If you’re reading this before Dec 31 I am still here. (But starting Jan 1st I will be off most social media) I am leaving social media as an experiment for at least 6 months. That means Facebook, Instagram and Twitter will be deleted. I am sure you have questions so this is my attempt to answer each and every one of those questions.
Why?
This year has been a rough one. When life gets rough you reflect and that’s exactly what I did. I went through my socials (insta, twatbox and bookface) and realized I’ve talked to a total of 10 people this year. I have over 100 friends on Facebook and over 100 followers on Instagram. These are just numbers and not interactions. I realized how shallow it is and how deprived I am of actual connection. That’s the first reason, the emotional one. Now on to the more factual reason.
Watch The Social Dilemma and The Great Hack. Both of these are available on Netflix. That’s a good place to start delving into the deeper issues of surveillance, information control, and algorithm manipulation. That means that the first reason I am trying this is to see how it changes what companies know about me. Personal integrity is important and something we have squandered under ultra-long terms of service where we give away all of our personal data to a faceless corporation.
The second is a more personal reason. I don’t feel any connection to people on these services. It’s just scrolling and scrolling and the occasional message from someone on Facebook that might as well have been done through a text or Discord message. I want to see if my future connections go deeper without social media. Imagine going on a date without having obsessively gone through your date’s socials (don’t act like you haven’t. I know you’ve done it too). Imagine going out and meeting people and not giving your Facebook but your actual number to someone that seems interesting. It might just be my inner traditionalist talking but I think it can be pretty neat.
Worst case scenario, nothing changes, I feel lonely as fuck and go back as soon as I possibly can. But at least then I might go back with new knowledge about myself and why I feel the need to be connected in such a way.
How?
Well this one is simple to answer. I just go through the process of deleting the social media accounts. At least I hope it’s going to be as easy as that. I will also be requesting that they delete my personal information through the handy dandy GDPR act.
But maybe the more important question is, HOW will I advertise my content production? Well, that’s easy. Just make good content and pray to the Google overlords. I have gotten less than 5% of my traffic from social media. A majority of the traffic comes from random Google searches and I am fine with that. With the eventual start of Youtube production, that might drive even more traffic.
Later down the line, I might restart the NuclearBlend accounts as purely professional accounts and not personal ones but time will tell. My main focus with my content creation is to help my health, inspire, and have fun along the way and I don’t want to muddle that focus.
Where?
The burning question you might have now is where will I be. Well, the simple answer is that I will not go anywhere. For my mutuals, I have Telegram and WhatsApp. For cool people in general I have Discord which I will put right here: Nuclearblend#4452 . Feel free to add me if you wanna talk about cool stuff or maybe play the occasional video game with me!
Of course, the main place to find me is right here, on this very blog. I will get a lot better at updating this with the hope of starting some sort of video presence as well.
If you start seeing Nuclearblend on socials again it won’t be me but probably the brand Nuclearblend instead. It will be a pure business account to keep it strictly nonpersonal to prevent a fallback into the hole of social media that has been draining me for too long.
There will be updates to how I am doing on this journey. Will I feel very lost and shit or free and happy? Who knows? Let’s find out together, shall we?
Here’s to a new start, a new beginning, and a farewell to an old friend.
Until next time, stay safe.
