Gone cold turkey.... On un-social media

Fuzz

Fuzz

Fuzz

Soldato
Joined
3 Aug 2003
Posts
15,921
Location
UK
That's it, I'm done. Deleted (as in removed completely, not just deactivated) Faceache back at the beginning of December, removed my Instagram account towards the end of December and now I've just deleted twitter as well.
Anyone else just gone cold turkey on the lot of it?
It seems to me it has become unsocial media rather than social media, where people would rather stay in and write on a computer the trivialities of their life rather than engage with actual people now adays.
Remember I come from an age where this was the norm as mobile phones hadn't even been invented when I was growing up, let alone the modern day internet..
I miss those times, I miss the true interaction with people but... and it's a massive but.... I'm not sure I know how to get back to that having been so insular and so "distant" for so long.. :(
This I suspect is actually going to be quite difficult.
I must have picked up my phone thirty times this morning already and gone... oh yea, I deleted all those apps.
I kinda make an exception with this place as it is the probably the very first place I visited back in the day as I was trying to upgrade one of my first pc's.
One thing I don't want to do though is end up using this forum as a crutch for all the other ones that are now gone to the ether.
Sheesh, rambling.. Happy new year.
 
You can go all cold turkey, I actually don't post status on Facebook that much, like once a week, but the thing is that everyone else is on it so unless they too are doing the same, you end up the only one left out alone.

You just need to use the digital media to create physical interactions.
 
Fuzz said:
It seems to me it has become unsocial media rather than social media, where people would rather stay in and write on a computer the trivialities of their life rather than engage with actual people now adays.
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And you're writing this on OcUK? :p

They're tools/platforms. They don't have to be viewed through the simple prism of "obsess over/utterly reject". Just...use them less if you're finding them a bind. They have a lot of uses.
 
Fusion said:
And you're writing this on OcUK? :p
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I didn't think it would be long before someone drew that analogy I know, I can see the irony in it myself.
The problem being is I have drifted unknowingly into using them as actual social media instead of, as Ray has finely pointed out, using them to just create physical interactions. :o
 
After reading The Circle on holiday in the summer I’ve been using them a lot less.

I’ve kept the Messenger app but removed Facebook from my phone, along with Twitter and Instagram. I’ve also removed Imgur as I found that was far too easy to lose 10 minutes or a couple of hours. :o

I’m going to try and read more real books in 2018 and I’m hoping that without the apps I won’t have so many easy/lazy distractions.
 
Fuzz said:
I didn't think it would be long before someone drew that analogy I know, I can see the irony in it myself.
The problem being is I have drifted unknowingly into using them as actual social media instead of, as Ray has finely pointed out, using them to just create physical interactions. :o
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The key, as with most things, is regulation/moderation. They're here to stay for better or worse, and it's probably best to subsume them into your lifestyle. It's very fashionable for advice at the moment to ditch social media, yet the overwhelming majority of people are on there. Best thing is not to take knee jerk reactions and view these things sensibly.

Bit like yo-yo dieting, I've seen yo-yo Facebook quitters. I use it, but the vast majority of the news feed is off. It's a double edged sword- can be infuriating, but also almost unparalleled in its use. Hence why we're all still on there.
 
I don't use Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, etc. I do have a Facebook account which I never post on, just because a couple of friends prefer messenger for contacting people.

The extent of my social media is to use only a couple of forums and WhatsApp.
 
I tried keeping the messenger app but when I logged in, it logged me back in to Faceache and undid the deactivation (that's why I asked for full and complete deletion) so maybe after that's gone I can get back on messenger to at least have an avenue to keep in touch without all the added bullrubbish that goes along with that... however, having said that, I think they've added a "storyline" to messenger too like so still can't get away from peoples daily trivia even with that.
 
I’d love to delete Facebook but it’s so ubiquitous. Facebook groups have replaced a lot of the forums I used to be on and many of the events that I attend are organised through Facebook. :(

The way that’s Facebook tracks people is super creepy.
 
My guide to using Facebook:

- lock down your profile to make it private
- get rid of friends you’re not actually interested in
- use the ‘hide posts from this publisher’ on all news sites and ‘see less stories like this’ on anything political
- select to see ‘less posts / no posts’ from any friends you like that post drivel

Then you are left with interesting posts / photos when you log in, such as holiday snaps or the occasional event notification (engaged, baby etc), and can search to see what any particular person is up to if you’re interested.

There’s no need to check it daily. I certainly find myself using it less and less, but it’s still a great thing to have IMO.
 
Nitefly said:
My guide to using Facebook:

- lock down your profile to make it private
- get rid of friends you’re not actually interested in
- use the ‘hide posts from this publisher’ on all news sites and ‘see less stories like this’ on anything political
- select to see ‘less posts / no posts’ from any friends you like that post drivel

Then you are left with interesting posts / photos when you log in, such as holiday snaps or the occasional event notification (engaged, baby etc), and can search to see what any particular person is up to if you’re interested.

There’s no need to check it daily. I certainly find myself using it less and less, but it’s still a great thing to have IMO.
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This. There is no need to delete Facebook etc it all comes down to you use it and having a bit of willpower/common sense to not sit on it all day.

The main purpose of my Facebook these days is to find and join mountain bike groups and events. I've posted two "statuses" in the last six months. I delete/unfollow anyone who posts drivel or unnecessarily often. It's an extremely useful platform and I don't experience any of the problems most people complain about.

Plus you've done one of the most pathetic things ever which is make an announcement that you've deleted it.
 
Tunney said:
The way that’s Facebook tracks people is super creepy.
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I find it interesting sometimes hah - I know people read all kinds of theories into it but it is interesting when certain people pop up in "people you may know" that you have zero prior online connections to.

End of the day social media is what you make of it - no one is forcing you to spend your day wasting away reading tripe posts - you can filter much of the crud and engage in what is meaningful like close family stuff, etc. I don't understand this all deleting everything.
 
Nitefly said:
My guide to using Facebook:

- lock down your profile to make it private
- get rid of friends you’re not actually interested in
- use the ‘hide posts from this publisher’ on all news sites and ‘see less stories like this’ on anything political
- select to see ‘less posts / no posts’ from any friends you like that post drivel

Then you are left with interesting posts / photos when you log in, such as holiday snaps or the occasional event notification (engaged, baby etc), and can search to see what any particular person is up to if you’re interested.

There’s no need to check it daily. I certainly find myself using it less and less, but it’s still a great thing to have IMO.
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This guy has it down.
 
I have unfollowed nearly all my so called friends on it, and removed a few. It amazes me how many people are willing to air their dirty laundy on it.

Facebook groups is excellent IMO.
 
I think it's an addiction thing more than anything else, nothing to do with the content as such. I deleted everyone I didn't actually know many years ago already, including some I thought I'd never see again, some of them OcUKers, some old school friends I had zero connection with since, not many posted particular drivel, some did and yes they were gone long before the main cull a few years ago.
 
Nitefly said:
My guide to using Facebook:

- lock down your profile to make it private
- get rid of friends you’re not actually interested in
- use the ‘hide posts from this publisher’ on all news sites and ‘see less stories like this’ on anything political
- select to see ‘less posts / no posts’ from any friends you like that post drivel

Then you are left with interesting posts / photos when you log in, such as holiday snaps or the occasional event notification (engaged, baby etc), and can search to see what any particular person is up to if you’re interested.

There’s no need to check it daily. I certainly find myself using it less and less, but it’s still a great thing to have IMO.
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Spot on.

I only have real friends on it. Remove people I no longer know.

Really is just for arranging things and joining relevant groups like geeky stuff I actually read.

Only thing I really post is a few nice pics.
 
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