I deleted my personal Instagram. I entered another “waiting” stage of my life due to my surgeries and infections and I found myself more focused on my public Instagram for this blog than my private personal one.

I post similarly on my stories; I just don’t post my daughter much or as many selfies anymore since it’s a public account. My permanent posts are pictures connected to these written posts.

Slowly, I have gotten rid of all social media catered around my personal life that tied me to people or experiences I don’t connect to anymore.

I usually defend social media in casual conversations with friends about its benefits and harm. I think social media is a great way to find representation you might be lacking in everyday life. It’s a great way to spread information and to organize. I wouldn’t have known about the genocide Israel is committing if it wasn’t for social media, which led me to research more on my own. Social media isn’t all bad.

On the flip side, it is kind of weird seeing posts from and about people who aren’t in my life anymore, who I was only distantly acquainted with, who I honestly wouldn’t want to say hi to if I saw them in public or who I know wouldn’t say hi to me.

My mental health has improved the less time I spent on it. The inevitable comparison trap we fall into with social media was silenced. The noise of posting the “right” picture went away. It made me question why I was holding onto it in the first place. Was it just the fear of letting go? The fear of losing memories and contacts? Losing the inability to be nosey?

Answering those question for myself also made me realize some people were doing the same to me- lurking to be nosey, only not interacting with anything I posted otherwise. For me, with people I know, it began to feel a little grimy, a little inauthentic. I know the bookstagram and writing community on Instagram have similar habits, but at least I don’t know everyone personally and have for years.

This thought process coupled with the algorithm changing sprinkled with my desire to grow my blog encouraged me to start fresh, following those from my life I was interested in keeping up with who displayed the same interest.

I don’t want to post only about books or only see posts about books. But I also wanted writing to be at the forefront.

And on a tangent, I deleted my Twitter too because their algorithm has become too repetitive, showing you the same post or versions of it over and over again. Bots have become too ordinary, especially those that rage farm, and it’s too primed to show you posts that will upset you specifically.

This is how social media is when you don’t take into account how AI is being implemented. It just became too much for me, and I wanted a fresh start, catered around my interests and likeminded people, instead of catered around people’s paths I crossed before.

I still get FOMO sometimes. Twice, I logged back in and found I wasn’t missing as much as I thought. I also felt anxious and decided it really was time to let it all go. I don’t think I’ll regret it.