It was pretty hard dropping Facebook (it's like they engineered it that way), but now that I've been off for six months I'm almost more scared that if I return I'll be unable to leave again. I was once active on Twitter when it was healthier, now it's easy to avoid.

I dumped all my Google accounts some time ago, dumped Instagram when Facebook bought it, and never did Snapchat. I have Apple's News+, NYT, and WaPo but have gotten pretty good at avoiding the clickbait headlines that don't actually tell me anything, which includes most OpEds. Occasionally The Atlantic will suck me in.

The upside benefit of lots more time and lots less worry makes it a good bargain. Not getting time with friends on FB is a hard price to pay, but ultimately I don't regret it.

Ultimately that's why I shut it off. It's a bit like a drug, distracting me from actually living.

Damn, @Hank G ☑️. That was pretty interesting (your blog posts parts 1 & 2)! Your struggle to retain sanity in the Digital Age is hitting very close to home for me at the moment.

Just yesterday, I posted a "Good Bye, Friends" post here at Diaspora. I have just been getting too stressed and aggravated with some of the idiocy and horrendous shit that I see in my Stream here every day. Unfortunately, my attempt at quitting lasted all of about 15 hours.

It seems my friendships here are a significant reason for me to stay.

Luck with your endeavor! :)

Fortunately, for me, I never had a FaceBook or Twitter account. My presence at Diaspora began way back in the beginning of G+ days, when Google decided it was going to ban the use of pseudonyms at G+. Google backed down on that, but my Diaspora account remained active. When G+ was finally shut down, I just came back to Diaspora.

Social Media on the Internet often reminds me of a childhood, teen, and early adulthood hobby of Citizens Band radio. Remember those days? CB, and the interactions on that medium, were very similar to Internet social media of today, at least from my viewpoint. There was good, bad, and ugly on the CB, just as there is in my Stream here at Diaspora.

It is what it is. H. sapiens behave similarly in any environment.