Every year in January it’s the same ritual. We promise ourselves to start exercising, quit smoking, call grandparents more often, or save a little more each month. But for some of our internet users, the resolution for 2023 is to stop or limit the use of social media. Waste of time, scary news, hateful climate… What are the reasons that make these French leave Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? 20 minutes gave them the floor.
A “flow of futile information”
With an average of 1 hour and 46 minutes of use per day, social networks take up a significant part of our daily lives. And that’s already too much for Virginie. Faced with an observation of a “loss of time and energy”, the young woman decided a few weeks ago to delete her Facebook and Twitter accounts: “I wanted to rediscover the taste for real family and friendships, to live more in reality ‘ she confides. Vincent “split from Insta and Facebook on December 31. I wasted a lot of time on these apps: as soon as I picked up my phone, I started scrolling like a robot! “…
Yoann was “tired of constantly seeing people’s eyes glued to their pocket screen in useless situations or as soon as they have five seconds of inactivity: at the supermarket checkout, crossing a long corridor, walking on a sidewalk, waiting for the the traffic light turns green “. Result, ended Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, he only kept WhatsApp. And at the moment “no significant impact” on his social life.
After several years of being present on social networks, Yoann too was fed up with this “flow of useless information”. “I got tired of endlessly watching mini-videos of teenagers completing the same challenge or playing a mind-numbing game all over the world,” he adds. An idea shared by Jeremy. “At first I thought it was going to be difficult. The fear of no longer being aware of what is happening. At some point I quickly realized that important information was still reaching me. This has allowed me to restore a real hierarchy to the information I receive,” explains the young man.
“It’s the race for visibility”
Social networks, especially Instagram, have been regularly accused of a dictatorship of appearances since their inception. An untruth that annoys Laure: “During the Christmas holidays it was a bit like the competition for the most beautiful photo. Everyone wanted to show that their life was better than everyone else’s. This is the race for visibility.” This netizen, tired of “competing” himself, decided to leave Facebook and Instagram. “It’s been a few days since I’ve been off the internet and I’m feeling a lot better, I’m focusing on my creativity again and not on the likes anymore,” says this artist. After seeing the skiing holiday photos, Mathilde left social media: “I don’t have any vacation this winter, nor much money, so I decided to delete Instagram. Seeing friends or influencers on vacation in great places made me sad, made me feel like I was living a shitty life. I was wondering why I was doing this to myself.”
More than the publications, it was the “wrong” maintained links in social networks that prompted Julien to leave: “I deleted Facebook and Messenger. I realized that 99% of the people I had as friends were just about wishing a happy new year or a happy birthday,” he explains. Celine, on the other hand, spent some time looking at the lore feed. Waste of time for the young woman who wanted to put an end to this “curiosity”. “While the people I have a real relationship with, I call, text, or visit them,” she continues.
The flip side of the coin, the suppression of social networks, can put an end to social relationships, as Jérémy explains: “Leaving Instagram and Facebook has drastically reduced my friendship and professional relationships, I’m out of dinner/meals”, notes he before adding: “But at least it strengthens the bond with those who don’t forget you”.
“I had to protect myself”
Coronavirus epidemic, inflation, yellow vests, war in Ukraine… The least we can say is that the news has not been the most encouraging in recent years. And for some, enough is enough. “Before, I would log onto Twitter or Facebook every morning when I woke up, saw a barrage of depressing news, and felt a tinge of anxiety. I understood that I had to protect myself,” recalls Nadège, who has deleted her social networks. “I just chose to spare myself an anxiety-provoking climate,” she adds.
Especially since this fear-inducing climate in social networks is sometimes compounded by hateful content. For Vanessa, who deleted all her accounts, these “time-wasting” sites have become platforms of hate and violence. “You just have to look at the comments on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. There is racism, homophobia, sexism. Every publication is widely criticized”, reflects the Internet user.
May our internet users rest easy. You are not alone. Like actor Tom Holland, who retired from social media this summer to maintain his sanity. Before him, Selena Gomez made the same decision in 2018. The star, who has 343 million Instagram followers, has given up on all social networks.