Why I avoid social media

I really don’t like social media. For lots of reasons. Maybe I’ll write about them here soon. I quit all the platforms ages ago.

But when I catch myself being judgy about it, I try to remember: it’s easy for me to rag on social media because my social bucket is already overflowing. At work, I’m a people manager talking to people all day. At home, I’m a dad of two kids and a husband to a wonderful, extroverted wife. I have several old, dear friends in town that I have trouble making time for.

I hope this doesn’t sound like gloating, because it’s not meant to be. While I do feel lucky to have a full life, I’m also an introvert who’s perpetually hungry for more alone time. During some stages of parenthood, it’s surpassed hunger to full-blown desperation. Fortunately, I’m in a more balanced place now.

The point is, I’m not looking for more social engagement. I’m also not looking for more reasons to be on my computer or phone. I’ve already got plenty of those, too. And so, it doesn’t sound fun to add faster-paced, shorter-form social media like Mastodon or Bluesky to my life. It sounds stressful, basically like a 100% net-negative for me.

However, I respect that if I were lonely, or had more free time, or both, then I might feel differently.