Feeling Anti-Social Media

For those of you who know me not only for my blog but also for my presence on social media, you may have noticed that I've been a bit absent of late.

Or maybe you haven't noticed at all.

I've been reducing the amount of time that I spend on Mastodon and on Threads, and I've even given a rest to posting images on Instagram (mostly, because I feel that I've shared enough photos of Costa Rica and I haven't used my cameras since my return). I feel sort of burned out from the stream of information that comes not only from people I follow but mostly from the stream of people I don't follow, who simply show up in my timelines.

In Mastodon, I've placed filters on subjects that I don't want to hear about: Elon Musk; Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin, to name a few people that occupy too much space in my feeds. I also feel that I want to filter out Taylor Swift.

Don't get me wrong: I don't equate Swift with the vermin that the other three people are. Taylor Swift is a talented and successful icon who also seems to be a genuinely nice human being. It's just that her music doesn't speak to me (not that I expect her songs to relate to a man in his late 50s) and I'm generally not a fan of the genre in which she writes.

I certainly have nothing against her.

While I do respect her for the talent that she exudes, I'm just tired of hearing about her several times a day, every day. I think I'd also grow tired of hearing about any of my favourite artists with the same frequency.

I'm also tired of people who report about those who are anti-Swift. Yes, it's annoying how people have to hate out loud. It's also annoying to hear about people complain about the haters. It's as tiresome as those who complain about pineapple on pizza (just don't eat it and shut up, already!).

So far, I haven't found a way to filter posts on Threads or to exclude people that I don't follow from my timeline, so I feel a bit of a barrage of information that I've neither asked for nor wanted. I try to stay positive when I post anything to Mastodon or Threads, but sometimes it's simply exhausting.

I like interacting with the people that I follow on social media and sometimes respond to people that I don't follow but who are active in a conversation with the folks that I do follow. The rest, though, is noise.

And so I've toned down my presence on these social-media sites. I've stopped my morning greetings and my end-of-day farewells. I've stopped sharing random photos. I've stopped sharing my Wordle results (I've given up playing Connections because I wasn't finding it challenging enough).

Since last Friday, I've only posted announcements of new blog posts (that actually started on Monday because I didn't have a post for Friday). I've only spent a few minutes on Mastodon and Threads since Friday, and only occasionally like a post from those who I follow.

I've needed a break. At the moment, I've feeling anti-social media.

Have you ever felt this way? Have you taken a break from these or other social-media sites? For how long did you stay away, or have you given them up altogether?

I don't know how long I'll stay away. So far, I honestly don't think anyone has noticed, so if and when I do return, I won't start back by writing, "Sorry I've been absent."

There's nothing more humiliating than saying that and having no one respond.