1) i realized some time ago that alot of social media, with whatever algorithm they use, will try their best to push whats most popular to you. No matter if itās positive or negative. So while Im on insta, I tend to delete the app and redownload it a day later when I catch them doing that. Itās like a mini reset but not really. But alongside that, i have made the conscious effort not to doomscroll and to dislike and report posts/comments/videos that are willfully harmful and spread misinformation.
2) i look back into the areas where i spent a lot of time online as a child when i didnāt have social media. And that place was Youtube and rewatching comfort shows and finding new outlets that don't trigger me. Sometimes thatās finding people online that only have like 5k subscribers. The other well known site that doesnāt have awful people on there is Pinterest š i never had an awful time on there outside of the ads
3) like i am the child of the house, i limit the content on my phone. On the Iphone at least you can set timers to how long you have been on an app each day and block certain websites.
Jan 19, 2025
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Felt that instagram (Twitter too) delete and redownload battle, I Just stopped downloading it and started using google š
Being more conscious of what Iām doing on my phone is helping crack my addiction slowly as well
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once i got realistic about what type of content i consumed on ig and twitter, i realized so quickly it was not expanding the way i think and in fact was keeping me stuck in the same (oftentimes negative/harmful) thought loopholes. social media is addictive in part because it algorithmically reproduces the way we already think. it keeps us comfortable.
start questioning: what can help expand your life? what other creative and consumptive outlets do you find fulfilling? is there a book you want to read? something you want to draw or write about? or, in general, consider how your older self would have wanted your time to be spent. you are so right that social media makes us feel Bad-- but we don't have to! it is an act of self-care and deep love to work on stepping away from things that hurt!
as far as practical tips, the best things that helped me were:
a) like some others mentioned, deleting ALL social media apps from my phone so i can only access them on my computer. this helps because the online interfaces are a lot clunkier so it reduces some of the quick gratification that keeps you addicted. also you have to be literally sitting at a desk to use it, so the portability aspect/mindless scrolling is largely removed.
b) keeping a journal because it's a much safer space to dump thoughts than a private story
c) prioritizing in-person connection rather than mediating relationships through tech-- meet a friend for coffee! cultivate intimacy rather than superficiality, and notice how irl vs. online connection feels different
d) nervous system regulation and grounding practices to counteract how scrolling can make you anxious/stressed/disembodied!
finally i did struggle a lot with fomo and being behind on trends at first but then i realized it doesn't really matter. trends are fleeting. even without chronic online-ness i am still funny and relatable and i find it much more interesting to hear about people's lives when i haven't been informed about them in an endless information stream online!!
Oct 31, 2024
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i follow a very limited no. of people and most of them are friends
the other creators are people who's content i genuinely enjoy consuming
(i follow 24 people)
i deleted social media from my phone and ipad so i don't doomscroll through reels and i only use social media on my laptop
i also make sure to count how many times i open instagram
i try to use social media towards the end of the day
Jan 12, 2025
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which is partly why i downloaded perfectly imperfect. i donāt exactly have a solution yet but so far here are my ideas :
-youtube is maybe a better alternative so you donāt miss out on pop culture stuff. if maybe you follow a few youtubers who talk about recent news, trends and events you can keep up with whatās happening. with ytb you can actually sit down and watch great content without scrolling. you just have to stay strong if youāre tempted by ytb shorts.
-there is an app called Ā«Ā beeperĀ Ā» which reunites all the different convos you have with your friends and followers on different social media apps like tikto, insta, whatsappā¦etc. it allows you to keep talking to your friends without being tempted to scroll afterwards
-another tip iām seriously considering doing too, is keeping up with your fav artists by going on instagram on your laptop (if you own one). i think itās more difficult to scroll mindlessly on there and that way you can see what they post and log off 5 min later. maybe you can even activate a little notification to see everytime they post so that you donāt miss out on anything
-finally i feel like going on a huge unfollowing spree can help sort out the content and poeple you really want to follow and care about
iām still figuring out how to manage that balance too ! hope we can help each other
Jan 11, 2025
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Feb 10, 2025
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As a child growing up with brothers and as the fat black kid, i never considered myself feminine. Even when i lost weight in middle school and went to an all girls high school, looking girly or being more āfeminineā was just not something i thought about.
I feel like recently, i wanted to explore that more, as this pull to dress and appear more feminine has become super strong. Having a house to decorate in any way I can, actually starting to feel better about my body to wear skirts again, etc has really influenced me. But my fears are that it may portray trad wife or childās play; Iām nervous of stares or being questioned about my views if i were to give such a strong appearance of a girly woman.
But some of my inspirations have been strolling through vintage creators and small japanese insta accounts with super pink and fluffy aesthetics.
Hopefully i will build up the courage
Jan 5, 2025
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i saw something a tad bit politically upsetting this morning through a reposted TikTok, and when i looked up the story in the news, what the TikTok said about this political issue could not be substantiated, but only implied and rumored.
Iām kinda peeved because short form media has really allowed people to become media illiterate and spread things that are either lies or unsupported claims, because they know people arenāt going to read a 3-4 paragraph article on a news site and disseminate information on their own.
Something I have learned in therapy is to kinda look at more things in life as neutral, and not go into black and white thinking before making a decision. Take time to act on something (when itās possible) and take things at face value most days. Being in an elevated state of emotion when doing something is not usually good.
I just wish other people could do that today, because sometimes it feels like Iām the only person in my realm who can.
Jan 26, 2025