With increasingly more individuals ditching Twitter since Elon Musk took the reins just a few weeks in the past, as we speak we thought we’d ask the readers a really well timed query: Are you leaving social media this yr? If that’s the case, which platforms are you saying goodbye to? If not, what’s maintaining you from leaving?
With Twitter “gutt[ing] groups dedicated to combating election misinformation” proper earlier than the midterms [Washington Post] (plus, you realize, being run by Elon Musk), Fb insufficiently cracking down on COVID-19 misinformation [Gizmodo], critical privateness and safety considerations surrounding TikTok [WIRED], and far more — to not point out posts out of your conspiracy-theory-spreading relations — it’s straightforward to search out many causes to go away.
{associated: what’s social media inspiring you to purchase?}
However, lots of us — me included — are hesitating to leap ship. Listed below are my causes as an individual who’s conscious of the drawbacks of social media platforms however has stayed on to this point:
I joined Fb in 2008 in order that I might handle the web page of the nonprofit I labored for, and apart from utilizing it to maintain up with associates and relations, I belong to lots of Fb teams that I discover actually worthwhile. I’ve joined teams for ladies freelance writers, for mothers/mother and father, for alumni of my faculty (a number of teams, in reality!), for my neighborhood, and extra. I’ve gotten rid of tons of undesirable stuff in my native Purchase Nothing group and have picked up just a few cool issues, as nicely. Most of those teams aren’t actively planning emigrate to a different platform, however some are leaving Fb for Discord, for instance.
I’m a giant fan of Twitter for maintaining with breaking information, following editors who put out requires freelance pitches, and ensuring I expose myself to various voices and views (whereas avoiding the, uh, fascists). (As an ideal New York Instances op-ed (from Twitter’s pre-Musk period) factors out, “teams together with African Individuals, survivors of gendered violence, and transgender ladies have used Twitter to construct vibrant communities and to affect information and politics.” Whereas individuals like to name Twitter a “cesspit,” you’ll be able to’t deny it’s been important to activism and schooling.
{associated: how you can take a partial social media break}
Apart from watching an extreme variety of cat movies, I exploit TikTok for locating DIY, cooking, and tech suggestions; well being info (from precise professionals, don’t fear!); and extra. I do know I ought to give up TikTok due to its privateness considerations, however I simply … haven’t. And since the algorithm rapidly and precisely (and really creepily) learns what you want, I not often see the stuff that individuals complain about once they criticize TikTok.
I’m an informal Instagram (owned by Meta, in fact) consumer, and I exploit WhatsApp (additionally owned by Meta!) to communicate with my UK in-laws in between FaceTime calls. (Quite a lot of nations use WhatsApp reasonably than texting due to SMS prices.)
{associated: our recs for the very best profession & magnificence TikTokers to observe}
Now that I’ve listed some components that make individuals to hesitate to go away social media, we’d love to listen to from readers who really feel the identical, and people who completely don’t. Have you ever left a number of social media apps, or will you quickly? Have you ever tried Mastodon, Discord (I like to recommend it!), Sign (end-to-end encrypted messaging), or others? What are your favourite and least favourite points of social media?
Inventory picture by way of Stencil.