🌿 One resolution I've been pretty good at keeping this year is spending less time on social media. I'd rather be working offline in my journals, enjoying peace and quiet.
I can only share practical tips which have worked for me. If you have suggestions of your own, feel free to share them in the comments.
Option 1: Delete social media altogether
Going cold turkey is not easy and does have consequences.
I had no trouble dropping the slew of social media accounts I barely used.
But . . . my neighborhood communicates on Facebook. My closest friends and family keep in touch via Instagram. I've made so many friends in the art and journaling communities on YouTube. What about LinkedIn? If I completely erase myself from these platforms, I'll feel cut off from communities which are important to me.
Option 2: Archive some accounts so you can devote more time to the useful ones
I assessed my remaining social media accounts and realized I really don't need to keep all of them active. The most effective question to ask of each one was: am I getting back even a fraction of the time I put in?
For example, my Key Lime Ink Threads account garnered very little engagement even though I posted several times per week and interacted with other artists. It's not a platform which favors images, either. Images are the heart of what I post as an artist.
I realized I could archive that platform for now and spend more time making better videos for YouTube. I haven't deleted my Threads accounts entirely. I'm just taking a very long break from it.
I also deactivated LinkedIn about two years ago and haven't missed it at all! If I ever need to apply for a new job, I can log back in, update my experience, and access my contacts again. Until then, I'll steer clear.
Option 3: Limit time on the social media platforms you keep
Since I still need my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts for important connections with friends and family, I decided the best way for me to move forward in 2025 was to begin using them on my terms rather than what the algorithms wanted me to see.
- Open Instagram
- At the top of the screen, click the stories of the friends and family members you most enjoy seeing
- Click the Instagram logo in the top left of the screen
- Choose "Following"
- Voila! Every post in the feed will now be from an account you follow. No ads. No randomness.
- If this is still too much time-wasting stimulation, select "Favorites" instead and add only the accounts you most want to see. I tried this, and the most recent post was from four days ago! Nothing more to see there! Back to journaling!
- Train yourself to click "Following" or "Favorites" every time you use Instagram. It's muscle memory, and eventually you won't even look at the regular feed.
- Visit Facebook
- In the menu under your profile picture, click "Feeds"
- Select "Favorites"
- Click "Manage Favorites"
- Click "Favorites" again
- Type the names of up to 30 people and/or pages you wish to see more often; highlight the star next to their name to activate them as a Favorite
- Click the X to close out the "Manage Favorites" box
- You should be back on your "Favorites" feed; look at the URL to confirm it says "https://www.facebook.com/?filter=favorites&sk=h_chr"
- Bookmark this page and label it "FB Faves"
- Voila! Every post in the feed will now be from an account you follow. No ads. No randomness.
- Train yourself to click your "FB Faves" bookmark each time you use Facebook. Again, it's muscle memory. Do it for a few weeks and you'll form a new habit.
- Open YouTube
- Along the bottom row, click "Subscriptions"
- Voila! Every video in the feed will now be from an account you follow. No randomness.
- Train yourself to click your "Subscriptions" button every time you use YouTube. Eventually muscle memory will make this your go-to way to access YouTube.
I wish you luck in reclaiming your free time!
Ann
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