Deactivated my Insta account again, want your thoughts about that

I don't have insta and I don't want it
I've never really seen a reason to download it, people just post random stuff from their everyday lives plus there's a lot of thirstbaiting going on so…
and I have nothing to flex with myself so I can't upload anything on there

 

Great .

 

Insta is just a huge trigger if you ask me.

Girls post sexy pics to get more validation and seeing those pictures can be lethal to our streaks .

 

I deleted my Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit accounts one year ago this month. I had my Facebook account for 12 years, and insta and Reddit for years and years as well.

Absolutely no regrets!

Sometimes I see people scrolling through Instagram, and I genuinely get a bit nauseous. I probably wouldn't have been considered an avid user by most people's standards, but the dopamine hacking these companies do definitely worked on me.

In fact, it worked on me so well that even though I haven't been on either of these platforms for almost a year, a couple days ago when I was stressed, lonely, and processing an urge, i without thinking about it went to my app drawer and typed in "I-N-S..." so that it would autocomplete and I could open up Instagram. Then, I noticed that I didn't have Instagram installed, so I started typing in "F-A-C...." to open up Facebook.... Then I paused and thought about what I was doing.

It's been a fricking year!!!! And my brain is still hardwired to run to these companies when I want a hit of dopamine.

It terrified me for the implications of PMO recovery. I pray my brain can be free from the ways I've screwed it up...

But made me so thankful to not be have the option of giving into the temptation of social media ever again. As Seth Godin says, "one of the best things about not having a social media account is the fact you never have to worry about if you are spending too much time on social media" I couldn't agree more


My thoughts about it?

Burn it all.

I've had more dates this year since deleting my SM accounts than I've ever had in my life. I've gotten deeper relationships with new people than I've had in years. I've gotten out of the conspiracy theory crap that these platforms drag us into. I've read more books this year than in any other year I can recount. I've saved SO MUCH time from not being stuck in endless scroll vortexes.... And like was said above, w/o insta I don't need to worry about "porn fishing" my way from scrolling through Instagram models, to getting horny, and eventually leading into a relapse.


Life is better without social media.

 

I only briefly used it years ago, I actually prefer sites where you say something - and not a little recorded video monologue that .. well, may not say much of anything but just seek attention. I was largely on there because of one girl that I actually knew in person who had a personal coaching business but lost touch with that and really nothing was going to happen with that situation so that was the extent of it for me. Actually I recall she dealt with recovery in her work and has personal experience with it as well, we all got something..

 

Solid man. If you can get value out of it without getting sucked into it, good on you.

For me, the value to cost ratio just didn't pay off for me. Any good I got out of social media was just as effectively emulated with other services (Email/Signal for communication, RSS for news/updates, Calendar app for birthdays), and the damage for me and my relationships was HEAVY. I'll never have another Insta/FB account again.

But, if you can get value from it without it wasting your time/life, good on you! You're a stronger man than I am

 

I've actually really appreciated dating without Insta or any social media. I don't come into meeting a new girl with any preconceptions, and neither does she. She can give her first impression herself, instead of me pre-judging her based on her past photos, and i can be confident she's also not pre-judging me based on something I shared 4 years ago.

I definitely appreciate what you're saying — I used İG for meeting girls in the past, too.... But I much prefer the old-fashioned way

 

Did you ever get a chance to watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix? İt came out after I did my social media purge, but was a big confirmation for me that I made the right choice. İf you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It does a good job of showing how effectively tech companies make us live through our screens instead of through our real lives.

I don't think I've ever been called elderly before . Usually that's reserved for people in their 60s and older .

But you may have a point. İt's been a while since I was a teenager, and the world you're growing up in is a lot different than the one I grew up in. I didn't get Facebook till I was 18, and I didn't get a smartphone till I was 19, and even then it couldn't make video calls for another 3-4 years. So ya, I don't pretend to know the world you're growing up in.

I think, all around, the most helpful book I've read about having a good relationship with social media (and tech in general) was Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. I highly, highly recommend it. İt's applicable not just for elderly folk like me () but is a really great framework for figuring out what role you want any piece of technology to have in your life.

 

29

 

Good job

 

It's all about FOMO, Instagram (social media in general) gives you the idea that if you're not on it you're missing something. I literally downloaded insta for the first time when I was deep in porn addiction, it can be crack in terms of dopamine hits. Besides, people post filtered snapshots of their life, as if it's perfect. You're better off without it, especially considering you just gave yourself back 20 hours of your life a week.

 

Im ok with my insta because i only follow people i know , and there are some cool stuff at insta