So… I think I need to go on a corporate social media diet.

Kyle Davis

So… I think I need to go on a corporate social media diet. Largely Meta stuff.

Years ago, I isolated FB to my phone, which I used infrequently. FB has creeped back in more than is comfortable. Also WhatsApp and occasionally lurking on Instagram.

I could give up IG but WhatsApp and FB are harder: there are local and family connections that don’t exist elsewhere sadly.

I’m considering resurrecting an old phone isolating the toxic apps away from my main device. Anyone tried a similar diet?

Manfred

@linux_mclinuxface I did something similar for FB. I deleted the app off my phone but stayed signed in on my laptop, which doesn't get used nearly as much as my phone. Now I go whole weeks without checking FB.

I would delete my account but that would disconnect me from a community I'm deeply involved in.

Ken Kinder :clubtwit:

@linux_mclinuxface I live where WhatsApp is ubiquitous but for FB, I have a separate browser profile and I don’t use it outside of that browser profile. I find that gives me a nice level of containment, at least for my purposes (limiting data collection and background execution).

Dominik

@linux_mclinuxface I went cold turkey and pretty much went off of everything other than Reddit back then. Now I use fedi exclusively.

I pretty much told everyone they can reach me on Signal if they want to talk with me.

Kyle Davis

@nocoursewalks yeah, Im a pretty heavy laptop user- it has always felt healthier- I create stuff on it. I don’t want FB to infect that.

But yeah, those type of communities really are sticky.

Dustin Rue

@linux_mclinuxface I am a lot more lucky. Instagram, easy. Whatsapp? I had about 1 contact on there and we moved to signal. FB? I open it to check the lunch specials at a place but otherwise inability to be a normal human and interact with people on there is pretty poor. That said, I have no problem keeping most of my stuff away from those things and only open them when I have to.

You could definitely keep an old phone, or when I am on my phone and want FB, open it in a browser.

Dustin Rue

@linux_mclinuxface my browser (safari) is configured to "request desktop page" for certain sites that otherwise nag you relentlessly about using their app instead (so they can track you of course) and I find this works well enough for what I need to do and avoids a second phone

Kyle Davis

@chrastecky I dropped Reddit for the most part about 12 months ago. I’ll occasionally check out the local sub but that’s like once a month. I don’t miss it.

I’d like to go full fedi but _so_ much local is FB only. My city is large enough to have very active and useful communities on FB but not big enough for Fedi stuff.

Also, my extended family just wouldn’t follow me to other place. It sucks, but reality.

Manfred

@linux_mclinuxface I definitely like the idea of another device that's used infrequently, and you put all the "dangerous" apps on there. "I'm picking up the unhealthy phone" might help be more intentional about it.

Also idk if iOS has it, but Android has a way to set time limits for apps. The "Digital Wellbeing" app has been useful for me during phases where I needed harder limits on screen time.

Kyle Davis

@bouncing so you still WhatsApp on your phone?

I definitely don’t have an addiction to that but it’d be nice to have a Meta free phone.

Ken Kinder :clubtwit:

@linux_mclinuxface I do. Unfortunately WhatsApp is the default in Portugal. It’s just what everyone uses, for everything and to not use it would be almost akin to not having a phone at all.

Kyle Davis

@bouncing I’ve definitely experienced that in South Africa and Spain.

Here in Canada it’s common but not ubiquitous.

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)

@linux_mclinuxface

I’d love to get rid of FB altogether but have family/friends there who ate important to me. Have greatly reduced opening. Simple scaffold that helps me was to move FB on my phone into a Meta folder. On laptop I only open FB on a browser I use for nothing else — and open it rarely. Almost every “friend” on FB I know IRL and have hugged. This community was personally very supportive when my partner had a major heart attack Christmas Day.

Kyle Davis

@nocoursewalks i think there are similar mechanisms on iOS but i know myself and ill just change the setting if I’m motivated.

But, idk, having a device that I physically need to pickup seems more effective and I can… leave it in another room. I guess I’m lazy?

Kyle Davis

@stepheneb totally get it.

If I didn’t recently become a father, it would be easier to ditch.

Aside from the psychological toxicity, I distrust Meta and I’d rather not expose anything else on my device. Too many tracking mechanisms that that are easy to expose, so a folder doesn’t seem strong enough.

Kyle Davis

@dustinrue I assume you mean mobile safari?

But yeah, there are practical considerations.

Dustin Rue

@linux_mclinuxface I do mean mobile safari. Telling mobile safari to request the desktop site solves a lot of BS with a lot of sites

Kyle Davis

@dustinrue how is the browsing experience? Zoom and pan or is it responsive enough for to be useful?

John McLear

@linux_mclinuxface Haven't used any Meta stuff in ages (maybe 5 years?). People call me or Signal / SMS me or turn up at my doorstep...

Mastodon is as "deep" as I go into socials and it isn't overly needy on my time..

It was probably the best decision of my life, I have so few distractions this way

Kyle Davis

@johnmclear I love that I can sit mastodon down for days and not get manufactured notifications like FB (and LinkedIn, which is the worst about this).