Why I'm deleting social media

And what I'm doing instead

This past few weeks I’ve been trying to extricate myself from certain social media platforms (*cough*Meta*cough*) for a few reasons. Of course, we know they’re a massive time suck, and have turned us all into scatterbrains with the attention span of a goldfish. But apart from that….

I’ve noticed my Facebook and Instagram feeds are increasingly full of content I never subscribed to - if not ads, then group or public posts “suggested” for me. There was a time when I tolerated the ads because those apps still felt like the best way to stay connected to old friends; but when you have to scroll through seven ‘suggested’ posts for every one genuine connection, it’s time to rethink their value.

Another reason I’ve stayed is that I run an online business and always thought I ‘had’ to be on social media because it’s almost unheard of for anyone to build an audience or reach new people without it. Except, I realised I haven’t actually used social media for my business for a really long time. Mostly, because I don’t have the bandwidth to stay up to date with an ever-changing algorithm that determines how much of my content it will show to the people who actually want to see it (hint: not much. It’s busy showing them ads and ‘suggested’ posts).

And then there are bigger, more important reasons:

Social media apps - particularly Meta and Twitter/X - are responsible for fuelling dangerous levels of hate and extremism in the world. They intentionally cultivate the kind of tribalism that has caused whole groups of people to be vilified, attacked, and even killed. They have fundamentally changed how we consume information and led to societies being more divided than they’ve ever been.

Mainstream media is biased for sure, but usually that’s easy to spot. Social media is far more insidious because it’s able to be hijacked by bots and algorithms in such a way that we don’t even know when we’re being manipulated. Whether it’s a PR company orchestrating a smear campaign to discredit a Hollywood celebrity or one country interfering in another country’s democratic election, the ramifications are deadly serious.

So, when Mark Zuckerberg announced he’d be removing fact-checking to appease a newly elected US President who has a very tenuous relationship with the truth, I decided I don’t want to participate anymore.

Ultimately, what we consider to be harmless scrolling is actually much more than that. Our participation is serving an important purpose, which is to be both the product and the consumer for a multi-billionaire who has so far been unwilling to accept accountability for any harm his products continue to cause.

What’s happening in America is terrifying, and it’s just the latest atrocity. We can choose to keep scrolling while it happens or we can recognise that as long as we’re using these apps, we’re increasing the share value of a company that largely created the conditions for this to happen. Sell your Tesla. Delete Meta.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

ok, so what’s the alternative?

The good thing about deciding to step away from social media is that it forces you to consider what you perceive to be the benefits or reasons for staying, and figure out:

a) If those reasons are valid (I found many of mine were not); and

b) Where you might find those benefits elsewhere.

For what it’s worth, here is where I’ve decided to re-allocate the time, attention and energy I was investing in Meta apps:

1. Substack

I’ve found this platform to be full of smart, interesting, creative people, thoughtful ideas and actual long-form content that allows for fully fleshed ideas to be shared. There are journalists who have opted out of corporate media so they can share news independently. The inclusion of notes satisfies the urge to scroll for bite-sized bits of content and discussions encourage community building. I’m onboard.

2. BlueSky

I dip into this occasionally for an update on what’s going on in the world. It’s a very new, very small (but growing) alternative to Twitter (Musk) or Threads (Zuck). It’s heavily moderated, there are no ads and if you ever wished you’d been an early adopter of some of the other platforms, now would be the time to get on this one. I believe they’re planning to build an alternative to Instagram and TikTok in the future.

3. TikTok

Hear me out! 😂 As I wean myself off social media, TikTok might be the last to go (unless it’s sold to a Trump sycophant). Of course it can be problematic, but there are a few reasons I prefer it to Meta apps, not least of which is that it operates on an algorithm that prioritises content based on interest as opposed to engagement. Essentially, TikTok’s algorithm puts people in front of you who are sharing things that are of interest to you, and it finds those people globally.

If you’re the one who is sharing content, your ability to reach people on TikTok who are interested in your content is astronomical compared to Instagram. It’s not perfect, but it encourages community and inclusivity whereas Meta (and certainly X, which I’ve never used) optimises for divisiveness and polarisation.

To be honest though, finding a different social media platform is not my priority. It’s to create content of value, which I’m doing via a new paid subscription to the Crappy to Happy podcast in addition to regular episodes, sharing videos on YouTube and posting here on Substack.

More creation. Less consumption.

More thoughtful, long-form content. Less click-bait and sound bites.

More focused, deep work. Less continuous partial attention.

Wish me luck.

Cass xo