this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2025
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No, but seriously. I see this said everywhere and I think most people take it as a sort of superstition, but, like... your entire thought patterns change once you give it up, it's like an engine being allowed to slow down after over-revving it incessantly. All these things do is waste our cognitive bandwidth. And, yes, I'm including any social network where "me" is the main focus.
That's exactly what it feels like. I installed Social Fixer on my browser(s) to make FB at least usable for the few times I have to touch it for event coordination. People ask me what that's like and I simply say: "Oh, it's boring now. I only look at status updates for a few minutes and go do something else." The pull to go back is just... gone. It's as dull as LiveJournal ever was, and frankly, it's better this way.
What did I strip out of the feed? Everything that wasn't generated directly by someone on my friends list. That's all it took. All the "engagement" is either artificially injected into your feed, or clickbait people pass along because their feed isn't filtered.
Not maintaining artificial connections with people who would reach out to me if they actually gave a damn about me has genuinely been liberating.
I like how Discord- and Slack-like socials are set up. It's just more natural. Instead of a feed, it's a forum. It feels more like a physical place, with couches for discussion, corners of the room where people take conversation, and a hall outside for privacy. And if you understood that metaphor, then you know how I feel.
And if I don't like a server, I can just... leave. Never have to run into them again, but still have access to friends. No holes in the conversation where an obvious block or ignore leaves gaps.