Social Media Distancing
I was looking forward to a weekend with good weather and a bike ride. That’s not going to happen — I’ve had a sore throat since yesterday. I’m hoping I can at least recover somehow over the weekend so that I won’t miss any classes next week.
Well, since I’m stuck at home anyway, I’m trying to get some things done that I had planned to do at home. Maybe study some JavaScript or do some drawing. And of course, write this entry. Speaking of which — today’s blog entry is about social media. A lot of people in my "blogosphere" are writing or have written about it. Often about how social media took up too much space in their lives, how they left their platforms or are in the process of stepping back in the hope of improving their quality of life and/or mental health. That inspired me to share a bit about my own experience too.
My experiences are similar to many others': there was a time when social media was fun for me, and then at some point it all kind of went downhill. Eventually, I realized it wasn’t doing me any good anymore either, and I also took steps to distance myself from it. I think I’ve written about it somewhere before. In any case, I can now say that I’m no longer a victim of doomscrolling or anything like that. Do I still use social media? Kind of. I still have a Facebook account in case someone important wants to contact me there, but that’s pretty much it. Then there's YouTube — some don’t count it as social media, others do. I know it technically is, but for me it somehow isn't. I have a lot of channels in my subscription list, and when I’m feeling lazy, I like to watch some of them. Sometimes I also get sidetracked and watch videos from channels I don’t follow but that interest me. I wouldn't necessarily call that "social," but yeah — the algorithm plays a role. I also still have Pinterest, where I sometimes browse and collect pictures and inspirations. And I'm on Mastodon, though I don’t use it often or very much. None of it feels like I'm out of control or wasting much time in an unhealthy way. YouTube is what I consume the most, but it’s for relaxation or learning purposes. So in that sense: congratulations to myself.
However, I do have a few further thoughts: Should I say goodbye to Mastodon as well? Not because it’s a problem, but simply because I hardly ever use it. To be honest, I don’t really know what to do there. I still feel this yearning for a social channel that actually works for me. Something where I can really connect and where interaction actually happens. A place where people genuinely talk about shared interests and hobbies and where there's real value in the conversations. I still feel like that's missing from my life. It’s been like that for a long time. But it seems like there’s nothing online that truly fulfills that need for me. In the end, I always feel like I’m standing there alone. It doesn't matter whether I’m signed up on Mastodon or not — hardly anyone (if anyone at all) would even notice if I were there or not. It feels like this emptiness. Like being in a city full of people and still feeling lonely — because no one knows you, you don’t know anyone, and no real connection happens between you and all the passersby. I checked out BlueSky once, but decided it’s just more of the same in different packaging. Maybe I should just give up the search — it seems like there really isn’t anything out there that's different from the rest.
