I watched The Social Dilemma last weekend. A friend described it to me as Black Mirror meets social media in 2020. I wasn’t surprised by anything in the show, but it was more of a final nudge to make the decision.
I signed up for Twitter sometime around 2008, and Facebook in 2006. It felt magical. But I’ve wanted to delete these apps for the past several years. It’s interesting that it took me so long to do it. So I deactivated Twitter and Facebook. I don’t think I’ll return to either of them. The exception is I’ll keep Facebook Messenger. I hope to replace Messenger with a different tool.
Why’d I do this? These products just aren’t the same anymore.
They don’t bring the same joy or happiness they once did.
Over time it seems that as any online community grows, it seems to deteriorate. Even Hacker News shares this fate.
I don’t think any of these platforms started off with bad intentions, but monetization and growth goals have changed them.
One reason this took so long for me to do is figuring out how I stay in touch with friends. I’ll probably use a personal CRM like Dex. If the relationship is important, I believe it will find a way to endure without Facebook or Twitter.
I’ve also asked others if they were considering deleting their social media accounts on an app called Palcast built by one of my friends. You can check that out here.
What about IG? Also, just saw this https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/zoom-fatigue-and-the-new-ways-to-party