Forums › Forums › Social Media › I realised social media isn’t social anymore, it’s just noise. So I tried something else.

  • Social Media

    I realised social media isn’t social anymore, it’s just noise. So I tried something else.

    Posted by a_friend_in_silk on January 14, 2026 at 3:41 pm

    I had one of those realisations the other day. I wasn’t “catching up” with anyone, I wasn’t socialising, I wasn’t even really entertained.

    I was just… scrolling. Consuming. Absorbing the thoughts, lives, jokes, and hot takes of people I don’t know and will never meet, and don't care to meet. Over and over again. Like a crow hoarding shiny things it will never actually use.

    And honestly? It felt a bit cheap.

    So I started thinking about slow media. Not monk-like rejection of the internet, but as a more intentional way of consuming things. With fewer voices and longer formats. Choosing content the way you’d choose a good meal or book.

    Things like:

    • Unfollowing accounts that don’t add anything to my life
    • Spending time with one good article instead of fifty forgettable posts
    • Actually matching what I consume to how I feel, instead of numbing out
    • Accepting that being bored for five minutes won’t kill me

    It’s been surprisingly great. Less noise in my head. More space to think. More enjoyment when I do choose to engage.

    I ended up writing a longer piece about it on why slow media feels necessary right now, and how to actually practice it without becoming insufferable about it.

    If this resonates with you, you might enjoy it (I'll send it to you if you're interested).
    If not, that’s fine too, maybe just take this as a reminder to pause before the next scroll and ask yourself whether it’s feeding you or just filling the silence.

    Would love to hear how others here feel about this.
    Does social media still feel social to you or has it quietly turned into something else?

    a_friend_in_silk replied 9 hours, 7 minutes ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply

  • Dangerous-Regret-358

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 3:50 pm

    I have written a number of small articles in r/facebook about this very theme. I went much further and deleted my Facebook account so my strategy is a little different to yours, but the thinking is the same.

    I wrote down the tribes to which I belong, and who my real friends are. I encouraged contact with those people through WhatsApp and those people who appreciated me enough to retain contact did connect there. The others simply went by the wayside.

    I then set up groups on WhatsApp for my special interests, and joined forums for the others. Once things were established, I deleted my FB account.

    I find that the quality of my interactions with other people improved immensely, as did my emotional wellbeing.

  • Severe_Promise717

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 4:45 pm

    yep

    realized i wasn’t even *seeing* anything anymore
    just flicking my thumb like a lab rat hoping for a pellet

    i started treating content like food
    no more junk scrolls on autopilot

    funny how much calmer your brain feels when you’re not snacking on 100 strangers’ thoughts before breakfast

    try deleting the app for 3 days
    see if you even miss it

  • AccordingConflict272

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 5:31 pm

    OP would you share that longer piece with me? I am very interested in reading it.

  • karin_bl

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 5:51 pm

    I’d like to read this. It’s something I always feel

  • lucs9002

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    It’s crazy just not too long ago Facebook was a thing and then it was Snapchat. Fifteen years later, I’m 35 . people are calling snapchat a dinosaur in 2026 with instagram creeping in with the dinosaur term which blows my mind.

  • CreatorMarcusriv

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 10:39 pm

    I had a similar realization, that I was not actually engaging with anyone, just absorbing an endless stream of other people’s thoughts. It is easy to mistake that for connection when it is really just consumption. Being more deliberate about what you read and who you follow feels like a quiet way of taking control back, without needing to disappear from the internet entirely.

  • tomversation

    Guest
    January 14, 2026 at 11:26 pm

    Reminds me of a cartoon I did a couple of years ago.

    https://preview.redd.it/ngnmz26rfedg1.jpeg?width=1113&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf4095501fdd27affe4f534953e7afb7bff93ee0

  • eXprtly

    Guest
    January 15, 2026 at 2:10 am

    Agree. SM scrolling had become a “go to” habit that wasn’t adding value to me…in fact it was chipping away at my mental health. I’m so over all these inconsequential people trying to out shout each other.

    Decided to delete the apps from my phone but wasn’t totally ready so I parked them in a folder off my home screen. Fast forward two weeks and the only ones I’ve looked at are LinkedIn and Reddit. Wow, it made a big difference to my productivity, mental health and relationships.

    Not going back…longer form posts are now the go.

Log in to reply.

Start of Discussion
0 of 0 replies June 2018
Now