I Deleted Twitter and Instagram From My Phone

I deleted my Facebook account a decade ago and I've never looked back. I have a dummy account for the Nicsperiment, which re-posts my posts to Facebook, making it more viable to Google Search, but I have zero interaction with it.
In an effort to draw more visitors here, I created a Twitter account in 2018, which I actually do use, breaking my eight year social media break. I also started managing a twitter for my podcast this year. I created an Instagram, as well, linking back to here and the podcast.
About two weeks ago, I started noticing that my first instinct when I woke up in the morning was to grab my phone and start scrolling through Twitter. This disturbed me. I wondered how long I had been doing this. I also thought about some recent Instagram scrolls, how I thought about how it was helping me to keep up with people...which also disturbed me because it reminded me of my previous thoughts when I used Facebook regularly.
A couple of days ago, I watched The Social Dilemma. The negative revelations about social media weren't a shock, as they're what I've always known and felt. However, I was shocked at myself, and the way that I've let these parasitic organisms burrow back into my brain stem. So, I've deleted Twitter and Instagram from my phone.
I have absolutely no reason to go back to Instagram, a total waste of my productive time. According to Blogger, of the 60K visits the Nicsperiment has had over the past year, 191 were from Twitter. That's not enough to keep me on that personal Twitter account. That leaves Filmshake's Twitter. I legitimately do think Filmshake has picked up listeners from Twitter. I'm just not sure how many, and if there isn't another more viable, non-social media way to lead people to a podcast. However, I sure as hell am going to try to find one over the next couple of months.
The scariest thing? I feel like a drug-addict having withdrawal symptoms. I keep reaching for my phone for no reason. I have this strange, constant impulse to click and scroll. My brain needs its electronic pacifier. I am going to have to totally rewire it back to normal. I even feel a little ill. Weird. Disturbing. More evidence that I don't need to go back.

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