Summary

The author describes a process of curating their social media connections to improve their online experience and mental well-being.

Abstract

The author, once an avid Twitter user, became overwhelmed by the volume and content of their feed, leading to dissatisfaction. Recognizing that some connections no longer aligned with their interests or values, they decided to revamp their social media presence. This involved disconnecting from individuals they didn't know well, didn't like, used platforms incorrectly, or solely to show off. The purge extended to LinkedIn, where the author took a strategic approach to maintain connections that were professionally relevant and enriching. The result was a more enjoyable and valuable social media experience, contributing to a happier life.

Opinions

The author believes that social media should be a space for meaningful interactions, not just a platform for following strangers or being followed without engagement.
They express distaste for self-promotion that is dishonest or in poor taste, particularly when it involves misleading claims or inappropriate content.
The author emphasizes the importance of using each social media platform according to its intended purpose and criticizes those who misuse platforms, such as by posting personal content on LinkedIn.
They have a strong aversion to users who exploit social media to boast about their achievements or lifestyle, finding it disingenuous and potentially harmful to others during difficult times.
The author values the cathartic and liberating effects of periodically reassessing and refining one's social media connections to enhance personal happiness and professional growth.

Spring Clean Your Social Media Platforms

You’ll definitely live a happier life

I was an avid user of Twitter at some point in my life. I’d signed up in 2009 and in the two years following that, I’d become so absorbed with it. I connected with a whole host of what I thought was like-minded people. I even met two of my best friends on Twitter.

Soon it all changed. I was getting more and more frustrated with my feed. Everytime I opened the app, I had an endless number of tweets. I never seemed to be able to keep up with the flow of information. It became overwhelming.

What’s more is that some of the people I’d connected with were no longer the people I wanted to stay connected to. What seemed to be common interests quickly turned out to be a few tweets that I thought were interesting. These weren’t my people. I didn’t think anything like them and I knew I didn’t want to read what they had to say.

So I quit Twitter.

I was happy to be rid of the burden of keeping up with mindless banter. But wait, the same thing was happening to me on LinkedIn as well. Now, I couldn’t quit LinkedIn. Not only is it a virtual CV but, it’s become increasingly important to growing my business. So no, quitting was definitely not the answer.

The only answer to my problem was to create the LinkedIn that I wanted.

I went on a cleaning spree of all my social media accounts. There were four types of people I didn’t want to be connected with anymore and I made sure I disconnected from all of them.

People I Didn’t Know

I ruthlessly disconnected from people I hardly knew. I know social media is not meant to engage with only people you know, but there were people I’d connected with who have never even interacted with me. They’ve sent me a request to connect and that was the end of that. No introduction, no hello. Nothing.

It’s one thing if I’d worked with someone in the past and don’t speak much anymore. But, it’s another thing to connect with a stranger who just doesn’t have anything to say to you — good or bad. It feels a little stalker-ish to me. They just look at your posts and “like” them but have nothing more to add. I don’t need just a following.

People I Didn’t Like

I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to like everybody. I’m pretty sure not everybody likes me. The people I dislike are mostly people who lie or promote the wrong message. Again, I know social media is all about self-promotion. Unfortunately, most people do it very distastefully.

I’m not okay with women putting up half-naked pictures of themselves in the name of sales and women empowerment. I’m not okay with men lying on their achievements saying they closed billion dollar deals when in reality I know they had little or no contribution in the project.

These people have no place in my life, nor do they have any place on my social media feed.

People Who Used the Platform Incorrectly

LinkedIn is not Facebook and Facebook is not Instagram.

Most of the social media platforms have become homogenous in features. You can now add stories to LinkedIn in video format and create business pages in Facebook. But, I still think that we need to follow the rules a little.

This is one place where I think Medium has done a really good job. They’ve held onto their core competency — long form articles that are meant to provide some value.

So, everyone who started posting jokes and personal photos on LinkedIn were out. People who had mean, petty things to say on Twitter were out.

People Who Only Use Social Media to Show Off

I’ve always been against this particular aspect of social media. You just know when someone is faking it by sharing vacation photos and accolades. I stopped using Facebook for this very reason and, all this crap on LinkedIn was getting to me as well.

It’s enough that people are struggling in the world right now with the pandemic and job losses. Most people on LinkedIn go there in the hopes of learning something new or being connected to someone who can add value to their career and business. If you ask me, LinkedIn could be a phenomenal platform to educate and keep up with the world. We don’t need people to constantly post nonsense that ends up being depressing.

The experience has been cathartic and liberating. I enjoy spending time on social media platforms now. I get to tune into posts and articles that provide value to me, my life and my business.

Every once in a while, it’s good to re-evaluate your situation and purge what is no longer relevant. It took me a while to realize I don’t need to subject myself to things that bother me. It’s within my power to change certain situations, and I should definitely make use of that. As I grow older, there’s only one thing I want to do — live a happy life.