Whenever I do something as drastic as leaving social media or spend hours and hours on it I always end up with the same lesson: everything in modertation. It applies to phone use, diet, sleep, work, being a consumer. Maybe instead of quitting social media people should just instead choose carefully which platforms they use like when most of us decided to drop TikTok for substack. They call it quitting socmed but they just found a healthier option
Moderation is so hard! But I think it’s the key. Shockingly that the hard path is probably the right path. The path that takes effort and self control and reflection. Going cold turkey is easier so is completely giving in. I applaud you for taking the hard way, the path of nuance. It will make you a stronger person!
The added awareness of what you are doing with social media makes it less harmful than before you had given it up. When you gave it up initially, you were giving up the mindlessness aspect of it. It takes a whole lot of self awareness to come to the conclusion that you did!
I've been battling with my relationship with social media as of late and that's how I found your posts - to have the realization that I've been connected socially on the internet since 12 years old (shoutout Myspace) has had to have done such a number on my brain, and everyone else's.
This was also me, I went back on social media autumn of '23, and I've lost all my good habits from when I was off social media and my phone, and I'm trying to get back into those habits this year by spending more time offline..
totally relate to this! i also completely quit insta for 9 months a few years ago and have unfortunately fully sunk back in since then. now I want to have a more moderate approach (like maybe one hour a week, bc i’ve tried that and whaddya know, i missed nothing). i think having the mindset of using my phone or laptop as tools instead of them using me will be helpful for that. i have a life to live and so much to do and none of that involves wasting away passively watching other people live theirs
I completely relate. I'm constantly straddling the line between trying to prevent bad brain but also stay connected to people. It ain't easy. I've actually found newsletters like these really helpful. The social internet feels better to me when I can kind of curate my own spaces instead of relying on the hellscape of an algorithm. But that hasn't stopped me from occasionally falling into the scroll.
Thanks so much for your comment Jordan - we’re all human. And social media is all about your best life, so being honest about this sort of stuff and the real life helps me at least, so I’m very glad you feel the same!
i’m in the same boat, deleted my apps for a month and then realized i actually want to keep interacting with people there, but now i have a daily limit and a strong will to not go back to my old habits and i hope it keeps working out.
Whenever I do something as drastic as leaving social media or spend hours and hours on it I always end up with the same lesson: everything in modertation. It applies to phone use, diet, sleep, work, being a consumer. Maybe instead of quitting social media people should just instead choose carefully which platforms they use like when most of us decided to drop TikTok for substack. They call it quitting socmed but they just found a healthier option
Moderation is so hard! But I think it’s the key. Shockingly that the hard path is probably the right path. The path that takes effort and self control and reflection. Going cold turkey is easier so is completely giving in. I applaud you for taking the hard way, the path of nuance. It will make you a stronger person!
The added awareness of what you are doing with social media makes it less harmful than before you had given it up. When you gave it up initially, you were giving up the mindlessness aspect of it. It takes a whole lot of self awareness to come to the conclusion that you did!
I've been battling with my relationship with social media as of late and that's how I found your posts - to have the realization that I've been connected socially on the internet since 12 years old (shoutout Myspace) has had to have done such a number on my brain, and everyone else's.
"It’s fun while I do it, but in hindsight I’d always much rather have done something else" - yes! 👌🏻
This was also me, I went back on social media autumn of '23, and I've lost all my good habits from when I was off social media and my phone, and I'm trying to get back into those habits this year by spending more time offline..
totally relate to this! i also completely quit insta for 9 months a few years ago and have unfortunately fully sunk back in since then. now I want to have a more moderate approach (like maybe one hour a week, bc i’ve tried that and whaddya know, i missed nothing). i think having the mindset of using my phone or laptop as tools instead of them using me will be helpful for that. i have a life to live and so much to do and none of that involves wasting away passively watching other people live theirs
I completely relate. I'm constantly straddling the line between trying to prevent bad brain but also stay connected to people. It ain't easy. I've actually found newsletters like these really helpful. The social internet feels better to me when I can kind of curate my own spaces instead of relying on the hellscape of an algorithm. But that hasn't stopped me from occasionally falling into the scroll.
Thanks so much for your comment Jordan - we’re all human. And social media is all about your best life, so being honest about this sort of stuff and the real life helps me at least, so I’m very glad you feel the same!
i’m in the same boat, deleted my apps for a month and then realized i actually want to keep interacting with people there, but now i have a daily limit and a strong will to not go back to my old habits and i hope it keeps working out.
Thank you Francesca for being so real.