The only SM I use is Facebook because I have spread-out family. Every single time I log on I see someone from my past who's way more successful than me and get depressed.
It's not even that they worked harder, were smarter, or prettier, they just married a rich guy. Sigh.....

I use no social media and am fine. I do use boards like this and Reddit for info. Sometimes I look through pics on Pinterest. Ditto videos on YouTube. I never post just view however.

I don't use FB, X, Insta, Tiktoc, etc.

Professionally I must use LinkedIn it's mandatory but I never post.

I'm old school though in that I also like to talk to people v text unless it's just a question or confirming something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is social media.

Message boards are not necessarily social media. There are no profiles and no social networking.

It is social media. It's the original Web 1.0.

DP - disagree in the traditional sense of the word but there are some elements of the term social media at play here …

“Social media is a collection of websites and applications that allow users to create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities.”

Yes ideas are generated and shared online but DCUM is Anonymous so there are no individual profiles, brand building or/and networking.

Advertisers don’t pay us to promote brands or hold different views .

I think many of us enjoy the unfiltered but moderated views.

I only have an Instagram account for my dog and only follow other pets. Haven’t opened it over a month though and am considering letting it go. Life is so much better without social media.

Anonymous wrote:What made you choose not to?
Do you feel like an outsider/cut off socially?

I used to have Facebook and I quit a couple years ago. I deleted my personal account. I have an account that I only use for groups and Facebook marketplace. I don’t add friends or post anything.

I feel like ever since I deleted mine, I am happier but I do feel a little cut off socially. I believe social media is very bad for your mental health.

My husband doesn't use any form of social media. It's not going well. He's absolutely clueless on so much assumed knowledge of all the people around us, but also general information that shows up on all of our feeds.

We have used all this for a long time and I guess we are trained to absorb a lot of divergent info, but someone like my DH just can't. It has taken a toll socially, which is not to say that being on SM has also taken a toll socially. It's a paradox.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is social media.

Message boards are not necessarily social media. There are no profiles and no social networking.

It is social media. It's the original Web 1.0.

It's like alcohol. I've never gotten the buzz, so I don't drink. I don't have social media accounts, except a FB one I don't check, that AirBnb forced me to create to identify me during the pandemic.

I am addicted to chocolate and DCUM! The anonymity is reassuring

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is social media.

Message boards are not necessarily social media. There are no profiles and no social networking.

And most importantly, no algorithms pushing content. (That I’m aware of, anyway.)

The day social media died was when LNS went offline.

Anonymous wrote:This is social media.

Message boards are not necessarily social media. There are no profiles and no social networking.

Anonymous wrote:This is social media.

Not really. It’s anonymous and no one gets followers or paid. It’s more like disembodied unfiltered opinions.

Anonymous wrote:What made you choose not to?
Do you feel like an outsider/cut off socially?

I used to have Facebook and I quit a couple years ago. I deleted my personal account. I have an account that I only use for groups and Facebook marketplace. I don’t add friends or post anything.

I feel like ever since I deleted mine, I am happier but I do feel a little cut off socially. I believe social media is very bad for your mental health.

I use facebook, but it’s just to connect with friends who live far away and engage with some local groups.

I look at pics of cute animals on instagram and rarely use Reddit — just to keep up with my favorite band.

So I’d say my social media usage is fairly minimal. I don’t have TikTok or Snapchat.

Anonymous wrote:What made you choose not to?
Do you feel like an outsider/cut off socially?

I used to have Facebook and I quit a couple years ago. I deleted my personal account. I have an account that I only use for groups and Facebook marketplace. I don’t add friends or post anything.

I feel like ever since I deleted mine, I am happier but I do feel a little cut off socially. I believe social media is very bad for your mental health.

I am sure that social media is bad for mental health as I have seen it first hand with teen DC and her peers. The pandemic was the worst - so much online bullying via social media and so much inappropriate content for Children/ youth.

I quit midway through Trump administration due to
1. All the political misinformation;
2. All the pandemic science misinformation;
3. Wanting to set good example for teen DC;
4. Not wanting people I don’t know that well following my life. I was not good at saying no to friend or follow requests;
5. Wanting to protect my DC’s privacy.

I ended up having to set up shell accounts just to follow DC when younger but have stopped that now.

I feel like I have enough friends and family in real life through church/ book club/ exercise classes/ neighborhood events/ old friends who stay in touch so I don’t miss it.

This is social media.

DH has Reddit and browses Twitter but doesn't post. I only use FB for a few groups for our town/area, activities, and school. I'll update DH with any info I see there. I also have TikTok (don't make videos), Instagram, and Twitter (don't make posts). I have never really felt that SM has impacted my mental health though or have been a particular time suck for me. I use Twitter mostly because there is a large community for one of my interests on there and I'm in a couple of groups on there where we talk with each other.