Today I logged into my Facebook account for the first time in about five days. I took the Facebook app off my phone in the fall of 2017 and I’ve never looked back. Honestly, I could probably do without it altogether, but I do like to keep up with people and get notifications for events I might be interested in. Part of the reason I got rid of it was because of the current political climate in the United States. I do have a lot of opinions about politics and I found myself endlessly scrolling and getting into social media arguments that were just a waste of my time and energy. Since then I’ve found I’m a lot less annoyed and I’ve also been more productive at my job and at home.
Now Twitter and Instagram are a different story altogether, and I think it would be pretty difficult to take those apps off of my phone. This is mostly because I do like to have a place to post my happenings and opinions on social media. There are pros and cons to both apps but I firmly believe that they are healthier places to be than Facebook from a social media standpoint. Both fulfill a different need: Instagram lets you be seen and Twitter allows you to be heard (even if it is just your followers listening).
I’m sure you’ve all heard someone complain that no one wants to know what you had for breakfast on Facebook; this, for me, is true. Like I said, I only use Facebook to keep up with what people are accomplishing in their lives and I could honestly care less if they had an everything bagel at Starbucks today. Twitter, however, is a safe place to post these mediocre thoughts because it’s just a constant feed of opinions and randomness. I also don’t have any family on twitter so I can be as candid as I’d like without worrying about my aunt chiming in with an unwanted opinion. I also love twitter as a source of news and articles; although, I do recommend fact-checking and caution that what comes on your feed may be biased if you only follow people whose views align with your own (aka click-bait). For the most part though, I do read a lot of good articles while also following my favorite sports teams and celebrities etc. Overall, I just think twitter is a great place to post what you’re thinking and also get information on things going on in the world which is far more entertaining than seeing the same meme fifty times on Facebook–just watch out for the trolls!
Instagram is also a favorite app of mine for two reasons: 1)It’s visually appealing and allows for me to see a lot of different content and 2) I can post any random picture I want without thinking if it’s ‘worthy’ of people’s feeds. On Facebook I feel like no one wants to see the great wine I’m currently obsessed with but on Insta I have a few followers that enjoy a good vino and appreciate the suggestion. I have also made a habit of following the accounts of places I’ve traveled to or plan on traveling to because it genuinely makes me happy to see a place that has a good memory attached to it or a city I’ve always wanted to visit. It creates a happy social media space that isn’t bogged down with people complaining about their lives and posting that twentieth picture of their niece opening Christmas presents. I also like that you can link your pictures to Facebook so if you are posting a selfie you can share that on more than one feed instead of posting on three different apps.
Sincerely, I am not a Facebook hater (otherwise I wouldn’t have it at all). But I do believe that there are better more productive apps out there to spend your time scrolling on. It’s amazing how much more I have been getting done with taking that feed out of my everyday life and checking in on my own time instead of constantly going to Facebook to pass the time and seeing things that might ruin my mood. I think it’s worth considering doing a Facebook “dry” month where you cut it out or take it off your phone and then see how you feel. You can compensate by checking out other social media apps, focusing on catching up on that book you’ve been meaning to read or inviting friends out in real life instead of posting on the same event when you never actually go. If you try it please let me know if you enjoyed it/hated it etc. Until then I’ll scroll ya later!
<3 Ash