for those that don't use social media (facebook, twitter, etc) why not.

for me it's because I don't need the drama of it in my life, it depresses me (seeing all the positive statuses), and the fact that I just have no reason to use it. as far as I'm concerned, I have an email address, I have a phone, that's good enough

so what are your reasons?

[Succulents333]

I sometimes use Facebook but I don't have Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram etc. because most people I know only post very superficial things so it's not like I can see how they are really doing and I have no interest in posting about my own life so it seems like a waste of time and effort for me.

[AmberShaman]

I don't use social media because I don't need the drama.

I have an instagram account for professional purposes. I seldom look at it

[lizardlady]

I have a LinkedIn account for work related reasons. Otherwise no social media. I work with adolescents and, so called, adults who act like adolescents. I have enough drama in my life at work. Don't need/want anymore in my personal life. Add to that I work with troubled teens. I don't want them hunting me down on social media.

I have other ways of staying in touch with the people I care about - phone, email and OMG speaking to them face to face!!!

I have limitations on using it due to work (though I just use it under a fake name).

But mostly I don't have the time.

I am starting to wonder what the point of it is. The initial draw for me was to find all those people in my life I had lost contact with but due to the work restrictions - my real name is hidden - no one can find me.

[WishfulThinker66]

This forum is pretty much the form of social media that occupies my time. I do in fact Facebook but that is scaled back a great deal. I keep my friends list relatively small. My preference for communication is email. I write a great deal of them each morning.

[happysobercrafter]

I use social media. I am an online mental health blogger and I share what I write on the sm accounts I have. I am developing two more accounts.

[guilloche]

No social media.

Well, I do have a linked in account for work. But I don't check it. It annoys me, especially getting requests from random strangers to connect. ESPECIALLY when they can't be bothered to actually write something telling me who they are and why they want to connect (i.e. they just use the pre-filled out "I want to connect with you!" text that the site provides). Plus, my mom keeps trying to link to me. And, no, I don't want my mom linked in to my work network... please, no.

Ahem. No facebook. I had a twitter account once, but didn't see the point. I can always just go look at a twitter feed for something important if I need to (i.e. my local Dept of Transportation posts things about accidents/road closures, so I can just go look directly at that, even with no account).

I sometimes use twitter for work - but not with an account, as a way to do research to see if people are saying things about the company that I work for. But again, I don't need an account for that.

I don't really get the appeal of posting/reading all the stupid daily stuff that I think people post (not sure, since I don't read it, maybe I'm making a bad assumption). It just seems stressful and dumb, but I'm an introvert and like privacy, so the thought of being "always connected" is not appealing to me.

When my mom visited, awhile ago, I was shocked that she couldn't tear herself away from Facebook. Like, we went out to see a play and get dinner, and at some point during the meal while we were talking... she pulled out her phone to start updating her FB on where we were and what we were doing. I don't get it - she complains that we don't see each other, but seems like she'd rather be posting about seeing me than actually interacting with me?

[kstella95]

I use social media on occasion. I even go through periods where I’ll deactivate my accounts because it’ll make me even more depressed. When I’m good and my heads in a good place I don’t mind being on it, even though I don’t really interact with people on them when I have them active.

[Taylor27]

This forum is my main social interaction and facebook i am on allot of support groups for my mental illness. I do not do allot of chatting unless it's with my family and very close friends. I like facebook for games and i do try to stay away from drama as much as possible

[Velvet Lounger]

My ex and her nasty friends stalked me on social media. Since closing all accounts I don't have any use for it.

[88Butterfly88]

I have a Twitter account for my business and Facebook and Instagram accounts for personal use. I never post to Instagram, I just use it to see pictures of my cousins' kids. Facebook I use on occasion to keep up with everybody and sometimes I post autism awareness posts and things along those lines.

[eskielover]

I use FB a lot because a lot of our small town activities are posted there & I do not take the local paper. I also stay in touch with the friends I want to stay in touch with from the state I left. It is nice to see what they are doing. Very seldom do I post anything on their political commentaries unless really moved to express my opinion. Most everything is just about keeping in touch on almost a daily basis which I wouldn't do otherwise. I also use FB & YouTube Subscriptions to get information about things I want to know more about.....kinda educational on many different subjects I am interested in.

Living alone it is nice to have the interface on MY terms when I feel like it.

[Nammu]

I don't do social media because of security reasons, never have never will.

The primary reason I don't use social media is anonymity. Too many people can see too much on social media. A secondary reason is that I get sick and tired of receiving all of the notifications in my email. A third reason is that sometimes I read stuff "friends" post that pisses me off. They somehow feel empowered to write about crap on social media that they'd never talk about to your face. A forth reason is that some of what is posted doesn't interest me at all. A fifth is that it annoys me that social media has brought about a more superficial type of communication than what used to exist before it.

[SlumberKitty]

I have linked in for work, otherwise, no social media. I talk to everyone I want to talk to other ways, email, text, phone etc.

[LadyShadow]

I have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. On Instagram I follow 1 person and on Facebook I have about 100 friends. But out of that 100, 5 or 6 people post regularly, I think the rest of them stopped going to it. Also, a good portion of my real-life close friends I had on Facebook de-friended me when I had my episode last year. It hurts being abandoned by people like that especially when they weren't just "internet" friends. Hurts a real lot.

As for Twitter, I was part of a really cool Star Trek group which we all used to post laugh hang out on using the #allstartrek hashtag while ALL five Star Trek shows played on a local channel. They all have blocked me again due to that episode I had last year.

I am so sick of this horrible illness. I build up groups and friends only to alienate myself and have everything taken away because people don't understand that I am unwell.

But on a positive note, I am slowly rebuilding my friends lists again.

[Nammu]

Originally Posted by LadyShadow

I have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. On Instagram I follow 1 person and on Facebook I have about 100 friends. But out of that 100, 5 or 6 people post regularly, I think the rest of them stopped going to it. Also, a good portion of my real-life close friends I had on Facebook de-friended me when I had my episode last year. It hurts being abandoned by people like that especially when they weren't just "internet" friends. Hurts a real lot.

As for Twitter, I was part of a really cool Star Trek group which we all used to post laugh hang out on using the #allstartrek hashtag while ALL five Star Trek shows played on a local channel. They all have blocked me again due to that episode I had last year.

I am so sick of this horrible illness. I build up groups and friends only to alienate myself and have everything taken away because people don't understand that I am unwell.

But on a positive note, I am slowly rebuilding my friends lists again.

Is there a way to explain you're better now to the Star Trek group? As a rule Trekkies are educated and forgiving.

[LadyShadow]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Is there a way to explain you're better now to the Star Trek group? As a rule Trekkies are educated and forgiving.

I wish there was my friend. It seems the actual channel might have blocked me from the trekkies hashtag. And believe it or not I messaged a few of them and got no response. I guess Trekkies are understanding and forgiving.....to a point.

What I said and did must have been awful.

Great thread, Raging Vortex!

The only form of social media I have ever used is PC and I am new here. I don't use social media for the following reasons:

- it promotes narcissism and one-upmanship
- the powers that be are tracking what people post and selling it to other companies for advertising purposes etc
- privacy concerns
- professional concerns
- the research indicates that rather than bringing people together, social media actually cause people to feel more lonely and alienated (it contributes to an individualistic, rather than collectivist, culture)
- I am old enough that I did not grow up with it so it would actually feel strange for me to do
- I value face to face time with friends or at least talking on the phone

However, if I meet someone who loves Facebook etc then fair play to him/her. Each to their own! The only thing that really irks me is when friends in my life chide me about not using social media. One friend in particular would raise the issue every month. Another suggested that I was inconveniencing her by not being on Facebook because she had to send me a separate text because I couldn't see her group invites on FB for parties etc. I hope she recovered from that trauma okay

[~Christina]

I love Facebook and all things social media. I don’t get bothered by what others post if I disagree I just scroll past stuff.

[GattoNegro]

I don't want people looking me up and comparing me and perhaps pointing and laughing at my life.

[Velvet Lounger]

My daughter decided to dump her Instagram. Three cheers for my 13 year old making an informed decision and acting alone on it!

[kreg]

I have a FB page but I rarely use it. It's a good way to stay in touch with relatives. Many I see on FB and I know them personally from days long gone are lonely, have little in the way of goals or interest in life. They use social media to fill the void. I'm not above idle chatter on occasion but some will tell me "If I'm not here at work I'm at home on Face." I find the world overflowing with interesting topics with lots of growth potential.