Recently, I decided to delete Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok from my phone. It was a conscious choice I had to make after experiencing an anxious meltdown last week. Reddit wasn’t any better for me, and we all know where that place is headed. I haven’t deleted my accounts yet, but prioritizing the loss of easy access to those sites was important.
As usual, I feel better now. A lot of the content on those platforms brings me hateful and unpleasant feelings. It’s addicting, like a mess you just can’t seem to take your eyes off of. I had to be honest with myself and accept the truth that profit-driven social media has a net-negative impact on my life.
I’m glad I’m here now. I’ll never stop repeating this until it becomes untrue (hopefully not), but I enjoy being here. I don’t see this place as an alternative to anywhere else. It’s helping me break the habit of skipping long paragraphs of text and only relying on article titles at face value. The nuance present in several discussions feels more human.
Anyway, enough about me. How have your experiences been with other social media platforms? How do they compare to Beehaw?
I really enjoy other social medias like tiktok and instagram but I’m really intentional about how I use them. I only consume and interact with content that brings me joy. I use it to stay in touch with friends so that means making sure I talk with them, interact with their posts, and show them some love. I don’t engage with trolls or haters but i will try and have a discussion with people who seem genuinely curious, confused, or open to other view points and not hostile. I try not to spend more than an hour on the both of the consuming content a day (usually spread out while i wait for the sun, at lunch, and before bed.) I love to create silly videos about crafts, gardening, and baking so I like to post those but I find I will get sucked into scrolling and not do all the things I love if I don’t set limits.
Beehaw is great because it’s not so busy I have to spend a long time catching up and I have already ran into so many friendly people with similar, positive interests. I really want this space to be something that adds to my life and so far it has. I’ve got a new kombucha guide to try, more info on how to organise community projects, crafty friends to share projects with, and even some info on how to fix my oven! Beehaw is different than the other social medias as it’s a place that’s very conversation focused. Its smaller than reddit making it feel more accessible as comments don’t get drowned out in busy threads. Tiktok has character limits that doesn’t allow for real conversations and instagrams feed is usually outdated and full of sponsored or irrelevant content so I really just stick to stories. This is my new favourite space but I still enjoy the others for different reasons
Your self control with Tiktok is admirable. I tried setting 30 minute limits for the apps but it just doesn’t work for me. I’m glad Beehaw is giving you so much fulfillment too c:
I just have one of those times for andriod that tells me I’m done for the day. I can click add 10 minutes if I’m in the middle of something like making a post or messaging a friend but I generally just accept it and tune in again the next day. Things are more fun when they’re finite
I only follow the limit when my mental health is great. Otherwise, I’m stuck in an endless hole of doom-scrolling. Your self control is stronger than mine lol