[Technology] Social Media detox…

[The Clamp]

I am free of all social media unless one counts NSC? I long ago banished Facebook and Instagram from my life and have never been on Twitter. I don’t miss any of it.

Article in todays Gruaniard delves into social media de-toxing.

‘I didn’t realise how badly it affected me until I was off it’: what it’s like to have a social media detox

Selena Gomez, Lizzo and Tom Holland have all taken breaks from Instagram and Twitter. Others have abandoned social media for good. Does it really make them happier?

www.theguardian.com

I find it very depressing when you see women (it’s usually women and vain, effeminate men) obsessed by it and only doing activities so they can be posted online.

I see the use for some things. Business promotion etc but for it’s own sake? Ridiculous.

I think it’s a sickness. Like gambling addiction or porn addiction.

What do you think?

 

[Gabbafella]

Ditched Facebook several years ago, twitter a few years back and I don't miss either.
I use Instagram to look for memes and videos to send my mates but that's about it.
Way too much toxicity online and I'm too old to be dealing with all the usual boring shite people post, life's too short to waste it looking at people's dinner or some fish lipped tramp doing a stupid dance.

 

[BBassic]

Social media is what you make it, I find. I did get off Facebook about a decade ago which was an easy choice.

But Twitter, TikTok, Instagram etc. are all platforms where you choose to follow people / topics. So my feeds are largely what I want to see and interact with. I say largely because those platforms can also inject utter shite into my feed which I can then say "No, I don't want to see this" and it goes away.

It's like NSC. If you want to drop into the Pit and hurl abuse at each other, you can. But it's a choice.

 

[El Presidente]

I am free of all social media unless one counts NSC? I long ago banished Facebook and Instagram from my life and have never been on Twitter. I don’t miss any of it.

Article in todays Gruaniard delves into social media de-toxing.

‘I didn’t realise how badly it affected me until I was off it’: what it’s like to have a social media detox

Selena Gomez, Lizzo and Tom Holland have all taken breaks from Instagram and Twitter. Others have abandoned social media for good. Does it really make them happier?

www.theguardian.com

I find it very depressing when you see women (it’s usually women and vain, effeminate men) obsessed by it and only doing activities so they can be posted online.

I see the use for some things. Business promotion etc but for it’s own sake? Ridiculous.

I think it’s a sickness. Like gambling addiction or porn addiction.

What do you think?

Porn addiction?

I completed xHamster during lockdown and it was as exciting as getting the last sticker for my Panini World Cup collection, except with a happier finish.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I'm on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter but don't let them rule my life. I do find myself spending less and less time on there because everything seems so pointless (to varying degrees and there's an increasing feeling of 'So what? Who cares' when I see so much of the content.

To quote (or maybe mis-quote) our now-departed manager, it is what it is. I'm naturally a cynical and non-materialistic person, so the vast majority of the things I see on SM I scroll past. But I DO still scroll, which is sometimes an issue. A little interaction online is fine with me – I work alone, there are certain people/things I like to keep up to date with and some of the stuff makes me laugh or allows me to learn things – but long gone are the days where I'm arguing with strangers, or spending hours looking at my phone through guff.

In short, I don't feel the need to go full detox, but I'm mindful when I'm spending too much time on SM – and NSC, if I'm honest!

 

[Titanic]

On FB, I only see what my Friends post or members of specific groups/businesses that I choose to follow ... so I don't understand why it is a problem... it is easy enough to unfollow (if that is a word) those who are too noisy/irritating. I find it works for keeping in touch with family, friends, sporting and musical groups.

Twitter I have never managed to get much useful out of, except when a major news event is trending, and then it can be an interesting and varied source.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

I'm very much a web 1.0 kinda person and no social media at all.

 

[Swansman]

I am free of all social media unless one counts NSC? I long ago banished Facebook and Instagram from my life and have never been on Twitter. I don’t miss any of it.

Article in todays Gruaniard delves into social media de-toxing.

‘I didn’t realise how badly it affected me until I was off it’: what it’s like to have a social media detox

Selena Gomez, Lizzo and Tom Holland have all taken breaks from Instagram and Twitter. Others have abandoned social media for good. Does it really make them happier?

www.theguardian.com

I find it very depressing when you see women (it’s usually women and vain, effeminate men) obsessed by it and only doing activities so they can be posted online.

I see the use for some things. Business promotion etc but for it’s own sake? Ridiculous.

I think it’s a sickness. Like gambling addiction or porn addiction.

What do you think?

Agree. Not a big Facebook/Twitter/Instagram user but I see what it does to some people. It is especially damaging to women - in the late 90s it was obvious you could make boys addicted to games and have them play it for most of their awake time... and social media is a game for women, with similar consequences in terms of addiction.

Society would be better off if people only had access to Internet for twelve hours a day or something, but good luck getting anywhere close to a power position trying to take a (percieved harmless) drug away from the addicts...

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Never had an FB account - I really have no interest in seeing what someone had for breakfast, pictures of their cats or just them sharing that they are sad today.

I have an Instagram account but only because it was the only way to contact someone in Brazil about something specific.

I joined Twitter originally to follow street food guys and even now, I limit the number of people i follow and very rarely post.

NSC is the closest I get to social media although some may describe it as anti-social media.

 

[Peteinblack]

I'm only on Facebook (and NSC, of course), which I use sparingly. In fact, earlier this year I culled 2/3 of my 'friends', realising that most of them were effectively strangers to me, having 'friended' me because they liked a comment on a friend of a friend's post. I've since rejected several friend-requests from similar. If I don't actually know them, having never met them in real life, I'm not interested.

I am amazed (and saddened) at just how many people do seem to be hopelessly addicted to social media - and yes, teenage girls and young women do seem to be the worst; they never look up from their phones for a second, even when pushing a pram with a crying baby. Whole lives lived via Instagram, Twitter and now TikTok, and people obsessed with how many 'likes', upticks or 'followers' they can attract, to bolster their fragile egos or persuade them that they are really popular or important. It's quite sad, and I can't help suspecting that, in many cases, their lives are really rather empty. If their lives were really that interesting and action-packed, they wouldn't have time to waste several hours a day scrolling through social media!

Instead, they'll sit in a pub or restaurant on a Saturday night, or be at a gig or football match, or pool-side on summer holiday, and constantly be far more interested in what's been posted or said on their screen than what is actually happening around them or in front of their eyes. Or they'll shuffle along the pavement, like brain-dead Zombies, staring at their screens without ever looking-up, expecting everyone to step out of their way.

I used to be optimistic about social media, but now think that it has turned a lot of people into dysfunctional morons; anti-social media transmitted via Dumbphones.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Nation of zombies. Someone passed comment the other day on my book reading passion in a tone suggesting it was an odd, or outdated thing to be doing. Sad times.

 

[El Presidente]

Nation of zombies. Someone passed comment the other day on my book reading passion in a tone suggesting it was an odd, or outdated thing to be doing. Sad times.

Did they pass comment or WhatsApp you?

 

[Zeberdi]

I find it very depressing when you see women (it’s usually women and vain, effeminate men) obsessed by it and only doing activities so they can be posted online.

I can’t think of anything more mind numbing than the idea of following the minutiae of someone else’s life!

Never had Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media account. Too much of a playing field for anonymous trolls and bullies for my liking - I don’t need the upset or conflict. Closest thing to social media for me is NSC (but I’m learning it too has its share of one or two undesirable posters !)

 

[Guinness Boy]

Never had Insta, don’t use my Facebook and have a “stub” Twitter so I can read posts if I want to.

I used to post loads on FB and have had two separate Twitter accounts that had over 1000 followers but I’ve realised that both are forces for evil and both are now owned by two of the most dangerous people on earth.

Like CM, give me NSC or a good book any day,

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I can’t think of anything more mind numbing than the idea of following the minutiae of someone else’s life!

We are very similar as my WhatsApp 'about' description says "I'm not interested in the minutiae of your life. I will leave any groups that bore me"