After 6 months of painstakingly moving all my accounts from gmail to tuta, I finally deleted my google account today! No more google, meta, or apple in my life. Its crazy how much my relationship with technology has already changed. Deleting Spotify was probably the biggest change so far. Its insane how my music taste has expanded. I was so afraid of discovering less music without Spotify, but the opposite has happened. Before I had a relationship with the algorithm. Now I find music organically, looking through peoples bandcamp purchases, SoundCloud likes, and soulseek folders. I’ve found myself listening to albums much more and developing relationships with artists and their work rather than the algorithm! Music is everything to me, but I didn’t realize how dedicating time to managing a digital library and purposefully seeking new music would transform my relationship with it. It feels like one of respect and reciprocity rather than overwhelming scrolling and recommendations and feeling like I’m in a pigeonhole.
I’m excited to see how getting rid of Instagram and the YouTube algorithm will effect my psychology. I defiantly have an addiction to the numbing that these algorithms provide. I’m sure I will replace these numbing agents with other forms of distraction, but I’m hoping they’ll be at least a little less toxic. I’ve been reading the arch wiki a lot and thinking about picking up a new hobby…
How has this process been like for y’all? How has it impacted your life and the way you see the world?
Noice! What made you take the first step?
I stopped using social media altogether about six years ago. I wanted to quit because I found people’s interactions fake, hollow and shallow. I needed to quit because it was making me sick all the time - constantly trying to compete with people in who was living the most glamorous life. This freed me from Meta.
At the same time - or shortly thereafter - I started to read up on online privacy, data brokers and mass surveillance. I don’t quite remember why, though. This freed me from Google. Went with Tutanota. This also freed me from YouTube and Spotify. Went with Newpipe and Tidal.
Now, people can reach me by calling me, sending me an SMS or joining me on Signal.
The way this affected me is that I’m not sick from competing mindlessly anymore. I live more in the present. My mental health has significantly improved. I have a sense of pride and security, thinking that my digital life is not being harvested and sold for profit anymore. I too listen to albums after having switched to Tidal. I never “listen to music” anymore. I listen to album X made by artist Y.
I struggle with cronic illness and I suspect social media plays a role. I’ve made some questionable decisions in my life and looking back I do wonder if social media instilled some drive for status in me that made me disregard my health. Not to mention doom scrolling on the couch for hours directly impacting my body.
It makes me happy to hear how these changes have positively impacted your life. I am also starting to feel that pride and security. It feels like I’ve killed some digital demon sucking energy from my soul and subconscious. I’m hoping its absence helps with my social anxiety.
It’s kind of a double edged sword, because while all the benefits are true, the majority of people around me still rely on social media and online dating. This just exacerbates my anxiety. It makes me feel that I’m being left behind and that I’m a weirdo. Of course, I know that this isn’t the case, but it’s how I feel sometimes. What a world we live in, where taking a stance against big tech and doomscrolling actually comes with the risk of isolation. :/
Edit: typo city
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OMG! Yes, the fear of missing out (fomo) was/is a big concern of mine about leaving social media. I know several local groups/companies ONLY post events on Facebook.