Social Media
- Minimalism
- Digital minimalism/detox
- Mental health
- Journaling / Bullet Journaling
- Applications (including reviews)
- Posts of my app usage.
- Social media
- Fitness/health
- A weekly recap of what I have used, viewed and reviewed.
Taking a pause from Twitter / X
I’m quiet-quitting Twitter / X for the foreseeable future. There are a few posts related to my blogs I want to get out in the wild first. I won’t delete my account as I have in the past. I intend to use Twitter in the future. However, I would like to make sure the platform is not in the mess it currently is before coming back.
Getting rid of Twitter means I have one less infinity pool to steal my attention. My time is precious. I’m not going to waste my time on a fictional fairyland with make-belief users. There are a handful of users I want to see and interact with. The rest can go away.
Twitter is the NPC world of social media. Multiple avatars talking to each other. Seriously, take the time to read the comments. It’s like an episode of Geordie Shore. Nothing is coherent or makes any sense.
Elon’s acquisition has shown me that you can be a billionaire, have the gear and still, have no idea. I genuinely feel like Twitter does not have a future at all. The damage has been done. The competition is surrounding it. One of the competitors will go in for the kill and end Twitter once and for all.
Each day, I am (not so) blessed with s*x bots liking my tweets and following me. In the past two days, I have managed to block forty-five accounts, which clearly show signs of being a bot. The platform is in a right mess.
Even with a simple tech-related search, I find my feed scattered with OnlyFans posts. I don’t want to see this. I’ve made changes and blocked words, but the posts keep appearing. There’s also the questionable, violent video content that continues to plague the site. It all needs to go away. Where are Twitter’s moderators?
I plan to step back from Twitter at the end of February. It’s a shame, really. I had a goal of posting one tweet per day. Not any more.
I’m happy on Mastodon through the AllThingsTech.social instance. Things are great on there.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Mark @ CodeMacLife
Follow me on Micro.Blog
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Email me at connect@codemaclife.net
A few truths about quitting social media
I’ve been there, got the t-shirt, and came back online.
I have my fair share of stories about quitting social media, returning, or never going back to certain platforms. It’s that time of year when we preempt our wishes and desires for the year ahead. Each year, I strategise what I want to achieve and how much I would like to use social media in the year ahead. 2024 is no different.
I’m not quitting social media or having my bi-annual digital detox next year. I have kept up the tradition for the past five years. Instead, I will be using the platforms sparingly and focusing on posting once and publishing to many places using my micro.blog account. I will share more about that in a future post.
For now, allow me to share with you a few truths about quitting social media or attempting a digital detox.
Start with your phone. Always your phone.
In all my attempts to quit social media for 30 days or a year, I found the single most effective way to stop accessing these attention limpets was deleting all the social media apps from my phone. Your battery will thank you for a start. My iPhone can last two days because I have nothing battery intensive on there. I know one or two people who have to charge their phones around 2pm on the same day because they Meta-maxed out. Don’t be that person.
Instead, access your social media accounts through a web browser on your desktop. If you want to go ‘hardcore’ (thanks, Elon), you can sign out each time you have finished with the service and sign back in after each session. The added friction will make you question if it is seriously worth the hassle of going online in the first place.
There is also the questionable privacy aspect of using social media apps on your phone and tablets. Have you even seen the App Privacy section of these platforms? Just for a bit of fun. Go to Facebook on your App Store/Google Play Store, and scroll down the list of data the app requires from you. I’m yet to write a blog that requires that amount of scrolling.
You will lose friends and followers.
It is sadly inevitable that you will lose followers. I have a small following, so I notice when I lose 20-plus followers on any of the platforms. The longer you are off the grid, the more followers you will lose. Don’t worry. The loyal ones will stay, and you will be one less person in a viewer’s infinite doom-scrolling session. I found you will gain more once you go back online. You don’t need to be validated by the number of followers you have.
When I first quit Facebook and deleted my account, I had some so-called friends act funny with me. They became distant, and I was not invited to some events because I did not see the post on their wall. They forgot, as I had disappeared from their attention. If it doesn’t happen online, it never happened in the first place. The situation got worse when I quit WhatsApp.
I’m not saying people have become lazy, but they want to put as little effort into maintaining real-world relationships as possible. Social media is a great catch-all solution. Why run around to organise an event when you can make one post and share it on Facebook?
Be warned. You might be forgotten.
You will start to become obsessed (FOMO)
I remember the first week after removing the social media apps from my phone. I would pick up my phone, only to realise I have no social media apps on there. What do I do now? I scanned my phone for something else to pacify me instead — an ebook! The same book I said I would read for two years ago but chose social media to consume.
I’m going to lie. The absence in your life is uncomfortable. But, remember this, you now have a lot of time to explore projects, hobbies, and goals you have been putting off. Someone who uses social media for three hours a day will now have gained 90 hours during a 30-day digital detox. Someone who goes all out with a year’s digital detox will have 1,095 hours spare. Just imagine what you can do with all that time!
You might become a little bit preachy
You might have seen these people on YouTube. They go on about quitting social media, yet they interact and upload videos online. They preach their devotion to quitting social media and why you should, too. Maybe their persuasion is to validate their actions?
The point is, you will have more time on your hand, you will get bored, and you will have no-one to speak to (unless you’re super popular). People will soon get bored with you going on about your lifestyle choice and why you think people are silly to waste their time on social media.
You will want to share your newfound experience with everyone and boast about how productive and energetic you are now (yes, you will have more energy). Which leads me on to…
You will have more energy, mentally and physically
Now, here is my preachy bit. You will have more energy and focus than ever before. Or, for me, pre-2000. Being an oldie who was born in the early 80s, I remember life without social media or being ‘connected’ online. I was full of life, went places, interacted with others in person (the shock), and went to libraries to research.
With your freedom, which is certainly liberating, you will want others to follow you because they will still be hooked up to the Matrix. You are the Neo or Trinity of the real world. You might feel the urge to free everyone from the gross world of Zucks, Elon and GooglePlex.
I found my sleep improved. My concentration improved, too. With nothing to waste your valuable time on, you will appreciate any type of entertainment that comes your way. Another thing to remember is the extra hours you gain can be put to the to-do list you have been actively avoiding. The feeling of going to bed with all tasks completed will certainly be a motivator for the next day.
If you want to return, that’s fine.
I find the act of quitting social media to be experimental. Just like foods, you can diet and reduce the amount of online consumption. It doesn’t mean you are a bad person for returning, similar to the person who decided to eat a biscuit or a sip a glass of wine. We are all human. We have needs.
The only time I would say there is a problem is when returning brings back all the old habits and negative repercussions in your physical life. Seriously, seek professional help. There is no shame in that. Addictions are addictions. They all have underlining reasons to why you are hooked.
Simply enjoy your experience online responsibly
I work in the education sector and I have to watch what I say and what I share. I can’t share a lot of what I do for work, nor can I share my productivity practices. I’m sure some will be shocked to know I use Microsoft Windows 10 sticky notes for my productivity alongside office.com. I bet you didn’t expect that. Did you? Digital sticky notes keep me organised more than you would ever expect.
I digress.
You will always get people who disagree with you. We are all unique. You don’t have to tolerate any abuse online. Report them. You should also avoid getting into any tit-for-tat disputes with others. What would your employer think if you started having an argument online? This stuff sticks.
Social media has many positives. You can connect with people with similar interests, share ideas, share advice, and be there for those who need someone to speak to. You are awesome, after all.
I’ve lost count of how many people I have blocked and muted. But, I can say with confidence, blocking sensitive topics and images can help you have an enjoyable experience online. Mental health comes first.
If you feel you are doom-scrolling, delete the apps and access them through a web browser, like I said. If they don’t offer a web browser version, don’t bother with the platform.
Another tip: Time how much time you are spending on each platform. You will be surprised. It could be that you are not spending as much time as you originally thought on these social media sites. You could even set a timer for five minutes and go through a set criteria of what you want to accomplish on them. This is how I use the social media platforms.
Final thoughts
As 2024 comes around the corner, I want you to have a positive time online. Your mental and physical health should come first. I was able to reconnect with my family, and our time together is more precious than ever. We are spending a lot more time together. No distractions. No ‘I’ll do it laters’. Live intentionally. You deserve the best.
I hope you can find the right balance and make the appropriate choices that suit you. I am interested to see what you all think about quitting social media or going on a digital detox, so don’t be a stranger. Get in touch.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Mark @ CodeMacLife
Follow me on Mastodon (AllThingsTech)
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Email me at connect@codemaclife.net
A Brief Introduction and Micro.Blog Aspiration
Hi. My name is Mark. I work in the education sector within a SEMH setting (Social, Emotional and Mental Health). My background is in IT. I went to university in 2012 to retrain as a Primary teacher before settling with intervention teaching in a special educational setting by 2019. I live in England in a rural area, south of Manchester, with my wife and son.
I started “officially” blogging at the start of 2023, but I actually dipped into it at the end of 2022. My target/resolution was to blog at least fifty times in a year. I reached that target quickly on my Medium blog.
The buzz word for 2023 was consistency because I wanted to create a positive habit of writing, taking better care of my mental/physical health, and reading more. I feel I have achieved all of these. However, I am under no illusion that these are not one-off targets. They will reside with me as I move into 2024.
My focus for 2024
Rolling into 2024, my buzz word will be commitment (many people call my buzz word a New Year’s Resolution). I will continue with the habits and routines I set out for 2023. In addition, I will ensure I have a higher level of commitment to what I believe in and want to pursue.
I have written for two previous posts under minimlr.com and codemaclife.com as well as my blog on Medium. I aspire to putting 100% in micro.blog for 2024 and see what the future holds. The community aspect of the platform excites me the most.
2024 will be the year I commit to the services and apps I believe will bring together the best of what I have learnt over the past few years. Moving towards, I am committed to centralising all of my blogging content on micro.blog, so I post once and distribute to multiple platforms I use for social media.
I am new to micro.blog, but I have been learning about the platform for a few months now. I am excited about micro.blog being my new home where I share my interests, passions, and ideas.
What will I blog about?
I attempted to keep to a niche this year. What actually happened was I found I had a lot to talk about, and restricting myself became disheartening and discouraged me from writing altogether.
As my username/domain suggests, I will write about coding, macOS-related news and life in general. However, this description is too broad, so I will reword it to — techie stuff, Apple-related stuff and other stuff to improve your life (maybe). 😂
Again, this is not the best description of what I write about. I write what I would want to read myself. My writing style is chatty and with a pinch of humour. I’m yet to take myself seriously as a blogger, so no professionalism will be found here.
Here is a general list of things I have written about in the past:
What next?
I am learning how to use micro.blog, how to customise it, how to move content from my previous blogs, and what I want from the blog. Some areas will be working on in the background. Other parts will be added in the next two months.
I am not sure if I start afresh on micro.blog or transfer some of my most popular posts to the platform. The stats from my WordPress site were reaching over one thousand unique visitors and people stayed on my blog to read the content. I want this to be the case for my micro.blog account.
My domain, codemaclife.com, is in the process of being connected to codemaclife.micro.blog.
One feature of micro.blog I am most excited to use is the cross-platform integration. I need to set it up in order for my posts to appear on Medium, Tumblr, and Mastodon. I don’t have any ‘mainstream’ social media accounts because I am not a fan of them.
Anyway. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. There will be many more to come over the years.
Mark at CodeMacLife
Social Links
Follow me on Micro.Blog
Follow me on Mastodon (AllThingsTech)
Follow me on Medium
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Email me at connect@codemaclife.net