this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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I remember what made me quit facebook, way before it became Meta: the TV serie Person of interest. It gave me a big awarness of the scale of mass surveillance. I already had the project to quit because of Zuck's shenanigans and the lack of interest i had in the platform, but this was the last straw for me.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago

I stayed away from FB for a long time, and my cousin finally convinced me to join to keep up with our big family. I left in 2016 because I kept getting in fights on there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 hours ago

I never joined them to begin with. A circle-jerk of "look how great I imagine myself but actually am not".

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

Stopped using Facebook when they killed the feed and started inputting random shit instead of posts of people I actually know. Slowed way down on reddit and came here when they killed RIF. Never had Twitter because it was a cesspool even before Elon. Never had Snapchat, or be real or tiktok because they all seemed stupid, and in the last one's case, I didn't want the CCP having any information about me. I still technically have a Facebook for marketplace and will check it on occasion, but I haven't posted on probably like 8 years.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 17 hours ago

I left Twitter sometime after Elon bought it. The content in my feed drastically changed and was filled with racism, Nazi glorifiction, and child prawn. Reporting these posts did nothing, the automated respone system kept claiming there was no violation. So I deleted my account and never came back. I also actively avoid clicking on Twitter post links.

I didn't quit Reddit, but it quit me. Reddit perma-banned me for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. An admin even called me a "disgusting Nazi simp" because I opposed the genocide. The amount of admin and mod gaslighting & abuse is at an all time high.

I don't do the Meta stuff because of all the cross platform account linking. I still have a FB account, but it's not my real name, it lacks personal info, and it's only to stay connected with family and IRL friends.

I got banned from Tiktok preemptively and I never learned why. I didn't even have an account, but when I went to make one on my work phone, it said I'm banned. Weird. I tried making an account using my home phone as a test and it worked, but I just deleted it afterward without posting anything.

There really needs to be a digital bill of rights or something.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago

Getting children and realizing that privacy is important with all the data leaks, misuse of data, maybe not having their pictures and videos out there, trained on, misused. That's when degoogling started and with it quitting fb and Twitter and looking for alternatives. I am still lurking on LinkedIn and reddit though. But using foss redreader, reddit is actually still quite nice as a link aggregator and information source. And well , although LinkedIn has degraded so much over the last years, it somehow still seems to be a good source of information for everything job related.

But as this was my last straw, how do you see the future? Teenagers will still be teenagers and they will be urged to use anything that is popular due to peer pressure. When I am thinking of that, it will probably be an impossible undertaking to prevent them of using any of these platforms

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

I left reddit over API stuff, obviously.

Twitter had a few weeks where the algorithm was so broken people were getting recommended gore videos. Just a description of the most common one set off my OCD trying to avoid it. It was always kind of a shit website and not worth having an episode over, so I just deleted my account.

Tumblr's nsfw ban also nuked a bunch of communities that aren't inherently nsfw, but have large factions that are. Think like the furry fandom. I just woke up one day and my tags didn't work and my favorite creators were gone. PLUS the wording included the phrase "female-presenting nipples", which just sounds wildly transphobic and has no definition so they can ban whoever they want. And they doubled down on it a week later. Immediately uninstalled, heard they've only gotten more overtly transphobic since.

I don't even remember when I stopped using Facebook. I don't like being stalked by every heterosexual mom I went to church with as a teenager, so I never used it long.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 23 hours ago

Snowden's Permanent Record book was a strong motivator for me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

medias

Media is the plural

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Medium is the singular, for those not aware

Similarly, data is also the plural for datum

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

Yer mums over here.

Or the reddit API shenanigans.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I never used most of them. I quit reddit when genzedong went dark. Quit tiktok when the ads got more common a year ago or so. I still use a FOSS frontend to watch youtube videos does that count?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

Stop using my Facebook in Covid, most of what I saw was shit about Covid being fake, saw good friend from high school falling for it and realized that the algorithm was tailored to do just that so I delete it shortly after

Stop using Instagram last month. Keep seeing the same shit over and over and when I start flagging it the app revert to show me thirst traps and conspiracy shit. I miss my antifacist bro over there, the dogs and all the illustrators I had followed. So if you know where they at

Thinking of deleting Reddit because my regional sub is cesspool of people thinking they’re the left but are spewing the same Trump argument about immigration but the RPG community is lively there

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 day ago

I quit Reddit when they killed third party apps, I quit Twitter when Musk bought it.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I only really used Reddit, so during the API crisis I left.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Same. But before that. The last straw for me was in 2019 I think where Instagram announced they will use your Pictures for AI.

I left it. But I managed to leave everything and go to reddit, after destroying my Phone and using an old Phone without google on it.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago

Reddit API change, I never use any others

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

I quit Facebook/Insta long ago but started perma deleting stagnant accounts a little after Cambridge Analytic stuff I think? It was my first real eye-opening moment when it came to data privacy and the whole misinformation cesspool that is social media.

Reddit when 3rd party apps were dropped.

Twitter partly when Musk killed 3rd party apps...then fully when he became a shithead.

Snapchat mostly because it annoyed me.

Never used TikTok other than viewing a video someone sent me in a web browser.

Bonus because I'm still salty: Prime when they introduced ads in Prime Video.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I deleted my Facebook account during Covid. I wasn’t really using it anymore, but I really didn’t need to see anyone’s shitty takes on the virus.

I deleted my Twitter account when it was purchased by a Nazi shithead who has no business being as rich as he is for how dumb he is. I never really latched onto Twitter anyway, so that was no major loss.

I never used Instagram, but the idea seemed neat when it came out. Over time, it’s become less and less appealing.

I never had any interest in Snapchat. Still don’t.

Same for TikTok, but I don’t agree with the idea of the government banning it. The correct response would be to enact robust privacy laws, but that’s never going to happen.

I do still have a Reddit account, but I’m using it less and less. Pretty much only for some niche hobbies. I’ve never felt like Reddit fit with the other social media platforms.

I have a Mastodon account, but I don’t really use it. It still has the same problem Twitter did in that I don’t care about what’s going on there all that much. I want to follow topics, not people.

I did set up a PixelFed account that I use quite a bit, but only for posting pics of my minis and seeing other people’s pics of their minis.

Lemmy feels a lot like early Reddit, and I’m liking it a lot.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I killed Instagram and Whatsapp recently when Mark started buddying up to Trump.

Deleted Twitter shortly after Elon took over, which bummed me out since it was a good place for software development information.

Quit reddit after the API ordeal when I didn't want to use the official client.

I was a long time user of each platform, and I was bummed when I had to leave each.

Now I have bluesky, lemmy, mastodon, and some occasional discord servers I hangout on. I miss Instagram as a time waster, but I'll survive without funny dog videos and fitness models.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Loops.video is a great insta/tiktok replacement for dog/cat videos at least.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

How do I follow loops.video contents from pixelfed?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I don't think it's federated yet

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

That I am less sure of. The only way I got in was making a separate account at loops.video and downloading the app.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago

I realized that every time I composed a post, i was less thinking about what i have to say to my friends, and more thinking about things like "what censor will see this", or "will this get me banned", or any other number of unfun and agency-draining things.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I quit Reddit and deleted my account after nearly a decade last week. I just found it to be a source of consistent stress. It got to the point where the most innocuous comments kept getting me temporarily banned from subreddits. The final coffin nail was when somebody posted an article about how the Trump administration scrubbed all the information on HIV/AIDS from government health websites. I replied in the comments, "Double plus good." Apparently Redditors thought that I was endorsing this censorship as a good idea and downvoted me. So to clarify, I edited my comment and said underneath, "For those downvoting me, read the novel 1984 by George Orwell." That's all. I didn't say, "You fucking idiots need to read a goddamn book!" I simply cited the reference for my original comment. For this statement I got a three day ban not just from the subreddit but all of Reddit due to harassment. The ban was automatically imposed by the bots, so I had an opportunity to appeal and have a real person review it. I did so, fully expecting anybody who actually looked into it to be reasonable, but they kept the ban in place, so I decided enough was enough.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They wish to drive away the people who wish to speak the truth. I created an account here yesterday to hedge against Reddit becoming even more of a cesspool.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Welcome to Lemmy, I guess?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The use of automated tools that blindly ban based on keywords and the subreddit is out of control. As you found there is NO attempt to put anything in context. Truly moronic administration that violates their claim to be a "place for discussion". I got in trouble because I left a comment questioning antivaxxers in an antivax subreddit and suddenly got flooded with bans across reddit because I had left a comment in a politically incorrect subreddit. They use scripts to moderate. Of course there is NO recourse, no mods will listen to you, no reddit admin of the mods to contact, nothing.

My feeling is reddit has reduced discourse to bad puns, nothing even slightly controversial, must agree with the sub's echo chamber and ads, lots of ads. If you go against the herd you will be culled. Just smile and nod.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I think people don't even realize the scale of the removals, because when it isn't banning you the platform goes out of its way to hide it from you when your comments are removed, it looks like it is still there while you are logged in but no one else can see it, I only even find out by using the reveddit extension, and I've been banned from subreddits just for mentioning that there's a way to do this. It's usually a totally innocuous comment that gets removed, assuming they just have a keyword that triggered a bot or a mod just didn't like what I said and clicked delete. What they're doing can hardly be termed 'moderation' anymore.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

FB: I gradually felt more bored with it, so I started to log in less frequently. I think I haven't logged in for at least five years, but I had already stopped using it regularly about a decade ago.

Twitter: As above, but the toxicity of the environment was what pushed me away.

YouTube: Newpipe. I only log in when I really, really really need to message someone on the platform or if I need to upload content (like once in a year or less).

Reddit: the API change, although I have logged in a couple times last year to ask things we don't have active communities for here. Niche stuff.

Deviantart: their Eclipse "upgrade", which trashed all the search system and the way art circulated.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

I left fb when I realized I was on it out of obligation and not because I wanted to be on it. The experience was degrading minute to minute. So I just decided to delete the account one day.

Never been on Twitter as I find in rather dumb long before it was bought by Musk. I am still hanging onto my reddit account because some of the communities are not there elsewhere.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I signed up for Twitter in 2020. After Elon took over, stuff changed for the worst day by day. The app is now horrible. I got tired of it so I deleted it

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I deleted messenger once I finally convinced the people I give a shit about to switch over to safer platforms. Hadn’t posted on or touched FB in years at that point though. That also prompted me to move to Lemmy (my only real feed-based media consumption); that plus the constant influx of doomscrolling bullshit after the latest US election.

I don’t “use” Xitter and haven’t for many, many years aside from news for legitimate emergencies that had no other alternative. Stopped using IG after they tried to copy TikTok.

TL;DR: Enshitification + increasing threat to human rights

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Musk unbanned Trump from Twitter.

My family relied on Facebook messenger for communication for a long time so I only just recently deleted it and Instagram after Zuck announced hate speech was explicitly allowed

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Setup a matrix instance with a meta bridge and use that to slowly get rid of meta altogether. Works both for messenger and Instagram dms.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Didn’t realize there was a meta bridge to messenger. That’s dope

Thankfully my family shifted to iMessage a while ago and at least that’s encrypted and doesn’t support the meta business. I deleted all of my Meta accounts already

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

there is a brdieg even for imessage... just saying...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Facebook: was the death of my grandmother. Had no reason whatsoever to keep otherwise. Instagram: got chronically on it and realized just how much anxiety it gave me. Snap: same as Facebook minus grandma, just didn’t care after my last long term relationship. Got back on for a buddy of mine to just meme at each other. TikTok:same as instagram. It was not healthy and the algorithm I was on was not helpful for quitting my addiction. Spotify: lack of high fidelity streaming, moved to tidal whilst I build up my hifi library on plex and then I’ll do plex pass lifetime.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Snowden revelations in 2013

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I’m British and quit Facebook and Instagram after Brexit.

Once the Cambridge Analytica stuff came to light, and I realised how these platforms could be (and were being) subverted politically to spread misinformation it was the final push I needed.

Seeing the Covid anti-vax stuff that followed only reinforced how I felt.

I never really used twitter, and decided to leave it that was when Musk took over.

I 99% stopped using Reddit after the 3rd party apps stuff and it became clear what their ambitions for the platform were (although I still check certain things there occasionally).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

I didn't delete my accounts, I just use them much less.

I didn't exactly force myself, it's just that every time I are then doing shitty things I automatically associate their socials to the dire political situation in the US so I end up not using them.

Also, the advertisement: there's none in the fediverse, when I'm on the big tech apps I'm not used to adverts anymore

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

back when one could make the little text ads in facebook i saw how one could use the facebook graph to basically zero in on one person and then thought "wow this is gross imagine if i was a bad faith actor zero-ing on one facebook person to target them repeatedly through these little text ads" and that was enough for me off of facebook.

that was like 2008 or so.

when I saw the graph and the possibilities of bad actors abusing it i drove myself off most social media. here isn't too bad. i like the federated nature.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Twitter/X was easy for me, as soon as Musk touched it I closed that account. Wasn't too active on there anyway.

Still on Instagram but planning to close that soon. Facebook is a bit trickier with all the older friends/family on there that probably won't move elsewhere. Then again most of the friends/family I see regularly already stopped posting/commenting on Facebook so there's a lot of dead accounts on there.

Left Reddit during the API exodus.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

I don't consider anonymous forums social media so I've never had a social media account.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I was done with Facebook before Trump 1.0 even happened. Never got into Twitter. Left reddit with the API Exodus. Lemmy is top 2 social media for me these days.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Advertising and constant rage politics, far right idiots, armchair politicians and relatives and friends who wanted to constantly fight, argue and disagree

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Everyone I followed on Twitter left for Bluesky

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

What made me leave Facebook was discovering Reddit. What made me leave Reddit was getting banned lol. What made me leave Twitter (or never actually ever bother much with it) is that it seems more like a big popularity contest than 'social' platform to me. Besides, if it was really social, there wouldn't be a character limit that benefits marketing speak and hashtags more than constructive conversation.

Never saw the point of places like Instagram that are based on being able to upload photos. Big deal, you can upload photos anywhere. And the only time I use YouTube is when I'm in the mood for music videos. I have less than zero interest in watching people's crappy home videos, it's like reality TV but even more boring and brain rotting. And I've got better things to spend my time watching. Oh, and I tried TikTok but noped out very quickly. I see absolutely no value in being spoonfed content by some shady algorithm as opposed to choosing and curating your own content.

Personally, I do not care if the platform that I'm on uses my data to advertise to me. I fell in with the 'privacy' crowd like a decade ago and did my time shaking my fists at big brother but I just don't care anymore. None of this is new. As long as the people on the platform are the kind of people that I could get along with, I'm fine. And quite capable of using an ad blocker if I so desire. I couldn't care less if Reddit used my posts in the Xena or She-Ra subreddits to advertise romance fantasy novels to me. There's more important things to focus on.