In October 2021, I deactivated my Facebook and Instagram accounts. For some, it was a bit of a shock given my consistent, dedicated presence on these platforms. For me, it was a long time in the making.
Why did you stop?
There are a lot of reasons here, but over this course of the last few years in particular, I started to pay too much attention to something I never really cared for in the past: the metrics.
Anytime the numbers would change, I’d panic. Why am I losing followers or friends? Why do fewer people like my posts or stories? Am I … depreciating?
Or … maybe people are slowly abandoning the platforms. Most definitely, however, is that I’ve linked my self-esteem to these numbers, and that’s fundamentally unhealthy. I used to write on many of these platforms:
“I do not want to be famous.”
A few close friends called me out on that, and they’re partially right. I sincerely don’t want to be famous. So … why am I on social media?
Subconsciously, I did want to be famous in some way. That sentiment finally percolated to the surface as a narcissistic monster I did not like.
That’s by design. Facebook and other social media apps want you to constantly use their…