Should you delete social media?
That's the wrong question.
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Hi there,
This week’s post was supposed to be about deleting my Instagram account, and social media altogether. Instead…
Below are five things I thought were worth sharing this week:
When I was 21, I asked the wrong question: Should I delete social media? My reasons were plenty: rescue my attention, stop social comparison, connect with people deeper, blah, blah, blah. You know, the usual. And so, after some contemplation, learning about the attention economy, and getting angry enough at social media, I deleted Twitter in 2017, and spent three years blissfully disconnected from it all. Then, I got hooked on Reddit.
Instead of sharing a book I’m reading this week, I want to urge you, if you don’t already, to read more fiction, specifically, stories set in a different time, place, reality. To be understood, we must understand first. A few recommendation: The Thing Around Your Neck, Say You’re One of Them, Caging Skies, and The Color Purple.
Should you delete Tik Tok? Yes, we gotta draw the line somewhere. Why Tik Tok Is Harmful is a 6-minute video on two important reasons for deleting Tik Tok: excessive stimulation and waste of time. Enjoy!
A quote I want to share with you this week:
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.”
— John IrvingWhether that’s online, offline, or somewhere in between.
If you want to be a better person, find something to do outside of work (and outside of social media.)
P.s. If you want to spend less time on social media this month, check out Social Rest for some inspiration. Registration has closed but they’re doing seriously cool stuff over there.
That’s all for this week!
Thank you for reading, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.
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Until next time,
Mehret
"I didn’t even have an account. I reasoned that if I didn’t have an account, then it didn’t count. I spent hours lurking Reddit, mostly, and ironically, on subreddits like /r/nosurf and /r/digitalminimalism." Yeah, I had to block Reddit because of the time I wasted on subreddits like these. Irony noted, of course.
In a perfect world, I don't think these websites would be *bad.* I think the fact we know these developers are trying to steal our attention, that our information is being used against us... That's where, among other things, I just can't really justify it anymore. Sure, you can game the system. More power to you if you can. I just don't like what happens to us as people when we use the sites religiously. And unless we CAN use them reasonably, why even give them our time?