I Left Social Media. Here's What I Learned.

Stepping away for nearly two years changed how I consume information, stay informed, and ultimately why I decided to come back.

Stepping away and deleting all my social media accounts for nearly two years taught me a lot.

One thing that surprised me the most was that I truly didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would. When I first decided to step away, I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be or how much I would feel like I was missing out. But after some time away, I realized I was perfectly fine without it.

The 30-day waiting period after choosing to delete your accounts was probably the biggest part of the process. I chose deleting instead of deactivating because the tech side of me wanted to fully understand how the process worked. I wanted to know what actually happens when you completely remove an account instead of simply stepping away temporarily.

But more importantly, I wanted to fully commit to taking a break.

Deleting your accounts creates a different experience than simply deactivating them. Having to recreate your accounts later is definitely harder than just logging back in and reactivating everything. Some people choose to just uninstall the apps from their phones, and that may work for them. But the reality is that your accounts are still there.

These platforms will continue sending emails and notifications trying to lure you back in. They’re designed to keep people engaged, and I wanted a clean break.

For me, deleting made the most sense.

One thing I realized is that I don’t need social media to stay updated on current events. In fact, I’m more informed about what’s going on now than I was when I used social media for that purpose.

What worked for me was replacing most social media with newsletters. Any person, creator, or brand I was following, I subscribed to their newsletter if one was available. I also found local newsletters so I could stay informed about what was happening in my area.

I still used Reddit and YouTube here and there to stay informed. I know some people consider Reddit and YouTube social media, and technically they can fall into that category. But for me, they became much better alternatives than Facebook, Instagram, X, or TikTok.

They were the lesser of the evils while still giving me access to crowd-sourced information. I can hop on Reddit, find the information I need in five or ten minutes, and move on with my day. No mindless scrolling.

YouTube can definitely hook you if you aren’t careful. But for me, it became a replacement for traditional television. I enjoy learning about different subjects more than simply watching TV. I still watch a handful of shows here and there, and I’ll watch a movie occasionally, but I genuinely enjoy the educational and informational content available on YouTube.

After my long break, I eventually needed to get back on social media for work purposes. So I recreated my accounts, but I left everything blank. I didn’t follow anyone, add friends, or sync my contacts right away.

That made a huge difference.

Not having anything on my feed was actually refreshing. I could open an app, do what I needed to do for a client, and move on with my day. Most days, I don’t even open the apps. When I do, it’s usually just for a few minutes before closing them.

I simply don’t have the same interest in social media anymore. It feels great to use these platforms as tools instead of entertainment.

Another unexpected benefit of recreating my accounts is being able to access random links people send me. Instead of jumping through hoops to view a post, I can simply open it.

There’s also the reality that some small businesses and mom-and-pop restaurants still rely primarily on social media instead of having a website. It’s becoming less common, but it still happens. Being able to view those pages when needed is helpful.

Even then, I still make a point to look for a company’s website first whenever possible.

Looking back, I don’t regret deleting my accounts. In fact, I’m glad I did.

Stepping away changed my relationship with social media. It showed me that I didn’t need it nearly as much as I thought I did.

Now that I’m back, I’m approaching it with a completely different mindset.

In my next article, I’ll explain exactly how I plan to use social media this time around and why Substack has become the foundation for everything I publish.

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