People over the past year have asked me how I’ve adjusted to life without Facebook and Instagram. For me it was easy but it might not be as easy for you. These are some of the most common questions I receive, and my answers to them.
How will people contact me?
Before you delete your Facebook and Instagram, you need to make sure that the people you need to keep in contact with have an alternative way to reach you. For some people, I chose to keep in touch through email and it’s worked well. For friends, we hang out in person, text, and talk on the phone.
How will I know what’s going on with my friends?
In my experience, I have found that my friends will keep me updated on the important things, and even send pictures and videos through text or email. If there’s important news pertaining to people on the outskirts of my social circle (a marriage, pregnancy, or even death), people have found a way to relay the information to me. Most people still have Facebook and Instagram. So when I hang out with my friends, they’ll often update me on what’s going on with everyone else and even show me pictures from their own accounts. It’s like I have a Facebook and Instagram, except I don’t.
How will I see my friends’ pictures?
I have found that friends will still send me relevant pictures through text or email. In my experience, this makes me feel more special than if I had seen it Facebook because I know they took the time to send it to me personally. If you are stalking someone however, then you’re out of luck. You need a Facebook or Instagram to do that.
How will I get my news?
If you get your news from Facebook and Instagram, you’re a fool. There are plenty of good news websites and news aggregators these days and most of them tend to report the same national stories, political nonsense, and celebrity gossip. There are no truly relevant news on Facebook and Instagram that you can’t get somewhere else. As an investor, I never found relevant market information on Facebook or Instagram.
I’m a public figure/artist, how do I market myself without Facebook or Instagram?
There are plenty of famous public figures without a Facebook or Instagram. How do they market themselves? They contact media outlets, feed them information, and have them do the marketing for them. If you’re an artist, you shouldn’t be wasting your time spamming links on social media, anyway. You should be constantly improving your craft and putting together finished product to sell. If you are any good, your finished product will be discovered. Word of mouth is still the best marketing; you soliciting others on the internet, phone, or at their house is not. If you absolutely must have a Facebook or Instagram, have someone else manage it for you. It’s better on your psyche and you’ll be a lot more productive.
What do I do when I get bored if I don’t have my Facebook/Instagram?
There are a million other things you can do when you’re bored besides checking your Facebook and Instagram. If you must do something on your phone while you’re waiting for someone or something, I’ve personally found reading a good ebook to be a lot more enriching than social media ever was. A sentence or paragraph from a well-written book of my choice beats a sea of pointless selfies, any day. Apple Books has the option to scroll instead of page-turn. This gives me the scrolling and novelty factor that Facebook and Instagram has (which creates the addicting feeling in the first place), except I am actually learning something useful. When I’m not in the mood to read, I take notes on my phone: random thoughts, things I want to work on, or reply to texts and emails. When I don’t want to read or plan or think or communicate, I have plenty of educational YouTube channels I’m subscribed to, with topics ranging from value investing to fixing cars, to history and boxing.
I run a Facebook group; how can I do that without Facebook?
If you want to quit Facebook but are having trouble doing so because you run a group, this one is more tricky. Many people have Facebook and will naturally stumble across your group’s page on the platform. If your group is new, it may be hard to give up the scale of Facebook in terms of attracting new members. But if you already have a well-established group with core members, you can do better than a Facebook group if you’re really serious about your group. A better alternative to Facebook would be starting your own website for the group and equipping it with chat and forum features. Having your own website also allows you to monetize the content.