New Platforms & New Accounts
This past spring, I contemplated a total control-alt-delete of my social media accounts — or as I call them — my FITS accounts; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. At first, I assumed my aberrant behavior would cause a dramatic backlash from peers and family. However, I was prepared to deal with the repercussions and explain the reasoning for my departure. I grew sick of the aesthetic and functionality of these social media sites. While some content was intriguing, a vast majority felt wasteful, useless, and irritating. Fishing through advertisements and shock news to find snippets of wisdom or engaging content demanded effort. However, the small tidbits of good content kept me hooked to my feed. After all, a majority of content creators exist predominantly on these platforms. A departure is challenging when the crowd doesn’t want to change with me.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat contain abundant amounts of information presented in unique forms. Memories, real-time knowledge, and future knowledge unexplored are all easily accessible; it’s a great source of entertainment and culture. Deleting an account would be the equivalent of deleting former online footprints as well as one’s online window to the world. Deleting old photos, tweets, and posts may feel similar to erasing cherished memories or the caricature one’s created online. I didn’t want to cancel my flows of information; I merely wanted the platforms to change. Out of frustration, I removed the applications from my phone and tablet. This changed nothing.
Too connected and genuinely stressed over the unintended outcomes of a potential control-alt-delete, I was left completely torn. My social media accounts aesthetic, and functionality felt old and outdated. Facebook became a public soapbox for societal complaints and trolls. The only useful function seemed to be for remembering the birthdays of friends. Instagram developed as a snapshot of only the best moments from those I follow. People looked fake or facey, presenting copy-cat images of each other. Bleek. Twitter stayed balanced; a blend of trolls, real-time insights, wisdom, and memes made up most of my feed. Finally, Snapchat’s functionally was filled with grotesque pictures and videos of irresponsible and insecure young people. They flaunted their perceived version of wealth. The exact opposite persona as represented on Instagram seemed to take hold of Snapchat when compared to Instagram. Despite the constant flow of new information tailored to my curiosities, the content was not challenging nor engaging. I’d spend hours re-examining the same feed of pictures, tweets, news articles, and video clips.
I thought I was following the wrong content creators, so I began to follow hundreds of accounts ranging from favorite philosophers to sports champions while limiting the useless clutter. Now, I had a total overload of tailored content only reflecting my interests. I became hyper-aware of multiple narratives occurring in markets, sports, and politics while sharing my findings with friends and family. At first, this change was great. But I still lacked in-depth discussion, analysis, and engagement; I was still unsatisfied. But then it dawned on me. The platforms were not satisfying because the layout of the content was too short received.
I searched for new platforms to consume and create content online which provided more depth on topics I enjoy. Medium, Quillette, and Patreon appeared to be the next best step for content creation and consumption. As of today, I’m beginning a transition away from my traditional FITS accounts in pursuit of better platforms with better content. Toss me a follow — It’s time to change.
