I should have done this a long time ago, but I’m finally doing it. I’m ditching all social media platforms.
Why
Social media was interesting in its early days, when it was something new and not very popular. This made it possible to find interesting people and valuable information.
Nowadays, every social media platform is awash in advertising, propaganda, spam, scams, and other things that I’m not interested in. More than 99% of the content is garbage created to get more likes, followers, and money. This behavior is not only the fault of users; it is also encouraged by the platforms themselves. People need to write more in order to be taken into account by the algorithm.
It’s not about quality, it’s about quantity.
It’s hard to filter out the garbage. There is usually no categorization, so people can post anything they want, and you have to see it. Every company has a profile on every social media platform to advertise their products. There is a huge amount of fake accounts and bots that are used to spread fake news.
Lack of moderation and anonymity make it even worse. For example, look at the comments and ads on Twitter X. People and bots can write whatever they want without taking responsibility for it. Not only is what they write problematic, but they also create a toxic and messy environment. I don’t want to be a part of it or waste my time reading it.
Platform owners usually don’t care about the content. The more content, the better, as it attracts users. People are addicted to social media, and they can scroll down their feeds for hours. Social media services create more and more features to keep users on their platforms, but most of them are useless and annoying.
I’m not saying that all of the content on social media is garbage. I have found a lot of interesting people and information on social media, but it’s a small percentage of the whole content. If you spend two hours a day on social media and you only find one interesting thing every day, is it worth it? I don’t think so.
Privacy
I think it’s common knowledge that every social media platform tracks you and collects data about you.
Content ownership
You don’t own the content you post on social media. Social media platforms can delete your content, ban your account, or shadowban you, and you can’t do anything about it. Is it really worth spending time creating content that you don’t own? Social media platforms encourage people to create more content because it drives traffic and generates revenue for them. The platforms are the main beneficiaries of the content you create, not you.
In search of a better social media platform
The problem is that every platform may have the same issues when it becomes popular. Every company or VC wants to make money, and they will do whatever it takes to make that happen. It’s not usually about creating a nice platform for people; it’s about creating a platform that will make money. That’s the main goal.
A better platform
I believe there is a way to create something better. Here is an idea for a better social media platform.
There is a better solution
There is a better solution that was created years ago, and in my opinion, it is still superior to any social media platform.
Blogging.
Blogging is a great way to create your own space on the internet where you can write whatever you want, build your own brand and community, and advertise your work. You have complete control over your content and don’t have to worry about it being deleted or censored. You can also create RSS feeds, newsletters, and even paid content. You can organize your content into categories and tags, and even create multiple blogs. You can easily back up your content and migrate to another blogging platform if you need to. There are many different blogging platforms available, so you can choose one that fits your needs and budget. With a blog, you can be yourself and express your unique voice, without being limited by the constraints of social media platforms.
You can be yourself, not just another X/Threads/Facebook/Instagram/TikTok content creator.
How to catch up with the news without social media
Use RSS. It’s not dead! Add the websites you trust to your RSS reader and read the news there. I have about 100 sites in my RSS reader, and it takes me about 10 minutes daily to scan through the headlines and select interesting articles. It’s a much better way than scrolling down the social media feed for hours.
Think about it
How much of the content that you consume on social media is actually useful to you? How much of it is important information worth spending so much time on? What else could you be doing with your time that would be more interesting and productive?
I look forward to reading your blog soon
I hope that the people I have been following so far will start their own blogs soon, so that I can continue to read their content.