I quit Facebook in 2015 and loosely rejoined in 2020 for certain groups and I actually post there with fewer friends and it feels much more freeing than IG right now. I absolutely lost a lot of touch and connection even with close, dear friends because of it. They would post to Facebook but not share via text or calls and assume everyone saw Facebook for major life changes. It was a hard adjustment. I realized that if I wanted those connections I had to do the work offline to make it happen, and I did. I’m currently in the process of disentangling myself from Instagram, too. I will still need it to market a book I have a contact for but I’m running into many others who are trying to leave.
I appreciated your aspect of still compulsively picking up your phone. Substack has been filling that compulsion so I have a feeling I’ll be removing that soon. It would be a lot more intentional use without the Notes portion!
“It’s actually really fun to catch up the way previous generations had to, without this awkward incongruity where I haven’t seen the person in 15 years but I know where they went on vacation this summer or what their kitchen looks like.”
Love this observation, I had a similar experience this summer when I met a few people with larger followings online that I didn’t know personally. I felt weird because I knew so much about them but they didn’t know anything about me. The awkwardness in real life made me reevaluate even spending time on Instagram. I haven’t been on since November and I feel fine without it! Every time I think about signing back on, I can already feel the dopamine bath that it used to give me but it’s not attractive anymore
I quit Facebook in 2015 and loosely rejoined in 2020 for certain groups and I actually post there with fewer friends and it feels much more freeing than IG right now. I absolutely lost a lot of touch and connection even with close, dear friends because of it. They would post to Facebook but not share via text or calls and assume everyone saw Facebook for major life changes. It was a hard adjustment. I realized that if I wanted those connections I had to do the work offline to make it happen, and I did. I’m currently in the process of disentangling myself from Instagram, too. I will still need it to market a book I have a contact for but I’m running into many others who are trying to leave.
I appreciated your aspect of still compulsively picking up your phone. Substack has been filling that compulsion so I have a feeling I’ll be removing that soon. It would be a lot more intentional use without the Notes portion!
Love this Sarah, been on instagram less too. Love your honestly and varied results!
“It’s actually really fun to catch up the way previous generations had to, without this awkward incongruity where I haven’t seen the person in 15 years but I know where they went on vacation this summer or what their kitchen looks like.”
Love this observation, I had a similar experience this summer when I met a few people with larger followings online that I didn’t know personally. I felt weird because I knew so much about them but they didn’t know anything about me. The awkwardness in real life made me reevaluate even spending time on Instagram. I haven’t been on since November and I feel fine without it! Every time I think about signing back on, I can already feel the dopamine bath that it used to give me but it’s not attractive anymore