what got me off instagram and twitter for good was realizing that i was gaining nothing from a million permutations of the same horrific news — learning what is happening just once can be unbearable, but necessary — seeing it 100x makes what was already bad incomprehensible
Yes yes yes. Our brains are not meant to process the level of atrocity we are exposed to in those endless feeds. Yes, it is a privilege to be able to look away, but looking away does not make us bad. I was hooked for years on the idea that I would be somehow letting people down if I didn't keep up to date with every detail.... but I wasn't actually *doing* anything. Just consuming. "I don’t think that this impulse comes from duty. I think it comes from guilt." is on the nose.
I have been off of socials for a few years. I currently receive the NY Times paper daily (I do not read it front to back most days) as well as a few left-leaning magazines. Getting the paper helps put my news consumption into a container - I don't have to check and check the web for news if the news will be on my doorstep in time for my morning coffee. Between those print mediums and substack I feel plugged into and very aware of the most important social issues of the time. I know enough. There is such thing as enough.
i’ve been logged out of my instagram (my last remaining social media that i was addicted to) since the beginning of january as well - and it has made me realize how much those around me rely on it + twitter for all their information. i have had friends release new music / announce shows / get engaged / etc and had no idea about any of it. i feel deeply disconnected from the local community more than the world at large and that has been very eye opening for me, but it has also nudged me to reach out to those i /want/ to be connected to directly + with more meaning than passive scrolling past their stories
glad to hear others are experiencing similar feelings + hoping to find alternatives to connecting locally without the algorithm (if anyone has any tips… lmk)
i was on the phone with my boyfriend talking about my increasing desire to deactivate/delete all of my accounts on platforms owned by meta or musk, as well as tik tok as it’s pretty clear that censorship is rampant (also for reasons that you mentioned regarding the jarring juxtaposition of all of the fast-fed videos). i’ve wanted to get off social media for all of these reasons in the past, but have been feeling especially inclined to do so because of the evil i’m seeing done, constantly unfolding. the very men that are in power now only benefit from our attachment to these apps, whether it’s because of a fervent need for information, a superficial gratification for social needs, or because we’re so accustomed to making ourselves available for everyone’s viewing pleasure.
it’s discouraging, but important to acknowledge, that the average person who talks about resistance is not willing to sacrifice personal comfort at a very superficial level. i’ve seen videos of people showing tutorials on how to minimize profits gained from meta owned apps by turning off certain authorizations, disabling certain features, or making sure we don’t click on any ads. but we are still using the app. i’m aware enough to acknowledge that i’m a part of this problem too, hesitant and fickle about deactivating because, well let’s face it, i’m probably addicted. it’s hard not to be when it’s almost all i’ve ever known.
on the phone, my main concern and hesitation on deactivating was because, since it is all i am used to, i just /need/ to know what’s going on. if not for myself as a woc, but for people that i care about who also can’t afford to /not know/. and something i had to realize is that, because i have used social (especially twitter & TT) as my main source for news, current events, and information, i don’t feel confident in my ability to search for it on my own, without a hyperlink that sends me to video that tells me all i need to know pertaining to the exact phrase or word. i’ve been spoonfed and i worry im not equipped enough to scavenge.
we said goodnight and hung up. i almost immediately open this app for a final read before bed, and see this essay. i can’t help but feel like it’s some sort of sign for me. i /dont/ need to know everything going on, especially 100x a day, scrolling until my eyes burn and my face feels sore from furrowing my brow in anger. this really helped me feel more determined to try and fight the hesitation i feel and learn how to be outside of the sphere of information overload.
I realized yesterday that tik tok was open on my lap top from when I deleted my account on Sunday and I could still scroll. So yesterday I scrolled for hours after days off it. I was happy to learn I basically knew all the info I normally relied on tik tok to tell me. You’re right about it being food fed. I’ve been reading my news here, Bluesky, AP news, the hill (more right leaning for perspective), and nyt, and I pretty much knew everything. It’s so possible to get it elsewhere. And it’s a much slower and digestible way to get it.
I feel the same. There’s always been this impulse and urge to always check social media. I’m realizing its this desire to connect with people and feel less helpless about the state of the world and of course a phone addiction lol. But after scrolling for hours, it hasn’t done any of that. This is definitely why. Resonating heavy w/ Sontag.
"How much do I really need to know? Enough to know what I think and how I feel. Knowing any more makes both impossible." I think about this often, and you distilled it so deftly.
Thank you for writing this beautiful easy that resonates with so many of us. I deleted my Instagram and tiktok a few days after the wildfires broke out. I’m from that area and seeing endless videos of some of my favorite places burning was too much for me to bear.
I have noticed things. Like you said, I don’t know information the moment it breaks, which is disorienting. I told my husband today “wow trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.” He said “oh you’re just finding out about that? That happened yesterday.” Hearing that felt weird. And I don’t even know if “weird” is the right word. It has me feel like an outsider, but one who is more free and in control.
I have felt immense guilt, especially in the beginning. How can I turn a blind eye to the burning of my homeland? How selfish can I be? But I remind myself that I’m not turning a blind eye. I’m getting my masters degree in renewable energy and sustainability systems. I’m donating as much as I can. I’m more intentional with spending money. I’m reading books to decolonize my mind. I’m doing the work, it’s just not the immediate gratification that we’re all accustomed to. So it’s uncomfortable.
And, finally, I have noticed that it takes more work to connect with my friends, but it’s worth it. We’re having better conversations compared to us sending funny videos back and forth. I want to talk to them more - actually talk. I want to hear about their days instead of make assumptions about their days based on what they put on their IG story. I want to hear their voices in a voice note and, eventually, phone calls. I want to invite them over for dinner. I want to build an offline community.
Sometimes absorbing all this information makes me feel like I'm staring at an angel in their true form and my eyes are burning out of my skull with death imminent. I need a version of the meatsuit Castiel was wearing. I'm too overwhelmed to be of any help in the world. Just me?👀
this was so relatable. I got off twitter directly after the election, and I do not miss it. I was so invested in current happenings and politics when I had hope, but then I realized that all of my energy and engagement did nothing to help our cause but instead riled me up and kept me in a baseline state of anxiety. ever since deleting The Apps and turning off news notifications, I feel that I’m better able to take care of my mental health and the people around me. in this scary new era - taking care of our friends and family is all we can realistically do. loved this post thank u so much for wording all of this!
this is extremely well written. in my teen years, as I took my first steps into the organizing world, one of the first lessons I learnt was that information is only power so far as it compels you into action. I do not need to see photographs of the destruction in Gaza to compel me into action. it is precisely because I have the ability to look away that I have the energy to fuel my actions.
upon disconnecting from these news cycles, though, I have rediscovered the news cycles I should be tuned into. while I do not need to know as much as I thought about the greater world, I need to know more about the local world around me. my small suburb's local newspaper and broadcast news fill me with news that are not wholly distressing, and with news that I can take control of. I cannot stop trump's inauguration, but I can stop his ideas from overtaking the school board.
Beautifully written, and I wholeheartedly agree! I feel so much more present without social media, and I feel like my attention is actually held for the important things, rather than competing against all the noise
tapped out of the inauguration as well and don’t regret it. got updates from friends on the pertinent stuff, which didn’t amount to much. having a regular ass day is a privilege but it’s one I think we can allow ourselves without, as you mentioned, closing ourselves off from the realities of the global situation. especially when it can only allow for more time to process and act within my community, which is what’s actually important.
This is exactly what i’ve been wrestling with over the last year as i’ve stepped back from my social media consumption and turned to receiving my news in other controlled manners…i’ve found it means i’m more deliberate in my reading/research, the next thing i see won’t be a ‘day in my life’ video and so i can sit with the news more and try to actually feel it, think about it
I have been struggling with this for a while so thank you for articulating pretty much exactly how I have been feeling! That it’s okay to get off the internet for a bit because I know I never want to become ignorant to what’s going on but I just can’t constantly take a barrage of information as I become useless and can’t be of any help!
what got me off instagram and twitter for good was realizing that i was gaining nothing from a million permutations of the same horrific news — learning what is happening just once can be unbearable, but necessary — seeing it 100x makes what was already bad incomprehensible
Yes yes yes. Our brains are not meant to process the level of atrocity we are exposed to in those endless feeds. Yes, it is a privilege to be able to look away, but looking away does not make us bad. I was hooked for years on the idea that I would be somehow letting people down if I didn't keep up to date with every detail.... but I wasn't actually *doing* anything. Just consuming. "I don’t think that this impulse comes from duty. I think it comes from guilt." is on the nose.
I have been off of socials for a few years. I currently receive the NY Times paper daily (I do not read it front to back most days) as well as a few left-leaning magazines. Getting the paper helps put my news consumption into a container - I don't have to check and check the web for news if the news will be on my doorstep in time for my morning coffee. Between those print mediums and substack I feel plugged into and very aware of the most important social issues of the time. I know enough. There is such thing as enough.
i’ve been logged out of my instagram (my last remaining social media that i was addicted to) since the beginning of january as well - and it has made me realize how much those around me rely on it + twitter for all their information. i have had friends release new music / announce shows / get engaged / etc and had no idea about any of it. i feel deeply disconnected from the local community more than the world at large and that has been very eye opening for me, but it has also nudged me to reach out to those i /want/ to be connected to directly + with more meaning than passive scrolling past their stories
glad to hear others are experiencing similar feelings + hoping to find alternatives to connecting locally without the algorithm (if anyone has any tips… lmk)
i was on the phone with my boyfriend talking about my increasing desire to deactivate/delete all of my accounts on platforms owned by meta or musk, as well as tik tok as it’s pretty clear that censorship is rampant (also for reasons that you mentioned regarding the jarring juxtaposition of all of the fast-fed videos). i’ve wanted to get off social media for all of these reasons in the past, but have been feeling especially inclined to do so because of the evil i’m seeing done, constantly unfolding. the very men that are in power now only benefit from our attachment to these apps, whether it’s because of a fervent need for information, a superficial gratification for social needs, or because we’re so accustomed to making ourselves available for everyone’s viewing pleasure.
it’s discouraging, but important to acknowledge, that the average person who talks about resistance is not willing to sacrifice personal comfort at a very superficial level. i’ve seen videos of people showing tutorials on how to minimize profits gained from meta owned apps by turning off certain authorizations, disabling certain features, or making sure we don’t click on any ads. but we are still using the app. i’m aware enough to acknowledge that i’m a part of this problem too, hesitant and fickle about deactivating because, well let’s face it, i’m probably addicted. it’s hard not to be when it’s almost all i’ve ever known.
on the phone, my main concern and hesitation on deactivating was because, since it is all i am used to, i just /need/ to know what’s going on. if not for myself as a woc, but for people that i care about who also can’t afford to /not know/. and something i had to realize is that, because i have used social (especially twitter & TT) as my main source for news, current events, and information, i don’t feel confident in my ability to search for it on my own, without a hyperlink that sends me to video that tells me all i need to know pertaining to the exact phrase or word. i’ve been spoonfed and i worry im not equipped enough to scavenge.
we said goodnight and hung up. i almost immediately open this app for a final read before bed, and see this essay. i can’t help but feel like it’s some sort of sign for me. i /dont/ need to know everything going on, especially 100x a day, scrolling until my eyes burn and my face feels sore from furrowing my brow in anger. this really helped me feel more determined to try and fight the hesitation i feel and learn how to be outside of the sphere of information overload.
so thank you, i needed this.
I realized yesterday that tik tok was open on my lap top from when I deleted my account on Sunday and I could still scroll. So yesterday I scrolled for hours after days off it. I was happy to learn I basically knew all the info I normally relied on tik tok to tell me. You’re right about it being food fed. I’ve been reading my news here, Bluesky, AP news, the hill (more right leaning for perspective), and nyt, and I pretty much knew everything. It’s so possible to get it elsewhere. And it’s a much slower and digestible way to get it.
I feel the same. There’s always been this impulse and urge to always check social media. I’m realizing its this desire to connect with people and feel less helpless about the state of the world and of course a phone addiction lol. But after scrolling for hours, it hasn’t done any of that. This is definitely why. Resonating heavy w/ Sontag.
"How much do I really need to know? Enough to know what I think and how I feel. Knowing any more makes both impossible." I think about this often, and you distilled it so deftly.
Well said.
Thank you for writing this beautiful easy that resonates with so many of us. I deleted my Instagram and tiktok a few days after the wildfires broke out. I’m from that area and seeing endless videos of some of my favorite places burning was too much for me to bear.
I have noticed things. Like you said, I don’t know information the moment it breaks, which is disorienting. I told my husband today “wow trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.” He said “oh you’re just finding out about that? That happened yesterday.” Hearing that felt weird. And I don’t even know if “weird” is the right word. It has me feel like an outsider, but one who is more free and in control.
I have felt immense guilt, especially in the beginning. How can I turn a blind eye to the burning of my homeland? How selfish can I be? But I remind myself that I’m not turning a blind eye. I’m getting my masters degree in renewable energy and sustainability systems. I’m donating as much as I can. I’m more intentional with spending money. I’m reading books to decolonize my mind. I’m doing the work, it’s just not the immediate gratification that we’re all accustomed to. So it’s uncomfortable.
And, finally, I have noticed that it takes more work to connect with my friends, but it’s worth it. We’re having better conversations compared to us sending funny videos back and forth. I want to talk to them more - actually talk. I want to hear about their days instead of make assumptions about their days based on what they put on their IG story. I want to hear their voices in a voice note and, eventually, phone calls. I want to invite them over for dinner. I want to build an offline community.
Sometimes absorbing all this information makes me feel like I'm staring at an angel in their true form and my eyes are burning out of my skull with death imminent. I need a version of the meatsuit Castiel was wearing. I'm too overwhelmed to be of any help in the world. Just me?👀
I feel you, E.M. Things are often bad, but hearing take after take is a spiral of worse. Sartre was right.
Just found your substack! Good post. It's hard to walk the line between self-preservation and standing up for what is right.
this was so relatable. I got off twitter directly after the election, and I do not miss it. I was so invested in current happenings and politics when I had hope, but then I realized that all of my energy and engagement did nothing to help our cause but instead riled me up and kept me in a baseline state of anxiety. ever since deleting The Apps and turning off news notifications, I feel that I’m better able to take care of my mental health and the people around me. in this scary new era - taking care of our friends and family is all we can realistically do. loved this post thank u so much for wording all of this!
this is extremely well written. in my teen years, as I took my first steps into the organizing world, one of the first lessons I learnt was that information is only power so far as it compels you into action. I do not need to see photographs of the destruction in Gaza to compel me into action. it is precisely because I have the ability to look away that I have the energy to fuel my actions.
upon disconnecting from these news cycles, though, I have rediscovered the news cycles I should be tuned into. while I do not need to know as much as I thought about the greater world, I need to know more about the local world around me. my small suburb's local newspaper and broadcast news fill me with news that are not wholly distressing, and with news that I can take control of. I cannot stop trump's inauguration, but I can stop his ideas from overtaking the school board.
Beautifully written, and I wholeheartedly agree! I feel so much more present without social media, and I feel like my attention is actually held for the important things, rather than competing against all the noise
tapped out of the inauguration as well and don’t regret it. got updates from friends on the pertinent stuff, which didn’t amount to much. having a regular ass day is a privilege but it’s one I think we can allow ourselves without, as you mentioned, closing ourselves off from the realities of the global situation. especially when it can only allow for more time to process and act within my community, which is what’s actually important.
This is exactly what i’ve been wrestling with over the last year as i’ve stepped back from my social media consumption and turned to receiving my news in other controlled manners…i’ve found it means i’m more deliberate in my reading/research, the next thing i see won’t be a ‘day in my life’ video and so i can sit with the news more and try to actually feel it, think about it
I have been struggling with this for a while so thank you for articulating pretty much exactly how I have been feeling! That it’s okay to get off the internet for a bit because I know I never want to become ignorant to what’s going on but I just can’t constantly take a barrage of information as I become useless and can’t be of any help!