Social media cutback

Lately I have made an effort to reevaluate how I use social media. I have a history of deleting my Facebook or Instagram account just to come back to it a few months later. It has been a love-hate relationship with me for a while now.

“Social media” has now become a very broad term. When it comes to platforms like WordPress blogger, Pinterest, YouTube, etc., it feels perfectly fine to use. But when it comes to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc., it feels completely overwhelming. Those are the type of social media platforms  (especially Facebook!) that bother me. It’s a complete invasion of privacy and it pushes other people’s lives in your faces. The thought of keeping up with over 500 people is exhausting. There’s something unsettling about receiving updates from those who can’t even bother to personally reach out to you. Although, it’s nice to stay in touch with family and true friends.

So instead of completely abandoning Facebook, I decided to start over with a new account reserved for family. And I’m still on Snapchat for now, but my list of friends is quite small and mainly reserved for more of my closer friends rather than acquaitences.

I appreciate blog websites because they are full of depth and seem more real, instead of quick, shallow posts that are just aiming for “likes.” And places like YouTube and Pinterest are practical: you can learn new things and your privacy is more protected.

Overall, social media is a distraction. It takes us away from the moment, has us dwelling on the past, comparing our lives with others, and this incessant need to “put on a show” to constantly convince the world that we are doing great. Over 10 years ago, people still managed to stay in touch with one another. And besides, spending quality time with someone in person is incomparable to watching a showcase of their lives from afar. In a way, social media can actually make us feel less connected to one another.