I am writing this at 2am while other people are busy scrolling through endless reels and shorts.

I was once like them. Refreshing my feed at 2am until I reached the end of it, then refreshing again anyway. I did that for years. Around 2019, I stopped.

I realized how much time I was wasting. How my thoughts were being shaped by people I don’t even know personally. How easily I would get stressed just because someone online disagreed with me.

I didn’t quit cold turkey. I deactivated Facebook first, did a social media detox before it even became a thing. My friends and family kept telling me to come back. Many versus one, I caved. Then I got tired again. At some point I just stopped caring about FOMO, and that was when I finally deleted everything.

Probably one of the best decisions my younger self ever made.

No more family drama. More time. More focus on things I actually care about. Real connections instead of digital ones. I even sleep better now because my phone is across the room, on silent.

But of course, there are downsides.

People ask questions all the time. Friends send links you can’t open. You’re always late to whatever is trending. Entire subcultures pop up and suddenly you need your Gen Alpha niece to translate everything. And sometimes you share something like you just discovered the cure for cancer, only to get a look because everyone saw it three months ago.

Still, I think it’s worth it.

I once talked to an ethical hacker about staying private online. I expected him to be completely anonymous. Turns out he kept a very public identity, because investigators get suspicious if you have no presence at all. That stuck with me. It’s also why I still keep my LinkedIn, even though I’m not crazy about how these platforms quietly piece you together just to keep you scrolling a little longer.

I don’t think social media is evil though.

It’s one of the most useful things ever made. People built entire careers on it. Small businesses survive because of it. You can reach customers in ways that were impossible before. But it’s a double-edged sword, and you need to be a skilled samurai to wield it without hurting yourself. It can make someone famous overnight, or destroy them just as fast. Sometimes one post is all it takes.

Maybe the answer isn’t quitting completely. Maybe it’s just being intentional. Curate your feed. Don’t let the algorithm decide everything for you. Learn when to log off. The button exists for a reason.

And maybe someday, when people start wielding this thing more responsibly, I’ll be compelled to come back.