Social Media Detox

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There have been times when I was a heavy social media user. I would log in to Facebook every morning and evening and make sure I did not miss a single post by anybody. After a while though, this went down to once a day. I also had a Twitter account but rarely used it except to post links to new blog posts. I also got myself an Instagram account.

The turning point came when I heard the Calm Masterclass on Social Media Addiction  That was when it struck me. I had become hooked to the likes and comments on my posts on Facebook. After I posted a simple picture, I would keep checking my Facebook for how many likes and comments I got. I would get a kick out of this attention. I then followed some advice given in that Masterclass. I removed all social media apps from my phone. I would check my social media accounts only when I was in front of my primary computer which is an iPad Pro. That helped reduce this problem significantly.

Recently, I posted a joke on Facebook about Yogi Adityanath renaming things. Within a few hours, two people picked up a fight with each other. The comments started getting personal and insulting of religions. That’s when I realised what a mess this had become. I decide to deactivate (not delete yet) my Facebook account. I thought it was not worth it. I had more than 2,700 ‘friends’. Honestly, I hadn’t met or even knew more than 75% of them. I kept accepting requests initially from every single person. Then I restricted this to people who at least had one common friend with me. But now, I just gave up. My account is currently inactive. I plan to delete it soon.

I also created a LinkedIn account a few years back. The only time I used it was when someone sent me a friend request. Not worth it, I thought. I deleted the account completely a couple of days ago.

I still have my Twitter and Instagram accounts. I am not hooked to these and I find the interaction here is very limited. I have much fewer people following me and I follow very few people. This is at least sane. Let’s see how this goes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hello! I found your blog in a search. I ended Facebook myself, deactivated a few times, then, deleted the account altogether. I have not missed the backbiting, gossip, insults, and bullying that goes on there. I believe that it is the web-like communication that causes this. When you can speak or write to someone individually, or even have a Skype conversation, it is more natural and similar to human interaction. There's one thing I have learned from being a writer, and that is that natural conversation has give-and-take to it. We don't actually speak one at a time. Our voices and our statements overlap with much excitement or affinity for one another in everyday conversation. This can't happen on Facebook, where others will interfere, butt in, and insist on putting their two cents in. It is not a good place to make or keep one's friendships and it's no substitute for love.

Well...I found your blog because I was curious about dialysis. You do make it sound okay, but it does not seem okay to me. I fear it will be pushed on me, or that I will get talked into it against my better judgement, and I cannot have that.
January 1, 2019 at 10:14 PM
Kamal D Shah said…
That’s a good piece of insight into why conversations on social media can be so toxic compared to those in person. Where are you based out of? Why do you think dialysis will be pushed on you? It will make you feel better. Just make sure you are educated well enough about all the 4 options before deciding.
January 2, 2019 at 11:46 AM
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