important stuff like actual life events ECT. the biggest plus is that I don't see all the hangouts I don't hear about/get invited too, which is okay! I don't have to be at every event, in fact if I was id have 0 time to pursue solitary hobbies or go to work ECT. however, opening the app and seeing that oh I guess so and so went out with so and so and didn't invite me? fomo time. ignorance truly is bliss when it comes to knowing other people's social lives. I'm very pleased that I've stripped my social media down to reddit, Pinterest, snapchat, and discord and that's it! reddit can sometimes be a problem (for entirely different reasons, I take rage bait too often and consume too much negative political content on here), and Snapchat sometimes can create the same fomo issue, but it's a lot easier to avoid than it was on say instagram or facebook. reddit and Pinterest are for hobby stuff mostly, Snapchat and discord are for primarily communicating with my friends, altho discord also is great for some hobby shit too. tldr: my advice is to cut out social media that is primarily "hey look at me and my life!" and keep the ones that are more anonymous and hobby/activity based or are primarily a messaging app
I donāt have a tv or cable so YouTube and TikTok have become my news and entertainment. Facebook allows me to have contact with the family that Iād rather not see in person but am able to say āhiā to once in awhile. And the Facebook messenger allows me and my 2 sisters to āFaceTimeā when they both have androids and i have iPhone. If I let all of it go, I think Iād be pretty bored. Who knows. I donāt even know what kind of case Iām making. Pro social media vs anti social media? I guess Iām pro.
Well, I'm in my early 20s and I don't have Instagram or Tik Tok. Most of the people who asked me about my Instagram were impressed and said that it's so cool I don't have it.
I usually communicate with those who I care about through text, so not having social media wouldnāt make a big difference.
So I will say it might make getting a job harder because some jobs will not hire people they can't find on social media. They want to see who they are hiring first....
I always heard the more perfect someone's life looks like on Facebook ect, the more the exact opposite is true, I have found this to be the case also
It does in different ways. I use it just to keep in contact with friends to meet up or info. I try not to chat on it too much so I see people in person more.
I got rid of Instagram in the middle of last year. The only thing it ever did was make me jealous and insecure. The only thing it doesn't help with is trying to share snips from Facebook. I know I have been a lot happier after letting that one go.
Facebook: only use it for my business Instagram: only use it for my business Snapchat: Havent logged in in 7 years Twitter: never was my thing. Havent used it in 2 years TikTok: I browse sometimes but mainly use it to upload content related to my business LinkedIn: Only use it for my business I don't need to be on social media for my personal use to have social interactions. I would say that my friends who regularly use socials have their social life interfered with. They cant get off their phone for more than 5 minutes before having to check their FB or ND or something.
Yes, you would have plenty of time to do so many other thingsā¦outside. Iāll start looking at social media and the next thing I know, 6 hours went by.
Yes, when I was in middle school not having social media was a problem. Itās been years since then so I bet not having social media is an even bigger deal now. Just get Instagram to communicate, you donāt have to use it for anything else
For the most part no, but there will be times where youāre inconvenienced for not having it. When I was in college and in a group project theyād want to use social media to connect. At my current job they have a fb group chat, of which Iām not a part of. So they always have to relay things to me separately, which I feel a bit silly for, but oh well. So things like that.
Not really, why would it? Ok you don't send the same repetitive memes to your friend while he does the same. Now what? I gave up social media and when I felt like talking to a friend I simply called them and asked about how have they been. Social Media worsened my social life if anything.
Yes, in my case to the better.
I only have Snapchat and Iām fine with that. I deleted Facebook a while ago because I got tired of seeing people post their everyday lives, I got rid of tik tok because it was literally taunting me about having children and I have been much happier since. Oh and instagram, I just thought it was pointless.
No, only thing I need is Messenger (without facebook). I dont use instagram, but when i meet someone new and and we want to share contacts, first thing is that person asks for my ig. I just say i dont have it and we share number or messenger. I would say insta is good, just use it for texting only.
Yes. It totally does. Without social media, you might end up having an actual social life. Flippant joke aside, āa social lifeā and āsocial mediaā are two completely different things. Itās like asking, ādoes avoiding Starbucks mean you wonāt wake up in the morning?ā You donāt need a product to make friends, especially when that products **ONLY** purpose is to increase your engagement with the product. I repeat - social media is not intended to connect you to people. It is intended to increase your screen time interaction with the platform. That is itās ONLY purpose. It actually robs you of a social life, using other people as bait to trick you into accepting a cheap simulacrum over the real thing.
No
Depends. I went off social media for 3 months - insta, snap, twitter . (I am a grad student and had to focus on research). I gave everyone around me a headsup. Initial days are the hardest. I constant used youtube shorts to quench my reels thirst. Friends and family sent me some content to my whatsapp sometimes and watched on browser. No one ever forced me to be back on social media either. So if you have a good support system it works. Slowly, got used to it. These 3 months felt so good and I felt like I focused better on my relationships with people. I was sort of a screen addict constantly watching reels for 3 hours straight. I wish I can forever stop using but I am back on social media again. What I now do is to switch off notifications so that I don't get distracted.
I think it does. If I wasn't on Instagram I'd miss out on posts of social events I'm a part of. I won't know when's the next event's going to be. Forming connections will be limited. You might miss out on opportunities if you're not on social media.
Tried not to use my tiktok for almost a month and when I had outing with my friends I felt so left out because I didnāt know what they were talking about
Idk about snap for communication purposes, but I dont use anything else anymore because I suck at doing anything in moderation, and it was becoming a problem. Granted, I only talk to 3 friends anyway. But as far as not knowing what's up, it's been effecting me way less than I thought it would, especially with tiktok. I thought I would be missing a shit ton of references but either no one references them to me, or there aren't any to reference. I guess if your friends have a hint of a life outside of social media and value you, you should be fine. You just might miss fads and trends and stuff, but it's not bad so far. You could naturally start to drift from the people who are constantly on socials though. For me at least, it's super alienating and kind of dystopian to watch everyone in the room hunch over their phones for multiple hours when you're just there.
no it doesnāt because i network just the same with friends and acquaintances. i still have facebook for my family and close friends
Yes for the better. Social media is fake . And so are all those fake social media friends. Shut down your social media and meet some real friends .
Being on social media too much affects me so much even tho i hate to admit it myself . refraining from social media is what made me stop stressing