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Title: Not Missing Social Media
Date: March 17, 2026

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  A little while ago, I wrote something on my blog[0]:

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> March 6th, 2024. I broke down, and as a result, deleted
> all of my social media accounts. Twitter, Bluesky,
> Fediverse...it didn't matter. It was gone. The closest I
> have still is YouTube, but that's mostly to keep yt-dlp
> running when it needs a new cookie for downloads.
> 
> It's been just over two years, and I don't regret that
> decision in the slightest. Things slowed down heavily
> for my online life, and became far more manageable in
> the process. I've stopped using my phone constantly
> unless I'm doing a bit of research away from my laptop,
> or I'm watching a live stream (I still watch Grand Sumo
> tournaments, as well as the Among Us Morning Lobby).
> It's nice having that addiction gone (yes, it's an
> addiction), though I still kinda wish I could replace my
> phone with a flip phone. Sadly, 2FA and authenticator
> apps exist, and I have to pay house bills with apps
> (including the HELOC we now have), but it's not
> something I'm constantly reaching for now.

> I'm still regaining my attention span. I sometimes
> jump between projects or tasks without realizing it,
> instead of focusing myself on the one right in front of
> me, but I'm getting there. It's a bit of a process, and
> I'm happy to have come as far as I have. Just gotta keep
> it going. ♥

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  What I didn't mention is that I still have nightmare
scenarios go through my head of being blasted on socmed,
and being unable to defend myself. I still get anxiety when
someone links me to a thing on BlueSky or the Fediverse. It
became an actual revulsion toward the concept, mostly out
of fear of my past experiences than anything. It's a form
of trauma that I still haven't fully shaken from myself.

  I'm happy I left all that behind. Sure, you still have
*those* people on forums, newsgroups, and BBSes. Especially
the ones who /love/ Xposting political news into other
groups on usenet. But those are *far* more easily ignored,
and usually don't have a mob of followers behind them. The
well-maintained forums and BBSes will also step in on those
situations and issue warnings or punishments, unlike on
social media. Those that aren't well-maintained, I can just
as easily ignore and leave.

  For the sake of my own mental health, I've become far
more selective of what I'm willing to read or click thru,
and that's been a massively important step in healing. I
can't avoid it all thanks to my loved ones still being in
the thick of it, but I've learned to tune things out as I
need to as well.

  Tonight, I'm kicking back to watch Grand Sumo's second
bassho of the year. It's day 11, and it's been a mostly
quiet tournament (unlike January). I'm giving myself some
quiet from the internet as well in the process, and yeah...
This is what I wish more people could experience. Calm,
with a bit of happiness, without the need to destroy their
own attention spans and mental health. It's nice.

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[0]: https://solon-kitten.dreamwidth.org/34828.html