It’s been a little while since I wrote about simplifying my online presence for the first time and since I reflected on what Facebook “friends” are and why we have so many. (Also, I just noticed that Disqus has eaten all of the comments on that second post–what a shame! People had some great points to make about the pros and cons of Facebook. I promise I didn’t delete all of your lovely comments <3)
Since then I’ve accomplished a few more things on my digital minimizing to-do list, including a big one this weekend.
Facebook Progress
First of all, I unfriended about 70 more people. I am now sitting pretty at 137 friends! I think I haven’t quite found my sweet spot yet, but I’ve definitely made a lot of progress (starting from 800+ friends a few years ago).
I installed the Newsfeed Eradicator extension on my primary browser this week. Oh my gosh, what a relief. Basically what this extension does is remove everything from your news feed and replace it with a quote about simplicity (a different one every time you log in).
Ever since Facebook stopped showing posts chronologically, more and more of my feed had become memes, articles, ads, and other irrelevant posts. I also started thinking about how–even though Facebook tells us that we’re in control of what we see–truly, we’re being fed information.
A blatant example of this is the “trending” section in the sidebar. Facebook does not give you an option to hide it, nor do they give an option to choose your news sources. I installed this extension to hide “trending” headlines permanently and go back to reading the news on my own time.
But in general, I felt uncomfortable that Facebook was choosing the posts that I saw. Why should an algorithm dictate what I see and absorb on a daily basis? Are the top posts in my newsfeed really from my best friends? Would I spend as much money if my feed wasn’t chock-full of ads? I had so many doubts and questions.
So, I got rid of all of them. Apologies to my friends if I do not like your posts as frequently! I will be checking in regularly with my closest friends and favorite pages on my own time now.
Random Social Media Profiles
I’ve been chipping away at random profiles here and there. I deleted my GroupMe account that I used to use to communicate with friends from college. I wiped my Litsy profile clean of book lists, reviews, and identifying information. I’m waiting on the Litsy support team to help me figure out how to delete it if possible. I deleted Facebook Messenger from my phone because do I really need to be able to access ALL THE MESSAGES, all the time? No.
Instagram Changes
Ah, Instagram. My personal nemesis when it comes to social media. Twitter always bored me (and my profiles are long deleted). Pinterest as well–I hardly ever check it! Facebook is dull with so few friends and no newsfeed or trending headlines. I don’t even have a SnapChat. But Instagram? It’s way too easy for me to scroll and scroll.
So, I figured out how to post to Instagram from my browser and then I deleted the app. What a relief! (Seriously, if you decide to start down this path of deleting and minimizing social media, you will understand why I use that phrase so much in these posts. It’s absolutely the feeling that you get when you make these big changes.)
I will be posting less now, and I don’t think I can post stories (not that I really did to begin with). But as a private person, removing myself from social media–and removing social media from my reach–brings me so much joy and relief.
Goals Going Forward
- Take a completely social media-free week in the near future.
- Continue cleaning out my Pinterest boards.
- Read Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked (I am so excited to get my hands on this book!).
- Consider deleting major accounts.
Obviously I’m still undecided on which of my main accounts I’d like to keep for the long term. These include my Facebook account, blog Facebook page, personal Instagram account, blog Instagram account, and Pinterest account. It still feels like a little much for me, but I haven’t thought hard about which of them are really serving me.
What are your thoughts? Have you made any changes to your online presence lately? Are you considering it?