What social media presence/internet experience are you looking to quit?

[larvapuppy]

google search/google chrome. i feel like i'm performing a sort of learned helplessness when i tell myself i don't know how to disable gemini ai, but i don't want to switch browsers because of all my saved tabs and search history, etc. i already have an alternate browser downloaded but i just don't feel ready (EXCUSES!!!)

Good news: you can download all your data from Chrome and import it into your new browser. Here is Google's own page about it. It links to a how-to guide as well.

[vampiredazai]

I think everyone is always adjusting their relationship to the internet. There's an old joke from 60s about how everyone should drop a***, stare at a dollar bill, and ask "what is money?". I think you could say the same for the internet: what is the internet?
I was never a heavy user/poster on social media. Currently, I only have few accounts. One is Instagram (which I never use and have 0 posts on and follow/am followed only by a few IRL friends. The other is Substack which I have mixed-feelings about. There's a lot of literary activity there and really good writing but it has all the problems of all social media platforms like rage-baiting or trolling. It's disturbing to see people who claim to know better suddenly all engage in mob-behavior. Whenever a topic starts trending, I'll tend to mute it because the scaling effect distorts the discussion and tips into some ugly places. I prefer just getting email newsletters. I'm also on some anime/manga and fantasy and SF sites which are outside of the mainstream enough that they really have different ecosystems.
One of the biggest changes for me is that for over a year now I don't have data access on my iphone. I now pay $20 a month for just talk and text and don't use my phone really at all. I really treat it like a portable computer. I'll have it in my bag, take it out when I have WiFi access in order to check email or do something at that moment. I'll have books on it to read on the metro to and from work but I always carry a physical book to read as well.
The thing I notice the most now is how different public spaces feel. I'm just not on my phone but I look around and can see everyone scrolling their their feeds. I live in a major city too. So the noises from people's phones can be intense. I can see how much it has transformed society.
I love the internet and what it could/is capable of. But the more I'm out of it, the more I can see its damage. I feel like a recovering addict or something. Like you have to admit you have a problem before things can change. From there just build the life you want. The emergence of the indie web and my accidental discovery of it has been the most interesting thing I've seen online in awhile. Now I just want to learn CSS/HTML to build a site.

[vampiredazai]

i also like to have a video in the background when i fall asleep

For years I've needed something to fall asleep to

I recommend an album by the composer Max Richter called Sleep. It's an 8 1/2 hour album designed to be slept to. He consulted neuroscientists to understand what sleep is and how it functions as well as what sounds can help. Besides being a beautiful album, it's a very conscious effort by a major composer to do something original to help people with sleep issues. It's widely available on streaming platforms. For awhile I used it to help me through a rough time. I think knowing someone had put the time to do this and assembled first-class musicians to accomplish it made it more meaningful too. It's not some money-grab but a thought-out and crafted piece of art. He even did concerts where he and the musicians played it live all night as the audience slept.