Quitting Main Stream Social Media, As a Little Treat..

This is me, screaming into the internet void again: 

Today I have randomly decided to delete most social media apps from my phone and only keep a few for certain reasons. Honestly, my biggest issue when it comes to being addicted to my phone/social media is TokTok (because of course it is) and doom scrolling on Twitter. Since my discovery of the wonders (and many many horrors) of the internet at the ripe age of 12 years old I have had an increasingly unhealthy internet addiction. Unsurprisingly, I can feel it affecting my mental health, and also being a HUGE WASTE OF MY TIME. Nothing is more awful than the deep feeling of shame and ambivalence that washes over you when you realize that you've spent seven hours of your day off sitting in bed and scrolling endlessly through TikTok. I have been thinking about doing this here and there but always told myself I couldn't because I'm the social media manager for the brand I work for and I need to be aware of trends. But I do all of that from a hosting manager anyways, and I have the resources to follow trends without having to fall down deep long TikTok holes. 

Luckily for me, I don't really use any other social media incredibly regularly. Sometimes I post memes on my Instagram story but otherwise, that app may as well be just as dead as Facebook. It's pretty much just every other app but 6 months behind. This will be ironic saying this on a MySpace clone website but: Instagram is to Millenials as Facebook is to Boomers. 

Anyways, I've decided to ease myself into this whole 'quitting social media " thing by still using social media. But the ones that don't make me want to rip my hair out. 

What I've decided to still use: Tumblr, SpaceHey, and Youtube. 

Here's  my reasoning: 

Tumblr: While this website used to be the ultimate hellscape it's actually calmed down a lot. It crashed and burned in a blaze of glory but the loyal few who stuck around are older and wiser. Now we all just post our favorite things and look at art and crack some jokes. People stay in their lane and while it's still called a hellsite, it's done so with affection. But I think the most important thing about Tumblr still being useable is that it's such an unlivable place for the algorithms, influencers, advertising, and corporate social media landscape we've become used to. yeah, of course, it still has algorithms but you have a lot more control over what you see and how. You can't see follower counts so it doesn't matter. There's no such thing as being a Tumblr influencer. Also, whenever any mainstreamification comes near Tumblr, its users start hissing and peeing on the ground while making direct eye contact. While Tumblr still has its issues (Mainly with its lenience on TERFS) it's a pretty well-protected landscape and reprieve from the constant self-commodification rat race you see on other social media platforms.  

SpaceHey: I think this one is a little easier to explain. It's an exact copy of MySpace. A social platform that still uses the pre-capitalization format of the internet without the horrific trolling, racism, fatphobia, homophobia, misogyny, etc. of the aughts being so prolific. There is no feed, no algorithm, just look around and have fun, maybe make some friends. 

Youtube: This is mostly a personal thing. I'll put on a video essay or some gaming channel while I work. Not really an addiction outside of something to fill the silence while doing my job. It has an algorithm and ads, which are always annoying, but they can be easily ignored and I still enjoy what I'm watching because I can choose what I'm watching and seeing. Also, most YouTubers are pretty cut and dry about ads and sponsors so it's not much of a problem. I feel like YouTube had a bit of a Tumblr moment after Dramageddon and Sistergeddon with all that stuff involving all those beauty Youtubers. It was definitely a lot smaller of a downfall for YouTube than Tumblr had, but was enough for there to be a big lull, and then a regrowth with more sincere content. 

So yeah, I'm keeping my internet usage to sites I mostly have to use a computer to visit, and will stress me out the least amount possible. I do play A LOT of video games. That's pretty much my main hobby outside of internet culture. So I spend a lot of time looking at screens. I should probably address my long hours in front of video games, too, but one thing at a time. Plus, I figured that at least I'm doing something when I play video games. I'm enjoying myself and have a good time when I play, and stop when I'm not. I'm definitely not feeling the same with social media so here goes nothing. 

Oh, and I also think this will give me more time and space to start reading physical books again. Having the Kindle app on my phone is even becoming a bit detrimental because I'm able to tear through a book super fast and immediately buy a new one and keep going. Hopefully, this will let me enjoy books at a slower pace so I'm actually absorbing and appreciating what I'm reading. 

I'll try to update as time goes on if I can remember to.