(This post is structured like one of those recipes where you might not care about the preamble because you came here to make the damn thing.
A friend posted this on FB recently and it was the kick in the pants I needed to finally remove the apps from my phone. I appreciate that this article touches on the realities of how difficult it can be to extricate yourself from this system, while giving suggestions for specific harm-reducing strategies you can take to improve security online and reduce dependency on shit-ass corporations like Meta.
I’ve been working on reducing screen time and social media use for years, with moderate success using timers (e.g. LeechBlock), culling following lists, etc. Sometimes it helps to just pause before unlocking the phone and ask myself, what would I be doing rn if I didn’t have a smartphone? (The answer is usually silent reading: I think more than anything else, social media has usurped gobs of time I would have otherwise spent simply reading a book, which, pre-smartphone, is how I filled practically any moment of downtime, waiting time, or “boredom.”)
I will say (and I’ve told this to a couple close friends already so I feel like less of a weirdo about it but it still sounds kind of bonkers) that after deleting the apps, it was like my phone felt physically lighter in my hand while using it! (Emotional baggage leaving the device???) And after a week I'm surprised & relieved to report that I don't miss them at all. Hell yes more brain space for my own damn thoughts!
