Getting off of Facebook and Twitter was the best thing I ever did - I can't believe how much more mental space I have now that I'm no longer stuck in conversation loops with strangers.
Interestingly, it was a mushroom trip that did it. The mushroom spirit (or whatever you want to call it) lucidly explained how I was wasting my life on those websites. The next day I quit, and its been years now, though I def felt withdrawals for a few weeks being off of twitter. Now it's like I was never even there.
I feel so bad for all of the young people who can't understand, due to peer pressure, just how bad it is for them. And shame on parents for not making more of an effort to ask questions.
Glad you're getting some space from them. I'm doing the same myself. Not sure how much I blame parents, though. These sites are designed like slot machines, which means there are a number of professionals and executives out there who consciously sought to addict people to their platforms. Shame on them.
I played the Diablo games addictively for a while in the early-mid 2000s. Later when I got to doing some adulting I ended up in Las Vegas trying out some slot machines when it hit me what was happening any time a named boss died. The games lost all the magic after that.
I am an old fart so when Twitter came around the UI was just confusing enough for me and at the same time I cared just a bit less than needed to overcome the activation energy that I still never figured out how to use it. Any time I read about the anxiety of being on Twitter I am fascinated anew at how isolated that community is and how little it all matters in the grand scheme of things.
Interestingly, it was a mushroom trip that did it. The mushroom spirit (or whatever you want to call it) lucidly explained how I was wasting my life on those websites. The next day I quit, and its been years now, though I def felt withdrawals for a few weeks being off of twitter. Now it's like I was never even there.
I feel so bad for all of the young people who can't understand, due to peer pressure, just how bad it is for them. And shame on parents for not making more of an effort to ask questions.