Weaning off social media

I think my social media use began to decline around 2020. I had more  than ten social media accounts, and although I used them with varying  levels of activity, I still used all of them. I found it fun to explore  different types of social media channels, so I kept opening new ones.

But somewhere along the ride, checking each one (let alone posting to  every channel) started feeling like a chore. The more I thought of it,  the more I become convinced that most of the time I spent on these  channels was time wasted. Mindless scrolling. Trying to please the  algorithms for follows and likes. Blocking bots and trolls. I was  feeling less and less inspired, entertained or educated and more and  more annoyed, worried, or even angry.

I didn’t like that trajectory, so I started making changes.

First ones to go, were the channels which I wasn’t really using much  to begin with. A handful. Big one for me personally was getting out of  Twitter. It hadn’t really felt like its former self for a while back  then. When the Musk takeover was starting to make the headlines, I was  already out with my Twitter export.zip. Was doubting the decision a bit,  but after seeing the after match of the X transition, I was glad I got  out.

I missed text based social media though, so I joined Mastodon,  Bluesky and a bit later, Threads. And things went nicely in each, for a  while. Each felt very much alive after the Twitter exodus. But then  things stagnated with the first two. Posting something gained very  little traction and it started feeling bit like shouting at the wind.  Threads was slightly different though. It seemed to be gaining momentum.  There was nice amount of discussions going and the people there seemed  respectful of others and nice. But then the “honeymoon period” ended on  Threads too, and the trolls and bots started rolling in.

Suddenly, I started getting followed by hordes of bot accounts.  Accounts with zero posts began appearing in conversations I was  following, spewing hateful and divisive discourse. After spending time  on the platform, I found myself slipping back into a negative headspace.  And so, by the end of 2025, I was out from there, too.

So right now, I’m really left with just 3 channels I somewhat actively use:

  • Instagram:  I’m mostly using it for travel-related inspiration and to keep up with  friends. I use the feed less and less, but I still find the stories  useful. It’s a Meta product, of course, so there’s that — but even so,  it’s the channel I use the most.
  • LinkedIn: I use it purely from a professional perspective, but I very rarely post anything. Active channel? Well… 🤷‍♂️
  • Micro.blog: The only remaining text-based social media channel I’m still on. I use it on and off, I guess.

So yeah, I guess saying I’ve been weaning myself off social media  isn’t too far-fetched. It’s happening. Never say never — if some  interesting new channel comes along that catches my interest, I might  try it — but for now, I’ve been enjoying the extra headspace freed up  after dropping most of these channels. I plan to use some of that time  for writing this blog, hah!

How about you? How’s your social media usage these days? On the rise or on the decline? Email me the answer or write a response through your own blog, perhaps? 😁