it's been about three months off socials for me as well and i clearly don't need to tell you how great it is!! honestly i think the thing that's been most noticeable for me is that i feel less bad...like that sounds so basic but i didn't realize how many emotions and how much stress/anxiety was caught up in scrolling and being on those short form apps. i know a lot less about what's happening in people's lives but i've been calling my friends more and reading so much and i can just tell that i feel Different. i thought i would spend more time missing it or wishing i could go on there but honestly unless one of my friends brings up a post i haven't seen, i just forget it exists. which is such a step in the right direction!!
Hey Charlie! My brain loves your bullet points, thank you 🖤
I'm about 15 months into no social media (other than here). I definitely don't miss it, and feel proudly smug when someone says "oh but didn't you see [insert gossipy gossip shared on fbook/insta/X here]" and I'm like "No. I'm not on social media anymore". 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
However. My same (personal) issues still play out here on Substack. I have tried every combination of no app/app but no notifications/not on phone just on laptop/only checking on a Friday *nonsense* I can think of...but I still feel that same sense of overwhelm, that same tie, that same burden. But at the same time I love it here, and have found so much good stuff, so many good, beneficial connections. Love to know your thoughts, and any strategy I haven't yet come up with x
I’ve been nearly 3 weeks for me and my mental health and general wellbeing has improved dramatically. I am just a happier person. I am less overstimulated, I have interests in other things, my mind is clearer and I have more time (even though I wasn’t a heavy social media user!) I feel no desire to go back. I feel free to be me without the need to broadcast it and draw attention to myself, which has led me to enjoying things I never imagined I would! We can do this :)
My FB got hacked back in September last year and I was off social media for about three months. So much more time and my mental state was so much better once I decided it wasn’t worth the angst. I did manage to get most of it back as it’s tied into my business and marketing, but I’m working now to follow a slower marketing strategy and process. I realized just yesterday I was slowly being sucked back in and need to readjust my scrolling habits. Thanks for the reminder…
Removing short form content was a game changer for me too! I enjoyed the fun bookish content and skits but my attention span and focus just can’t handle an overload of rapid content. It’s been an interesting discovery!
Social media is so addictive. Your journey has inspired me to reduce my social media use. I'm addicted to these platforms and I get so little in return. I was watching the film Blackberry last night and I was struck by how companies want us to be addicted to these devices to make money of us. The Blackberry wasn't nicknamed the Crackberry for nothing.
I LOVE this list, and it resonates with a recent experience of mine... I've been trying for years to find some kind of "balance" with social media, and while I think this is a generally good goal, it wasn't working for me. Over the last couple of years I quit all the socials except YouTube, basically, and then this winter as an experiment gave up YouTube as well. Lo and behold, after a few weeks of no/few videos... I'm writing fiction again. In floods. This hasn't happened in years. I'm blown away and, although there are people on YouTube I genuinely care about (including you, Charlie - I've enjoyed your videos so much!), I'm starting to feel unwilling to give up my brainspace to that platform again. I'm glad, as you pointed out, that there are other less destructive ways to find social connection online.
your project made me realise it was possible to get off of my phone and out into the world!! i've finally taken the plunge this week, set up a flip phone and handed my smartphone over to my family. it's early days, and i'm still terrified of being without google maps, but the absence of social media is already so pleasant! i can do things like read and write, which i was genuinely struggling with before!
It’s been a few days, I plan to stay away the remainder of March and all of April as a mental reset. I’ve found my internal speed so much *slower*. The short form paired with the ADHD really truly felt like my brain was rotting away, and I could feel the literal addiction eating away at me. I would even need help breaking out of the mindless scroll, asking my husband to take my phone physically away! Now, it’s slow. I’m okay and embrace silence. I’ve found my ability to read again. Thank you for sharing!
I found FB/IG very addictive and used to post, get likes/comments, feel great, post again, not get many likes/comments, feel bad, so I'd keep on posting stuff to gain attention, but the attention was very surface level, I never got "FB friends" reaching out to me "offline" via text, phone or to catchup in real life, so I felt very put off, so I decided to go off social media. I went off FB/IG back in Nov and after about a month, I felt a bit lonely, so I logged back only to see that not much had really happened, and then after another month, I got lonely again and logged on again, only for basically the same thing to occur. I have found that 99% of my "friends" on FB didn't contact me since leaving FB, which made me realise those "friendships" really don't mean much, that they're very surface level. I know, I do need to focus on me more and not compare myself to others.
I've been meaning to get off of social media for a while now. I guess my hesitation stems from FOMO mostly. Like how can I find inspiration and things to write about if I'm not on social media? I think deep down tho, I know that I wouldn't really be missing much and leaving social media will likely give me more time to invest in my real life.
I was off Instagram for three months and got back on recently just to announce my substack and I’m already sick of it again 🤣 It’s insane how compulsory it is for me to open the app. About ten minutes in I snap out of my haze and I’m like “why am I here I hate all of this?!” I’ve got my fingers crossed substack can be where i regrow my income so I don’t have to be on IG anymore 🤞🏻
it's been about three months off socials for me as well and i clearly don't need to tell you how great it is!! honestly i think the thing that's been most noticeable for me is that i feel less bad...like that sounds so basic but i didn't realize how many emotions and how much stress/anxiety was caught up in scrolling and being on those short form apps. i know a lot less about what's happening in people's lives but i've been calling my friends more and reading so much and i can just tell that i feel Different. i thought i would spend more time missing it or wishing i could go on there but honestly unless one of my friends brings up a post i haven't seen, i just forget it exists. which is such a step in the right direction!!
Hey Charlie! My brain loves your bullet points, thank you 🖤
I'm about 15 months into no social media (other than here). I definitely don't miss it, and feel proudly smug when someone says "oh but didn't you see [insert gossipy gossip shared on fbook/insta/X here]" and I'm like "No. I'm not on social media anymore". 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
However. My same (personal) issues still play out here on Substack. I have tried every combination of no app/app but no notifications/not on phone just on laptop/only checking on a Friday *nonsense* I can think of...but I still feel that same sense of overwhelm, that same tie, that same burden. But at the same time I love it here, and have found so much good stuff, so many good, beneficial connections. Love to know your thoughts, and any strategy I haven't yet come up with x
I’ve been nearly 3 weeks for me and my mental health and general wellbeing has improved dramatically. I am just a happier person. I am less overstimulated, I have interests in other things, my mind is clearer and I have more time (even though I wasn’t a heavy social media user!) I feel no desire to go back. I feel free to be me without the need to broadcast it and draw attention to myself, which has led me to enjoying things I never imagined I would! We can do this :)
My FB got hacked back in September last year and I was off social media for about three months. So much more time and my mental state was so much better once I decided it wasn’t worth the angst. I did manage to get most of it back as it’s tied into my business and marketing, but I’m working now to follow a slower marketing strategy and process. I realized just yesterday I was slowly being sucked back in and need to readjust my scrolling habits. Thanks for the reminder…
Removing short form content was a game changer for me too! I enjoyed the fun bookish content and skits but my attention span and focus just can’t handle an overload of rapid content. It’s been an interesting discovery!
Social media is so addictive. Your journey has inspired me to reduce my social media use. I'm addicted to these platforms and I get so little in return. I was watching the film Blackberry last night and I was struck by how companies want us to be addicted to these devices to make money of us. The Blackberry wasn't nicknamed the Crackberry for nothing.
I LOVE this list, and it resonates with a recent experience of mine... I've been trying for years to find some kind of "balance" with social media, and while I think this is a generally good goal, it wasn't working for me. Over the last couple of years I quit all the socials except YouTube, basically, and then this winter as an experiment gave up YouTube as well. Lo and behold, after a few weeks of no/few videos... I'm writing fiction again. In floods. This hasn't happened in years. I'm blown away and, although there are people on YouTube I genuinely care about (including you, Charlie - I've enjoyed your videos so much!), I'm starting to feel unwilling to give up my brainspace to that platform again. I'm glad, as you pointed out, that there are other less destructive ways to find social connection online.
your project made me realise it was possible to get off of my phone and out into the world!! i've finally taken the plunge this week, set up a flip phone and handed my smartphone over to my family. it's early days, and i'm still terrified of being without google maps, but the absence of social media is already so pleasant! i can do things like read and write, which i was genuinely struggling with before!
It’s been a few days, I plan to stay away the remainder of March and all of April as a mental reset. I’ve found my internal speed so much *slower*. The short form paired with the ADHD really truly felt like my brain was rotting away, and I could feel the literal addiction eating away at me. I would even need help breaking out of the mindless scroll, asking my husband to take my phone physically away! Now, it’s slow. I’m okay and embrace silence. I’ve found my ability to read again. Thank you for sharing!
Since November for me & I don’t miss it a bit!
I found FB/IG very addictive and used to post, get likes/comments, feel great, post again, not get many likes/comments, feel bad, so I'd keep on posting stuff to gain attention, but the attention was very surface level, I never got "FB friends" reaching out to me "offline" via text, phone or to catchup in real life, so I felt very put off, so I decided to go off social media. I went off FB/IG back in Nov and after about a month, I felt a bit lonely, so I logged back only to see that not much had really happened, and then after another month, I got lonely again and logged on again, only for basically the same thing to occur. I have found that 99% of my "friends" on FB didn't contact me since leaving FB, which made me realise those "friendships" really don't mean much, that they're very surface level. I know, I do need to focus on me more and not compare myself to others.
Loved this!! ive been feeling the pressure of social media recently and needed to read this!!
I've been meaning to get off of social media for a while now. I guess my hesitation stems from FOMO mostly. Like how can I find inspiration and things to write about if I'm not on social media? I think deep down tho, I know that I wouldn't really be missing much and leaving social media will likely give me more time to invest in my real life.
I was off Instagram for three months and got back on recently just to announce my substack and I’m already sick of it again 🤣 It’s insane how compulsory it is for me to open the app. About ten minutes in I snap out of my haze and I’m like “why am I here I hate all of this?!” I’ve got my fingers crossed substack can be where i regrow my income so I don’t have to be on IG anymore 🤞🏻
This definitely has me considering taking a break as well!
You inspire me