For instance, follow fewer accounts, or at least use the Favorites feature to concentrate on the ones most valuable to you.
When you go to ig, switch your feed to Following or Favorites so all you see is what you want, in normal chronological order, instead of ads and promoted posts that never end.
Turn off the like count for your posts, too
Social media now is set up to benefit the app companies. The apps prioritize engagement, not enjoyment. You have to work around that, unfortunately.
I follow friends/family members, bands I like, and some people in Gaza. I donāt see any reels or suggested posts or anything else Meta wants to force on us. I run out of posts to look at in maybe ten minutes.
I wonāt discourage anyone from deleting ig, but it is possible to make it useful and enjoyable (at least for now).
Feb 9, 2025
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Concentrate on accounts you follow, and expect to run out of things to look at. Avoid āfor youā and āsuggested posts/videosā - when youāre out of Following posts, youāre done :)
People have said the internet is full of horrors, and I know thatās true, but I havenāt experienced it. Thatās not to brag, just to show itās possible! And I have spent my time on Tumblr, Reddit, pre-Musk Twitter, YouTube, instagram.
Link goes to a post with specific advice for IG and YouTube. I donāt think Twitter can be used this way anymore, and you will have junk shoved into your feed no matter what.
Maybe start fresh with new accounts to reset everything, too
Mar 2, 2025
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itās so horrible for your brain and self image and iām sure itās just gotten more hellish since 2016. i save photos i like to an album (u can now add captions to photos on iphone) that is my social media for myself. and i also just text people or more often wait for them to text me since im bad at reaching out. i truly do not miss it at all.
i however am not perfect and will do my share of doomscrolling on youtube shorts which is bad for my brain but at least doesnt affect my self esteem since there is no community of my peers, i feel no urge to post, and the algorithm is so bad nothing is ever very targeted/relevant. you will be surprised how quickly you stop thinking and wondering about it and how good and free it will make you feel, i have quite literally never looked back.
Mar 3, 2025
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the whole instagram formula is so terrible and evil and the only reels i get now are either people promoting their of accounts, weird ācringe postingā, or political stuff that makes me depressed. honestly i need to delete instagram, but itās one of the only ways people communicate with me so i have to keep it solely for that. thank the lord that most of my chats have moved to whatsapp though because reels give me brain damage
Apr 7, 2025
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Iām not sure why, I guess things ending are sad. Hereās a self portrait I made in charcoal. The proportions are wonky but it kinda looks like me!
2d ago
The occupation persists, the oppression persists, the torture persists.
The occupiers are psychotic and their work is never finished.
People whoāve paid attention wonāt be surprised by this photo from Gaza.
Jan 22, 2025
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Iām 50, I say because that makes me unusual in this context. I paid [redacted] for a ticket to the Eras Tour after listening to tswift for 3 weeks, and it was worth it. In second grade my teacher gave kids birthday spankings over her knee, and in sixth grade my teacher told my mom I hadnāt blossomed yet. Iām a good friend, mostly to people on the internet. Iām good at conversing with strangers. Iām usually the oldest person at the show but donāt feel like it. Iām good at being helpful. Iām sarcastic and funny and make myself laugh. Iām a good graphic designer and a conscientious driver. Iām a good photographer and I can successfully follow recipes. I donāt use my Peloton enough. I did a lot of caregiving for my mom for several years, and we enjoyed spending time together even if it was mostly in waiting rooms and my car. The fastest I ever ran a mile was eight minutes and six seconds. I drove the same car for 20 years and then replaced it with another one. I enjoy tipping, giving money to people on the street and Disneyland. I am a fan of baseball, Formula 1 racing and the Criterion Channel. I solve about 80% of New York Times crosswords. I take Prozac and Wellbutrin, and take Trazodone to sleep through the night. I wish I had a glassed in solarium so I could sleep in it on rainy nights. I would like to have a pet cat and a garage. I could happily live eating only cereal and fruit. I overshare on the internet and undershare elsewhere. āļøš
Feb 28, 2025