Category: Social MediaCategory: Social Media

Another gem from Bradley Spitzer:

“The people producing the most important work right now are not the most connected. They’re the most protected. They have walls around their attention that would strike most professionals as rude, antisocial, or out of touch.

They’re none of those things. They’re just clear.”

Since I’m not on Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / etc. I see way less. I am “less connected.”

But I host multiple Zoom calls every week with energetic, enthuisastic folks talking about escaping social media and big tech.

I need to be clear to host those gatherings, as they require energy and focus. By eliminating 3+ hours per day of scrolling, I have the bandwidth needed to be an attentive host.

I am giving my focus and attention to my guests, not giant megacorps.

I noted this comment from Sarah Jo Austin, which perfectly aligns with our Social Media Escape Club vibes:

“I wore myself out last year making IG reels out of my Substack content. I stopped in January, thinking I would go back, but the time and creative energy I’ve gotten back is worth not engaging in IG at all.”

Trying to convince people on one platform to follow you to another (and to fork over their email address) is hard work, and eventually you need to ask yourself if it’s worth the time and energy.

We were right.

“Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial.”

“Meta must pay $375 million for violating New Mexico law in child exploitation case, jury rules.”

We knew something was off. We knew something didn’t feel right.

We talked about it, but most everyone around us kept justifying the platforms.

“If you’re not on social media, how will you find new clients?”

“How will I stay in touch with family?”

I’m not saying we need to delete our accounts today, but we need an exit plan.

Someone you know checked Facebook for the last time today. A hundred people you don’t know uninstalled Instagram. A family member will get locked out of their account this week.

Not everyone is tired of scrolling social media, of course. But someday in the future a lot of people you know will look back on this time and grieve for the hours lost, the attention we gave away to these hideous companies.

Today is a great day to delete a social media app from your phone.

Love this from Reconnect Stanford, on the importance of community:

One member of our community put it this way: being around others while trying to get off social media made what once felt impossible feel attainable. Without social media connecting them to thousands of acquaintances and mutuals, they could focus on the people who truly mattered.

Deleting an app or doing a “detox” is a start, but being a part of a community trying to attain the same thing is super helpful. Social media seeks to isolate us, so we need to intentionally do the opposite, getting back in touch with friends, hanging out, talking on the phone, making small talk.

As I wrote earlier, “folks who don’t use (social media) platforms anymore might not be able to see your hours of business, your location, or your contact info.”

This from merritt k., in the aptly titled, “Have a Fucking Website.”

“If you’re a hair salon, or a tattoo artist, or a restaurant, or whatever, please just have a fucking website where I can go and see your rates and hours. Not all of your potential clients are on these platforms, and I suspect that even many of the ones who are appreciate a simple, unadorned site that tells them what they need to know at a glance.”

I made this stripped down LinkTree clone for free, and it’s hosted for free.

Photographer Noah Kalina made a much prettier “Linktree clone” using Claude Code, and it’s hosted on Dreamhost, which (after their current special) renews at $10.99/month for the cheapest hosting plan (as of 3/18/2026).

A QR code points where you tell it to point.

You can have up to 10,000 email subscribers on Kit for free.

This isn’t hard, it’s just not as easy as social media.

But look what social media gets you:

• You can’t reach all your followers
• You can lose access for almost any reason
• They’re run by horrible people

If people are actively searching for you, or they’re in front of your store and scanning a QR code, don’t send them to platforms where you can’t reach them.