Deleting Instagram and a Move Towards "No Social Media"

3 days ago, I deleted my Instagram account.

One month ago, I deleted the Twitter account I made for this blog. 

As for why I deleted Instagram, it mostly boiled down to the fact that I barely used it, posting once every 3 months and then closing the app immediately upon upload. I never looked at likes, didn't care much about comments, I just used my profile as a sort of scrapbook for my life. I was concerned about deleting my account as I didn't want to lose the words I wrote back when I lived in Japan, however, I realized most posts lacked a detailed description of the moment in favor of a witty comment. The ones that spoke about my emotions at the time, I read once and felt satisfied. 

There are many reasons to keep or delete social media, but ultimately I disliked having an account I didn't care about, followed by strangers I may never see or talk to again. I did worry about losing touch with those who I still wished to speak with, so I went through my followers to see who I only had on Instagram and nowhere else. Anyone who I felt I would actually speak to and like to keep in contact with, I DM'ed asking for other ways we could keep in touch.

And just like that, I deleted Instagram.

Twitter was easier. I hadn't been using it for almost a year and most of the networking connections I had made were no longer active. I deleted the account around a month ago, and this is the first time I've thought of it since. 

After this social media purge, I considered deleting my Facebook account as well. I barely touch it, only making a post when I want to share a new blog post. However, I may have some news to announce in the coming month that I would like to share with friends and family who may not necessarily read this blog, so for now, I decided to do a contacts purge.

I started the day with 558 friends on Facebook. These were various people I've met in high school, college, online, etc. As I went through the list of people, I really tried to ask myself "Will I speak to this person in 3 months? 6 months? Do they reach out and ask how I am? When was the last time we actually had a conversation?". That was my overall criteria. 

I've whittled my friends list down to about 140 people that I'm either related to, close friends with, or may run into in the near future. I don't think this will really affect my usage of Facebook, but I feel content with fewer people in my personal bubble.

This post doesn't really have a point, per se, but I'm feeling more and more inspired to be conscious about my internet presence and social media. I had a fleeting craze where I really wanted to pair down to a flip phone, and though that may have come and gone, the itch to disconnect has not. I may delete my Facebook in the future, as well as any other profiles I have scattered around the Internet, but this blog will always be my place to come back to. 

Thank you for reading :)

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