16 Months Later: How’s Operation No Social Media going?

Back in September 2020, I’d had it with social media. Between the pandemic and the election, it had gotten too toxic for me and wasn’t adding anything positive to my life. So I said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Well, after a lot of internal conflict. Could I operate without it? Or, rather, would it harm Haunt Jaunts if I ditched it?

Part of me wasn’t ready to cut the cord, but for my sanity and peace of mind, it appeared necessary.

After watching The Great Hack and The Social Dilemma, as well as Cal Newport’s TED Talk about “Why you should quit social media,” I decided to finally take the plunge and step back from socials.

I still haven’t returned to Facebook. Every once in a while I check Messenger or Haunt Jaunts’ page. My blog is set up to auto-post there. But that hasn’t mattered in a long time. FB’s algorithm doesn’t really show pages to people anymore. It’s all about the Groups. So with almost 10,900 people who have liked the page and over 11,000 who follow it, at best 200 may see a post. It’s usually somewhere between 50 and 100. Unless I want to pay for clicks. Pass. Hard pass.

Plus, FB triggers me. So, I stay away.

The first one I went back to was Instagram. I like the pictures.

I was posting fairly regularly to both Haunt Jaunts and my personal Insta, as well as occasionally to Smalls Skeleton’s, but late last year I was once again reminded why I had been reluctant to use Instagram to begin with way back when: you can’t share clickable links. It’s of no benefit to someone like me who works for hits. It generates zero traffic for Haunt Jaunts.

Sure, you can point them to the bio in your link…if they read what accompanies your pictures and they have the time. Most people are just there to scroll.

However, Twitter generates some traffic. Of them all, Facebook drives the most. As far as socials go.

But here’s the thing. Even all combined, socials play a very small part in my traffic. 80-90% of my traffic is organic, earned from crafting SEO-friendly posts. Something I honed during my time writing as a contributor for Netflix Life.

Socials generate less than 10% of my traffic.

The problem is, even for as much of a loner as I am, I also enjoying being social. I missed some of the interactions. That’s why a list got me back on social media to a degree last year. Mostly back to Twitter. Sort of.

I’d discovered a whole Sanditon Squad on my personal Twitter that was a hoot to get to know. And best of all, due to their persistence, two new seasons of Sanditon are happening and we won’t be left hanging!

Then I sort of fizzled out on using it again.

Over the years I’ve gone from starting out liking Twitter the most, gravitating more towards Facebook, then Instagram, which was my favorite up until recently. Now I’m back on a Twitter kick.

So, I’m back on socials to some degree again, but with boundaries, including time limits.

This year I’ve also made a habit of paying more attention to what others are Tweeting and engaging that way. It’s led to a more satisfying experience.

And I don’t click on the toxic trigger-bait trending in my feed. I know that’s a trap to work me up and get me to spend more time on things that don’t matter. I’m using my lists to find voices that are more productive to follow.

So I guess that’s the update. The situation is fluid. I come and go as my mental health and tolerance allow. Mostly, I’m determined to use socials rather than letting them use me.

What about you? What’s your story with socials? And if you’re on Twitter (or Insta) are we following each other?