I deleted Snapchat in 2016. I deleted Instagram in 2018. I never downloaded TikTok. I deleted Facebook and Twitter about a month ago.
Cal Newport in Digital Minimalism advocates for being selective in the tools we use. The calculus for Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok was easy to perform; mostly addictive and mindless scrolling with few benefits other than entertainment value. The picture-based nature of Snapchat and Instagram also rewarded my narcissistic traits.
The calculus for Facebook was trickier.
Pros :
- It allowed me to keep up with the gossip of my social network (who’s having kids, getting married, etc.). The most important pieces of gossip still find a way to reach your ears, however. This information is useful to make small talk and feel connected to people.
- It allowed me to share my new articles or videos with my friends and family. I figure the newsletter can achieve this and perhaps result in more engagement.
- I used Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell used items. This was a great way to live out our minimalistic, sustainability, and financial values. There are other options such as Kijiji or Value Village that can get the job done. Now that we’re both working full-time, we can afford to give things away for free more often which is a form of charity.
- My friends use Facebook Messenger for group chats. Sure, I could get them to switch over to WhatsApp or Discord, but I decided to only deactivate my Facebook account so I could keep using Messenger. I may delete my account and make the full conversion if using Messenger is somehow problematic. I can see how the possibility of reactivating your account and picking up where you left off might be an issue.
- Once in a while, we’ll get invited to an event on Facebook. Kayla still has an account so this shouldn’t be an issue because people can still invite her and she’ll relay the information. The same is true for Marketplace. She can post the big items for me.
Cons :
- Facebook was mostly ads and random posts to increase engagement. I wish they kept the feed in chronological order from only your friends.
- Time wasted mindlessly scrolling.
The same can be said about Twitter.
Pros :
- It still had the feed option to only look at the posts from people you follow.
- It allowed me to connect and contact famous people by tagging them in posts.
- It was a great way to meet people with similar interests.
- I came across useful content once in a while.
- A microblogging platform still appeals to me, but Twitter wasn’t the place for me.
Cons :
- I ended up mostly watching cat videos. Good entertainment and fine in small doses, but it’s easy to do mindlessly.
- Twitter is full of nonsense, trolls, and misinformation.
I had a decent relationship with Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t have the apps on my phone. I felt like I could reap the benefits while limiting the downsides. But that wasn’t always true. I compulsively checked my feeds on the toilet. I read fewer books. My ability to be bored was robbed from me.
It’s only been a month but so far I think it’s a net positive and likely to stay moving forward. An additional benefit of having no social media platforms is that it provides focus on the things that matter to me. I want to :
- Write more.
- Create more videos and online courses.
- Read more.
- Spend more time with friends and family.
- Be more bored. Boredom fuels creativity.
- Move more.
- Meet new people.
- Share my work with an engaged audience (see 1000 True Fans).
- Reflect more.
- Learn more.
- Play more.
The blog, the newsletter, and the YouTube channel all support the goals and values above. Email has been around for decades. Social media platforms come and go. I decided to double down on the newsletter and the blog as they are robust and in my locus of control. As Cal Newport says in his latest book, Slow Productivity, these platforms allow me to :
(1) Do Fewer Things; (2) Work at a Natural Pace; (3) Obsess Over Quality.
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