Other A Non-facebook iphone experiment - anyone ?

[norwaypianoman]

‘I think it’s bad for your mental health’ Tim Cook​

Anyone wants to join me in a non-facebook iphone experiment ?

Moving up from the iphone 8 - I am getting a iPhone 12 now, and inspired by Tim Cook saying that the iPhone should be more than mindless scrolling, I want to challenge individuals to join me in a leniant, but principled experiment.

I want to try for 6 months, not using any facebook/meta apps on iphone - and try to see how active and futuristic and the great use of the iphone you could get, when you get rid of the most passive apps, but of course I am not against entertainment and video.

Anyone care to join ? I guess, the easiest way is - if you comment here with a yes, then you want to join.

We will start February 1st 2022.

 

[ericwn]

I find the idea interesting but I stopped and deleted my Facebook account many years ago already. I’ll keep reading to check out the apps you discover.

First question: why don’t you stop right now?

 

[Romain_H]

Not a challenge at all tbh. All FB domains have been blacklisted on my pi-hole for years. Never joined, never will

btw: a respective option is missing in the poll

 

[AlexJ092]

I deleted my Facebook account about 8 years ago, I was spending too much of my time on the platform instead of studying. I have no intentions of rejoining at a later date

 

[now i see it]

I never used Facebook and never had the desire to

 

[Black Magic]

I got rid of Facebook many years ago. No mindless scrolling here unless News is considered.

 

[Fred Zed]

I have the Fakebook app installed but all notifications are turned off already, in essence there’s nothing but the app icon that rarely gets pressed.

 

[chengengaun]

I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts late last year, then I read Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport (ironically, because not using these apps give me more time and focus; it's been sitting on my shelves for months). He advocated cold-turkey quitting then slowly re-introducing usage of these apps much more intentionally into our lives, but I just find life without Facebook and Instagram happier and more fulfilling.

 

[Bodhitree]

I keep a Facebook account for having access to friends and ex-colleagues who I don’t talk to regularly anymore. But I very rarely look at it, perhaps once a year. Have never used Instagram.

 

[Saladin12]

Can’t. WhatsApp is absolutely key here in the U.K. don’t use any other Meta apps though

 

[pianostar9]

when you get rid of the most passive apps, but of course I am not against entertainment and video.

On the topic of "passive apps," it's very easy to replace one passive app with another, or to justify the new one (e.g. wasting time on MacRumors or Reddit is "entertainment"). The best thing you can try to do is replace the problem-app with something that isn't "bad for your mental health".

(Of course, if it's not actually a problem, you don't need to replace it: you might have a legitimate need to use WhatsApp as communication, even if you don't like Meta's privacy violations.)

 

[beerseagulls]

my contact list has a little over 200 family members, friends, co-workers and random people.

as of last month this is how many are still using Facebook

family members and relatives: 7 out of 52 (all 7 are kids, college or younger)

friends: 3 out of 28

co-workers: 2 out of 97 (my company also took down its Facebook page 2 years ago)

random people: 11 out of 38

oh... and I also have not used Facebook in over 3 years.(although my page is still up there... last time I looked was about a year ago)

 

[eyoungren]

I deleted my FB account in February 2017 after using a browser script to strip out all photos, comments and tags. If for whatever reason FB lied to me about deleting the account there is nothing there now anyway. So to do this, I'd have to create a new FB account and then ignore it. Not doing that, there's a reason I left FB and it all comes down to the beginning of the polarizing politics of today.

I do have a Twitter account but that's only used to contact T-Mobile's T-Force when I need to. I'm logged out when I don't need them.

 

[pianostar9]

Not doing that, there's a reason I left FB and it all comes down to the beginning of the polarizing politics of today.

I agree, and doubt OP intends to have people creating FB accounts, although as stated above, they seem to have mistakenly excluded the option for "I've never used / already deleted FB" in the poll. (It's also bad for your privacy if you don't need it.)

 

[macintoshmac]

I find the idea interesting but I stopped and deleted my Facebook account many years ago already. I’ll keep reading to check out the apps you discover.

First question: why don’t you stop right now?

Exactly. Going about 7 years now without it. At all. Not missing anything. Abhor the 'Facebook culture' and the changes it has brought to our society.

 

[macintoshmac]

We will start February 1st 2022.

Why that date? Why not right away? Try it till December 20 and see if you miss anything in life without Facebook. I am reasonably sure you will not miss a single thing, and will actually be saner because of not being on that platform. Stay close to your own life, do not bother scrolling through made-up lives of others on the internet, relatives or otherwise.

 

[eyoungren]

Abhor the 'Facebook culture' and the changes it has brought to our society.

I left because things were becoming an echo chamber. People don't like their beliefs challenged and even more so when you prove them wrong. I had friends telling me that I could not disagree with them at all if I wanted to post on their wall. I had family members who were 180º from me in their beliefs that I otherwise knew differently outside of Facebook.

I left to save any remaining relationships I had with family and friends.

 

[macintoshmac]

I left because things were becoming an echo chamber. People don't like their beliefs challenged and even more so when you prove them wrong. I had friends telling me that I could not disagree with them at all if I wanted to post on their wall. I had family members who were 180º from me in their beliefs that I otherwise knew differently outside of Facebook.

I left to save any remaining relationships I had with family and friends.

All Facebook did is bring the diseased minds out of the closets for the world to see. It preys on the basal, banal human emotions and desires and makes us victims of our own selves.

 

[ericwn]

Can’t. WhatsApp is absolutely key here in the U.K. don’t use any other Meta apps though

I hear what you’re saying but maybe it’s time to actively discuss alternatives with your friends and family. At the end of the day Whatapp is just a chat platform and alternatives like Signal, Telegram etc are out there.

 

[macintoshmac]

I hear what you’re saying but maybe it’s time to actively discuss alternatives with your friends and family. At the end of the day Whatapp is just a chat platform and alternatives like Signal, Telegram etc are out there.

I did the same. I simply stopped using WhatsApp (the day I stopped using Facebook) over 7 years ago. People can message me on Telegram, it is way better for communication and expression and when you want to have really private conversations, you can use the Secret chats feature. Or, when you truly want privacy, switch to Signal for the while.

People still behave like I live under a rock when I tell them I am not on WhatsApp and they can reach me directly over SMS or call if they are not on Telegram/ Signal and if they are, they can reach me on Telegram/ Signal. I just shrug.

 

[Black Magic]

I did the same. I simply stopped using WhatsApp (the day I stopped using Facebook) over 7 years ago. People can message me on Telegram, it is way better for communication and expression and when you want to have really private conversations, you can use the Secret chats feature. Or, when you truly want privacy, switch to Signal for the while.

People still behave like I live under a rock when I tell them I am not on WhatsApp and they can reach me directly over SMS or call if they are not on Telegram/ Signal and if they are, they can reach me on Telegram/ Signal. I just shrug.

I use iMessage for all my chat communications. If normal SMS isn't good enough then we can do a phone call. I'm not a fan of social media including LinkedIn and do not want redundant apps on my devices to communicate. Outlook and Teams for Work are the exceptions. Google Voice as well.

 

[macintoshmac]

I use iMessage for all my chat communications. If normal SMS isn't good enough then we can do a phone call. I'm not a fan of social media including LinkedIn and do not want redundant apps on my devices to communicate. Outlook and Teams for Work are the exceptions. Google Voice as well.

I can't use iMessage as much since the penetration of Apple devices is not exactly where I would like it to be. So, have to resort to SMS, Telegram, Signal for personal comms. For business, Teams and email rock.

 

[eyoungren]

I did the same. I simply stopped using WhatsApp (the day I stopped using Facebook) over 7 years ago. People can message me on Telegram, it is way better for communication and expression and when you want to have really private conversations, you can use the Secret chats feature. Or, when you truly want privacy, switch to Signal for the while.

People still behave like I live under a rock when I tell them I am not on WhatsApp and they can reach me directly over SMS or call if they are not on Telegram/ Signal and if they are, they can reach me on Telegram/ Signal. I just shrug.

My wife and I are old school. If there is anything sensitive to be discussed, it is discussed in person, usually behind a closed door. We don't discuss personal matters or anything sensitive on any app or over any protocol. And outside of just her and I we are still of the time period where if you had anything important to say to anyone you went and discussed it directly in person with them. Probably a generational thing, but we just feel that important stuff should be discussed directly.

 

[macintoshmac]

My wife and I are old school. If there is anything sensitive to be discussed, it is discussed in person, usually behind a closed door. We don't discuss personal matters or anything sensitive on any app or over any protocol. And outside of just her and I we are still of the time period where if you had anything important to say to anyone you went and discussed it directly in person with them. Probably a generational thing, but we just feel that important stuff should be discussed directly.

Absolutely! I wholeheartedly concur. The gravity afforded by sitting down and talking is lost over online methods, akin to how it is difficult to count and pay USD 3499 to Apple in cash but far easier to part with the same money by flipping out the credit card and coming home with the box.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Ive been doing this experiment with Facebook/Meta, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Tik-Tok etc.. since they were invented.. No interest in using any of them ever. I applaud your choice to axe them and hope it catches on