silo-quits
silo quits are public statements by individuals announcing they have quit posting on or using various silos with no intention to return. Sometimes people take a temporary break, AKA "social media break" or soft quit.
Why
Why quit social media
There are numerous reasons to quit (or at least greatly reduce) use of social media silos, as fundamental as:
- Personal mental health
- Being deliberate with your time and attention
- Withholding support from systems that amplify misinformation, divisiveness, violence
For more, see:
Why to quit specific sites:
- Why quit Facebook in general: Facebook#Criticism, in particular:
- Quitting Facebbok reduces vulnerability to misinformation / "fake news": 2024-05-16 BoingBoing: People who detox from Facebook become less likely to believe fake news, says new study
Those who unplugged from Facebook (but not Instagram) emerged from their digital hibernation less likely to believe the tall tales and urban legends flooding the internet…
- Quitting Facebbok reduces vulnerability to misinformation / "fake news": 2024-05-16 BoingBoing: People who detox from Facebook become less likely to believe fake news, says new study
Etc.
Why document silo quits
It is worth the time to publicly document quitting social media silos for many reasons:
- Show it is possible
- Set a good example
- Make it clear you are not alone for quitting or wanting to quit
- See individual perspectives on why they quit
Who
Want to be included in this growing list of people that have quit social media silos?
- Sign-in and add yourself,
- or drop by the chat and ask to be added, someone will be happy to help you out!
This page is for documenting:
- Anyone in IndieWeb community — please only add yourself. If you see silo quit announcements by others in the community, please encourage them to add themselves if they like.
- Public figures — When "very public" people like celebrities, political figures, other "notable" individuals (see Wikipedia) make a public announcement of leaving or deleting a social media profile, feel free to add them.
- Anyone else who asks to be added and preferably makes a public silo-quit statement with permalink.
Please do not:
- Please do not add people just because you see a silo-quit post on Twitter or elsewhere.
- Please do not ask people outside the community if they want to be added. E.g. people on Twitter that are declaring they are quitting Facebook etc.
Instead:
- If you choose to interact with someone publicly on Twitter, consider a positive invitation like:
- Congratulate them for quitting (acknowledgment is meaningful, being seen is meaningful)
- Let them know they’re not alone (solidarity is meaningful) and perhaps link to silo-quits in that context
- Only then invite them to join the IndieWeb for alternatives and a supportive community.
- Then they can read the invitation to add themselves on the page itself, instead of feeling pressured by a public invitation (by a possible/likely stranger) on Twitter that could come off sounding like a burdensome demand.
Future silo quits
Silo quits announced far in advance, either based on a specific future date or a particular event that does not have a specific date associated with it yet.
Mark Frauenfelder (BoingBoing)
I'm joining the campaign to deactivate my Twitter account on August 17, 2018 #Deactiday (in protest against Twitter not banning Alex Jones).
Tom MacWright
Goodreads - 2017-12-07 https://twitter.com/tmcw/status/938928565126512640
next indieweb goal: quit goodreads
2017-12-07 https://twitter.com/tmcw/status/938945494499205120
since 2k13, it's been An Amazon Company, and kinda hides that fact in all its branding/about materials
Eddie Hinkle
- Goodreads - 2017-12-08 https://eddiehinkle.com/2017/12/07/17/reply/ (tweet)
[…] Goodreads is definitely a silo-quit goal for me in 2018.
- Facebook - 2018-03-21 Leaving Facebook ... soon
Meredith L Patterson considering
Stack Overflow - 2016-02-08 https://twitter.com/maradydd/status/696656959706112000
Considering deleting my @StackOverflow account. Haven't wanted to login in years, and my answers are now being farmed for editing rep.
... and https://twitter.com/maradydd/status/696657390301790208
[...] Sanctimonious edit spam.
Kylie Jenner
Instagram - upon having a child. 2015-12-13 Kylie Jenner Plans to Leave Instagram Once She Has a Kid
Unclear silo quits
These are folks that declared an intent to quit a silo but no evidence can be found that they actually did. If you can confirm either way with a public post or other verifiable evidence, please note those links in their entry and move it to the date they actually quit the silo or at least the year if you can determine it.
Mike Elgan, Journalist
2018-12-12: Elgan announced on his own website that on July 4th, 2019 (traditionally celebrated as Independence Day in the United States) he would be quitting and deleting Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. He wrote a long and succinct list of reasons why he's leaving. To replace it he will be using his own website, a newsletter, and a Google Photos idea which he calls Nicebook.
- 2018-12-12 : A Declaration of Independence from Facebook (archived)
2020-06-07 Unclear if he actually quit Facebook.
- His archives from that week do not mention Facebook. Presumably he would have followed through with a blog post announcing / celebrating that he had done so and encouraging others to do so too.
2020-07-18:
- On 2019-07-03 he posted
New photos in my Nicebook! Just a reminder that tomorrow I’m leaving Facebook forever. Please follow my Nicebook for future pics and posts, or just send email to: mike@elgan.com https://photos.app.goo.gl/UhHg6Qs5Jj4dGp958
- 2019-10-07 he's posted once more and his account is still generally available at https://www.facebook.com/mike.elgan, but it appears that he's generally decamped Facebook for his website. Perhaps he's left it available to prevent fraudulent accounts which he's experienced before.
2024
This section is a stub. You can help the IndieWebCamp wiki by expanding it.
There has to be some, at least according to things people have said in chat!
The Guardian
Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X:
We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.
capjamesg
- Stopped using Instagram (after returning after a break) and Mastodon in 2024. No longer uses social media.
- I don't feel as stressed about all the things social media made me stressed about now.
- I occasionally think about the discussions I am missing, but I now realise I much prefer chatting with people directly or in communities than social media.
Skeleton Claw
- 2024-11-26 Skeleton Claw quit Twitter:
Dear friends, I love you but it's time to go. Perhaps we'll meet again somewhere else.
2023
capjamesg
capjamesg: I deleted my Instagram account after realising I was spending more time scrolling than I would like.
Phil Schiller
Apple Fellow Phil Schiller quit Twitter https://9to5mac.com/2023/01/25/phil-schiller-now-on-mastodon/
gRegor Morrill
gRegor Morrill: I decided to stop posting on Twitter after new ownership decisions led to increased hate speech and allowed previously-banned accounts back. Plus he has boosted misinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, and used anti-trans language.
- 2023-01-02 : Farewell, Fail Whale (archived)
- Twitter version: https://twitter.com/gRegorLove/status/1610141819664470016 (archived)
I had effectively stopped posting on my Facebook wall since 2020-06-04, though without an announcement. On 2023-01-02, I took the chance to also post an announcement (archived) on Facebook with details of how to follow me. I may still occasionally use some Facebook Groups, but I have no intention of posting publicly on my wall again.
Anthony Ciccarello
Anthony Ciccarello: I stopped posting on Twitter and Instagram a couple years ago but made it offical with a article on my blog.
- 2023-10-22 : Rethinking my approach to social media
NewNewsWire
2023-04-07 NewNewsWire quits Twitter: https://twitter.com/NetNewsWire/status/1644449449241092098
- "Website: http://netnewswire.com
Blog: http://nnw.ranchero.com
Mastodon: https://indieweb.social/@NetNewsWire
Microblog: https://micro.blog/netnewswire
Support: http://netnewswire.com/help
We will not be posting or replying here on Twitter." @NetNewsWire April 7, 2023
W3C
2023-12-06 W3C quits Twitter: "W3C has posted that we are no longer active on X/Twitter and have directed all our followers here to Mastodon. We are encouraging all W3C-related accounts to do the same."
2022
Laker Turner
2022-05-13 Laker Turner announced on her blog that she was leaving Twitter, citing mental health reasons.
Nick Simson
2022-05-01 Nick Simson quit Instagram and Goodreads and "ditched" Twitter (blog post), opting for the features and community in micro.blog instead.
2021
Leo Laporte
2021-01-12 Leo Laporte, a tech journalist and prominent podcaster, posted on his website that he's leaving Twitter Tweet to Toot: Why I'm moving off Twitter (syndicated copy on Twitter)
It’s just too toxic on Twitter. The continued trolling was hurting our team, our hosts, and our business, so we decided, as a team, to pack up and move out. I don’t know about you, but I always found Twitter mildly disturbing. I won’t miss it (any more than I miss Facebook).
2020
Jan-Lukas Else
2020-01-13 Twitter: I deleted my Twitter account
I finally deleted my Twitter account (or rather deactivated it, it will be deleted if I do not log in for another 30 days).
David Mead
2020-12-03 Twitter and Instagram: Leaving Twitter and Instagram
But why close them completely? Simple. I don't see what I liked ever coming back.
2019
@aphyr
2019-12-23 Aphyr announced in a Twitter thread why he was leaving Twitter (after being repeatedly banned and abused) to move to a self-hosted Mastodon account/instance.
Centre for Innovation, Leiden University
2019-03-29 Closing all Facebook groups, Whatsapp groups, and Instagram accounts:
The Centre for Innovation of Leiden University has always strongly supported social or collaborative learning in online learning: the interaction between learners facilitating learners, whether that is in discussion forums, peer review assignments or in our Facebook groups, contributes to a deeper understanding of subjects, and prepares learners to apply their knowledge.
However, the Centre for Innovation has a responsibility to our teachers, learners and volunteers, under GDPR and our own Privacy Policy. Based on this we conducted a review of different platforms that we made use of for collaborative, social learning and have decided to move away from those that do not allow us to meet our obligations and promises to those in our care.
Therefore we have decided to close all Facebook groups, Whatsapp groups and Instagram accounts currently under control of the Centre for Innovation, per the 29th of March 2019, and have adjusted our courses accordingly.
You can direct any questions or remarks in regards to this policy to MOOC@sea.leidenuniv.nl.
Kind Regards,
On behalf of Centre for Innovation, Leiden University,
Tanja de Bie, Community Manager
from email through Coursera about "Policy change in regards to Social Media use for social learning from Centre for Innovation, Leiden University"
Fluffy
2019-03-05 Fluffy announces they've quit Patreon with an explanation of the reasons why.
Dries Buytaert, Founder of Drupal
2019-02-04 Dries announced on his own website that he's leaving Facebook in favor of more open web and IndieWeb solutions.
I'm pulling the plug on Facebook because of their recent privacy violations — which got me thinking about what is next for the Open Web.
Ken Bauer
2019-01-31, Ken Bauer, associate professor in the Computing Science Department at the Tecnológico de Monterrey Guadalajara Campus, quit Facebook on a one month trial basis.
There are many reasons and much to do about the way Facebook (and other companies) are shaping the thoughts of our society. Sure I enjoy being able to stay in touch with others and for many (family and friends from school) this is the only contact that I really have with them. But we must think how we use these platforms and more importantly how they are using us.Paint it Facebook Black
Robert Habeck
Habeck, leader of the Green Party in Germany, announced deleting his Facebook and Twitter accounts on 07 Jan 2019, after falling victim to the Dec 2018 mass data hacks in Germany. In a blog post (archived) on his personal website, he mentions both the data hack and a personal tendency to loose focus and make unreflected statements as the reasons, while expressing his awareness that leaving social media may be a mistake as a politician.
On Twitter, the announcement (archived) triggered some immediate criticism for blaming social media for his own shortcomings; it was further questioned whether it is possible or appropriate for a politician to stay out of social media.
2018
Walt Mossberg
2018-12-17 Mr. Mossberg, a veteran technology journalist of The Wall Street Journal, The Verge and Recode, said on Monday he would be deactivating his Facebook account, along with the Facebook-owned Messenger and Instagram apps.
— via New York Times
archive copy of Facebook post
- "1/ Some personal news: I've decided to quit Facebook around the end of the year. I am doing this - after being on Facebook for nearly 12 years - because my own values and the policies and actions of Facebook have diverged to the point where I’m no longer comfortable there." @waltmossberg December 17, 2018
- "2/ I am also quitting Facebook-owned Instagram and Messenger. I will remain on Twitter, and will continue to communicate via iMessage, email and SMS text with those who have my email address and/or phone number. Obviously, people who follow me here can also reach me via DM." @waltmossberg December 17, 2018
Glenn Harlan Reynolds, aka Instapundit
I deleted my Twitter account. It's a breeding ground for thoughtlessness and contempt. Twitter is poison to American political discourse. Can't we find a more worthy pastime? published as an op-ed in in USA Today on 2018-12-03.
Christina Farr
In an article dated 2018-12-01, Christina Farr, CNBC health-tech reporter, wrote "I quit Instagram and Facebook and it made me a lot happier — and that’s a big problem for social media companies". In it she discusses some health and happiness related issues to leaving social media.
Khurt Williams
- Delete Google+ account on 9th October 2018.
- Deleted Tumblr accont on 22nd October 2018
Mathias Pfefferle
- Open web advocate Matthias Pfefferle announced on his own website that he was leaving Facebook on 2018-11-22 in preference for content and interaction on his own site.
Adam Croom
- 2018-11 Adam Croom, a Domain of One's Own advocate, did a "soft quit" of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
I decided that I would deactivate my Twitter account for the holidays. The holidays turned quickly turned into six months and here I am. I still have access to the Twitter profiles I wish to follow as most profiles are public, and thus I make a conscience effort to check the streams of particular folks (mostly journalists and news publications) that I’m still interested in following. Unsurprisingly, removing myself from punching the Twitter icon and swimming in the often negative environment that the community perpetuates has been a net positive for my health. In a similar fashion, I don’t have Instagram installed on my phone anymore (my workaround here is I’ll occasionally install it and bulk upload a handful of files and then delete it). For Facebook, I actually inactivated that account in November as well, but surprisingly felt myself come back to it quicker for important information I would miss otherwise (my gym uses a private group for all communication). But, for the most part, my day is spent sans social media.
Sweden
On 2018-10-01 the @Sweden twitter account quit tweeting after 7 years and 356 ordinary residents of Sweden who acted as curators. The story was covered in The Guardian.
Rick Wysocki
2018-09-26 Announced on his own website that he had quit Facebook
J. Gregory McVerry
Deleted 2018-09-28. Rejoined 2018-12-01 to locate missing dog. Quit again 2018-12-02
I deactivated my facebook months ago and thought I would leave it for when I volunteer with political campaigns.After today's data breach I am done. Not only did they get 50-90 million facebook passwords they got the token to everything you use "log in with facebook" Also while I missed the town news and friends, I simply felt better not being on facebook. No arguing with people whose minds I do not change, not lost time.Instead I found other new networks that actually make the world a better place. 28-September-2018
Eddie Hinkle
Leo Laporte
Yesterday I deactivated my Twitter account and kicked Tumblr to the curb. A couple of weeks ago I did the same with Instagram. A month or so before that I killed Facebook. And I survived. No, thrived! 29-August-2018
Ezra J. Spier
i’m quitting twitter thursday, aug 16 https://t.co/LJQNOthlyY
— Ezra J Spier (@ahhrrr) August 14, 2018
to be clear, there are lots of better reasons to quit twitter. but after thursday, i’d have to learn a new app and that’s just enough friction to make me let go.
— Ezra J Spier (@ahhrrr) August 14, 2018
Susan Fowler
Hello friends!
I’ll be taking a twitter break for the rest of 2018
Today I received some especially nasty hate mail, and it was a little too much even for me
You can find me on Instagram or contact me using the form on my site
Be kind to each other ❤️
See you in January!— Susan Fowler (@susanthesquark) August 10, 2018
Matt Haughey
On 2018-08-08 Matt Haughey announced on his personal site "After 12 years, I’ve decided to hang it up on Twitter." He included some additional thoughts, motivation, and description of exporting his data. Archive version
Over the years I started to get increasingly frustrated with the decisions made by Twitter. Every six months or so something would happen that’d make me stop and ask why I still use the site and I kept thinking of all the new voices I’d read and enjoyed that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. But the looming doubt over the future of the service eventually became too great.
Brent Simmons
On 2018-08-08 Brent announced he was leaving Twitter on his personal site. Brent has previously quit Twitter before.
My problem with Twitter remains the same: centralized social networking concentrates way too much power in one place. Twitter is awful in other ways, sure, not just for that reason. (The issues with Nazis and harassment and abuse. The way it treats third-party Twitter developers.) [...] Twitter is not the public square. It just wants you to think it is. The web itself is the public square.
50 Cent
2018-05-09 50 Cent announced that due to censorship he was quitting Instagram (where he had over 18 million followers). He made the quit posts on both Instagram and Twitter:
I’m leaving IG, I’m going back to Twitter. They take shit down off my page with out notifying me. #censorthesenuts"
- Following his quit he began posting images of nothing but black to his Instagram account, presumably in protest.
- Story on Business Insider
Chrissy Teigen
2018-03-24 Quit Snapchat announced on Twitter
I stopped using snap. The update, the constant complaints of people not being able to find me, plus the Rihanna poll...no bueno
SpaceX and Tesla
2018-03-23 Facebook page quits:
- 2018-03-23 The Verge: Elon Musk has removed Tesla and SpaceX’s Facebook pages after Twitter challenge
During a tweetstorm, Elon Musk has removed both of his companies’ Facebook pages after being challenged to do so by a few of his followers. The pages of both SpaceX and Tesla are now inactive. Each had around 2.6 million followers.
- https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/977211923719598086
- "I didn’t realize there was one. Will do." @elonmusk
- https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/977217618649137152
- "yasssssssss" @RMac18
- "yasssssssss" @RMac18
- https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/977217884526067712
- "slayyyyyyyy" @RMac18
- "slayyyyyyyy" @RMac18
Multiple Facebook Quitters
- 2018-03-21 the New York Times profiled various people quitting Facebook in relation to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Jonathan LaCour
2018-03-21 Facebook:
- 2018-03-21 Announced he had deleted his Facebook account on his own website:
I've officially deleted my Facebook account, and it will disappear completely from Facebook within 14 days. It feels great. I hope they go down in flames.
- Jonathan LaCour had previously downloaded and archived much of his content on his own website before quitting. He published a blog post about how he did it.
2018-01-13 Instagram
- Jonathan LaCour also tombstoned his Instagram account on January 13, 2018: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd6HunOBMJ1/
Cher
- 2018-03-20 Singer/Actress Cher deleted her Facebook account
- "OK …….JUST LEFT FACEBOOK🙌🏻"
- 2018-03-20 "2day I did something VERY HARD 4 me.Facebook has helped me with my Charity, &there are amazing young Ppl there.I have a special friend (Lauren)who I Respect & Admire,but today I deleted my Facebook account. I Love My🇺🇸🙏🏻. I Believe....There are Things MORE”IMPORTANT”THAN💰💰"
- 2018-03-20 "To be completely honest, I have not used Facebook in forever, but I kept it out of respect🙌🏻 For my friend,the help they’d Given me & help they were going to be give me when FREE THE WILD Was completely up on it feet.Strange...we are Ready Now😥"
Tea Leoni
- 2018-03-20 Actress Tea Leoni quit Facebook saying "This week, I’m leaving Facebook. It’s the spreading of misinformation during and since the 2016 election, and the unauthorized sharing of personal information—just can’t be here under these circumstances. I hope Facebook finds a better path. For now, I’ll be on Twitter. xoxtéa"
Adam McKay
- 2018-03-20 Director-writer Adam McKay quit Facebook.
- 2018-03-20 "Facebook account officially deleted. I’m a free man. I’m naked on a junk in the Hong Kong harbor now doing Tai Chi. Oh shit. I’m trapped in an HSBC commercial. Ahhh!"
- 2018-03-20 "So is there a way to erase my Facebook account or just deactivate? https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/975862983275380736"
Natalie Wolchover
- 2018-03-18 Science writer Natalie Wolchover quit Facebook.
Her reasons and advice about quitting:
In case it helps give others the strength, I deleted my Facebook account four days ago and my current rejoice-to-regret ratio is 100:1. Facebook has been an unfun wasteland for years. I deleted my 14-yr-old Facebook account. It’s nice to no longer live with the hypocrisy of giving my data to a company that I think does more harm than good, that’s irresponsible with said data, that’s so far up its own ass that it’s in over its head. All the photos though... (1/2) The hurdle to get over was the years of photos, mine and other people’s, that are stored there. FB let’s you download all your data, but if, like me, its just the photos you want: I used a Chrome extension called DownAlbum to quickly download entire FB albums. (2/2)
Leo Laporte
- 2018-03-18 Technology journalist and IndieWeb proponent Leo Laporte announced he had deleted his Facebook account the night before on his online show This Week in Tech, episode 658 (see discussion of the Facebook story at ~26 minutes into the show). He had previously quit Facebook, but came back to it because it was a space he felt he needed to cover as a technology journalist. "This is not the first time I'll quit Facebook, but this is the last," he said.
Jack Monroe
2018-03-01 Jack Monroe quit Twitter account @BoostStrapCook: Very sad to write this, but it's for the best.
I'm coming off Twitter for the good of my mental health.
Jim Carrey
- 2018-02-06 Actor Jim Carrey quit Facebook saying "I’m dumping my @facebook stock and deleting my page because @facebook profited from Russian interference in our elections and they’re still not doing enough to stop it. I encourage all other investors who care about our future to do the same. #unfriendfacebook"
rafaorr
~2018-02-05 @rafaorr quit Facebook per:
Vincent Ritter
- 2018-01-08 : Well, here we go. I just deleted my Twitter account (which I haven't really used in a year or so). I'm all in on micro.blog and the amazing community there.
- See also https://micro.blog/EddieHinkle/261383
Colin Walker
- https://colinwalker.blog/08-01-2018-2151/
After a lot of dithering and coming up with reasons not to I have finally deactivated both my Twitter and Facebook accounts... Do I worry about someone taking my name in future when it can be recycled? No. This blog and my primary email accounts (.me.uk and .blog) are the canonical representation of me on the internet and I don't need anything else.
2017
Tim Morgan
2017-12-02 quit Twitter:
- 2017-12-02 : I've been on Twitter for 10 years! I think this is a good time to retire. I just don't get the value out of Twitter I used to.
- 2017-12-02 : At some point—I don't know exactly when—Twitter started to become like Facebook. It's no longer a place for geeks to share wacky ideas, but rather a stream of consciousness and self promotion, manipulated for "engagement." Read: controversy.
- 2017-12-02 : Even friends and people I know well in-person have been conditioned to barf things on Twitter that they would never say in polite company. It's hard to read that here then hang with them IRL and put that stuff out of my mind.
- 2017-12-02 : I’ve been avoiding Twitter for at least a year. Some will say it’s because of the election—I mostly disagree; the election simply amplified what was already there.
- 2017-12-02 : Some will say I’m following the “wrong people”—with that I also disagree. I’ve changed who I’m following many times. Never satisifed. It’s not just the people—it’s the atmosphere and possibly the engagement algorithm.
- 2017-12-02 : Lastly, I don’t like what Twitter has done with the platform (if you can call it that any more). They ran off the API developers and hackers. They tweaked the algorithm and started notifying me of every little thing to draw me back in artificially.
- 2017-12-02 : This isn’t a rage quit. Twitter and I have simply grown apart. I no longer need this dependency.
- 2017-12-02 : Where will I go? Lately I’ve been playing around on Mastodon, http://sdf.org , http://tilde.town , peer-to-peer indieweb, and IRC. I’m a geek and a digital nomad.
- 2017-12-02 : So, with that long explanation, I will sign off. I love you all! I will see many of you in various other places. Send me an email! tim@timmorgan.org. (I’ll wait a few days, download my tweet archive, then delete my account.) ❤️❤️❤️👋
Nelson Minar
2017-11-09 quit Twitter except for two subsequent tweets citing additional sources for his reasons for quitting:
- 2017-12-17 https://twitter.com/nelson/status/943234596119879680 linking to https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/internal-emails-show-twitter-struggled-to-interpret-its-own
- 2017-12-27 https://twitter.com/nelson/status/946165350210531328 linking to https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/27/opinion/digital-nazi-hunter-trump.html
Bio (as of 2018-01-09):
I've quit Twitter because of management and policy. Find me on Mastodon: https://lgbt.io/@nelson
Joël Franusic
2017-08-26 temporarily quit Twitter through 2017-12-31:
Mark Damon Hughes
2017-04-23 quit Twitter:
2017-04-23 : Mastodon: "For the last few weeks, I’ve been getting into Mastodon, and last week I closed my Twitter account." (archived)
Lindy West
2017-01-03 quit Twitter:
2017-01-03 : I’ve left Twitter. It is unusable for anyone but trolls, robots and dictators
- 2018-02-01 New York Times: I Quit Twitter and It Feels Great
It has been one year and 28 days since my last tweet.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
2017-01-02 quit Twitter: 2017-01-02 : Ok. So I'm gonna take the year to try my hand at this fancy book writin' stuff. See y'all in '18. Take us out, Queen...
- 2018-03-15 Toward the end of an The Atlantic Interview Podcast, Coates positively indicated he was done with Twitter and would NEVER be coming back to it.
Sherman Alexie, novelist
2017-01-01 quit Twitter:
2017-01-01 : Hey folks, I’m leaving Twitter because its negatives increasingly outweigh its positives. Thank you for the follows.
2016
Om Malik
2016-12-22 Instagram (possibly others? temporary ”Holiday from Social Internet”)
- http://om.co/2016/12/22/holiday-from-social-internet/
… I have decided to get off the Social Internet for the near foreseeable future.
… Perhaps restricting myself to the blog is the right way to balance what’s important and what’s not. …
Instead of Instagram (which Inhave [sic] shutdown for a few weeks including making it private), I will post photos in full size on my photo blog, Om.blog.
Marty McGuire
2016-12-15 Evernote
- https://martymcgui.re/2016/12/14/225217/
It’s overdue, but the new TOS pushed me to act. Tonight I liberated my Evernote content. Likely will import into laverna.cc.
Colin Walker
2016-12-01 Twitter
- https://colinwalker.blog/2016/12/29/life-without-twitter/
But, with the way 2016 has been, and things going on in my life offline, I decided to step away. So, on December 1st I stopped tweeting, uninstalled the app from my phone and took the drastic step of deleting all 13K plus of my old tweets.
Kendall Jenner
2016-11-14 Instagram
Alan Levine
- 2016-11-16 Facebook Sticking a Fork in Facebook (2nd Time)
It was not even the still endless use of my flickr photos for Facebook catfishing accounts, which asking Facebook to address is futile, it is more the accepted inevitability of Facebook that grates at me too. Upin my last update waving goodbye, within an hour, one friend (the real kind, not the click kind) called me on the phone. It was actually my second deletion, I only had to revive it for a teaching project where student groups were in there.
- 2010-05-16 FacebookObligatory Why I am ________ing Facebook
First time was more about the stinginess of how Facebook sucks content in but never lets it out. And feeling hypocritical criticizing it while being inside
Brent Simmons
2016-11-09 Twitter - https://twitter.com/brentsimmons/status/796419971450425344
- On Leaving Twitter
I can’t really leave Twitter, because I don’t want someone else to take my username. But I did make my account private and I unfollowed everybody. If you @-mention me, I’ll never know.
- 2017-08-22 returned: https://twitter.com/brentsimmons/status/900056075717591041
(Yes, I’m back on Twitter.)
Lynn Cyrin
2016-08-16 LinkedIn
- https://twitter.com/lynncyrin/status/765661049060155394
Done ~ Gonna see what http://microformats.org/wiki/hresume is about now
Ilya Grigorik
2016-07-28 Flickr
- https://twitter.com/igrigorik/status/759141929732878337
(finally) deleted my Flickr account, cya Verizon! ... if you were following me on Flickr, you can find me @ http://500px.com/igrigorik
Tino Kremer
2016-07-18 Facebook, Twitter, Path, Google+, Flickr, Camarilla
- I deleted all my socialmedia accounts. Keeping everything up to date was a huge time sink. It also affected my mood as I was getting annoyed by all the crap Facebook and others put in my face while I just want to see what's happening with my friends and family. I reverted to chat, email and RL visits. I'm much happier now. I never looked back.
Joe "begriffs" Nelson
2016-05-01 Twitter
Deleted my twitter account and went back to the original social network. Been off Twitter for months and rarely think about it anymore. Primarily using email to talk with people now and have found we have higher quality conversations.
Tim Burks
2016-05-28 app.net
- https://twitter.com/timburks/status/736683997812510720
Deleting my http://app.net account in case any other timburks out there wants it.
Replacing it evidently with IndieWeb usage, next tweet in reply:
- https://twitter.com/timburks/status/737004930712494080
Picked up one of those "indieweb" domains: http://timburks.me
Various Milennials
2016-03-17 Twitter, Facebook
- 'Everyone could know what I was doing': the millennials not using social media
“One day I realized I’m spending so much time doing this. These little seconds add up. I wonder what it would be like if I didn’t spend these seconds here and spent them doing something else. What if I was doing other things with these seconds? What would they become? Would I enjoy it?”
Julieanne Smolinski
2016-03-01 Twitter
- Twitter Has Become a Park Filled With Bats and Perverts
I’m quitting Twitter for a specific, practical reason: Because I keep getting bothered by assholes and perverts and Twitter doesn’t seem willing or able to do anything about it. I’m quitting Twitter the way you quit your favorite restaurant when it suffers an E. coli outbreak. I'm quitting Twitter for the simple fact that Twitter’s been bumming me out.
Stephen Fry
2016-02-15 Twitter
- Too many people have peed in the pool
It’s no big deal – as it shouldn’t be. But yes, for anyone interested I have indeed deactivated my twitter account. I’ve ‘left’ twitter before, of course: many people have time off from it whether they are in the public eye or not. Think of it as not much more than leaving a room. I like to believe I haven’t slammed the door, much less stalked off in a huff throwing my toys out of the pram as I go or however one should phrase it. It’s quite simple really: the room had started to smell. Really quite bad.
George DeMet
2016-01-01 George DeMet (founder & CEO Palantir) quit Facebook:
2015
Darren Mothersele
2015-11-10: Facebook
- 2015-12-03 Work in Progress: The Future of (My) Web (Part 1, Leaving Facebook) (and tweet)
I deleted my Facebook account on 10th November 2015. This time there's no going back.
Previous challenges:
Emphasis added.I have posted before about my decision to leave Facebook. In fact, that was almost exactly 2 years ago. I tried to leave. It didn't work. Six months later I returned.
The main reason for my return was that Facebook had become the single place where my friends organised social events. I was locked in.
whaity
2015-11-08: Instagram
- https://twitter.com/whaity/status/663379066037358592
Emphasis added.Disabled the Instagram account. Next is Google stuff. Then Facebook. Not sure about Twitter yet. #indieweb]
Essena O'Neill
2015-11: Essena O'Neill quit Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr
- 2015-11-05 Essena O'Neill: Instagram and YouTube stars rush to prove their posts aren't fake
O’Neill had over 600,000 followers until she left Instagram and YouTube, claiming popular users such as herself present an edited and ultimately fake version of reality.
- 2016-01-06 Instagram Star Essena O'Neill Breaks Her Silence on Quitting Social Media
The 19-year old Internet star made global headlines when she posted a YouTube video explaining her decision to quit Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr in November
Rob Fairhead
2015-11-01: Google Photos, Evernote
- https://twitter.com/raretrack/status/660786323775557632
Emphasis added.Removed all of my photos from #GooglePhotos - another small step to owning my data. Flickr may be more problematical! #ownyourdata #indieweb]
- https://twitter.com/raretrack/status/660830547871068162
Just finished migrating all of my bookmarked articles from the silo of #Evernote into my own @withknown site #ownyourdata #indieweb #known]
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce
2015-09-30 Business Insider reports that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has quit Facebook. Benioff explained why in a series of tweets including the quote "[It was] Just too much. Desiring peace through simplicity."
Joss Whedon
Twitter Joss Whedon Calls “Horsesh*t” On Reports He Left Twitter Because Of Militant Feminists
- 2015-05-04:
Whedon said, is that he chose to embrace his longstanding desire post–Age of Ultron to reclaim his personal life and creative spark — and that meant saying goodbye to Twitter.
Whedon laid out a portrait of the constant noise of Twitter and his complicated relationship to it to explain what eventually led him to leave.
“Twitter is an addictive little thing, and if it’s there, I gotta check it. When you keep doing something after it stops giving you pleasure, that’s kind of rock bottom for an addict. … I just had a little moment of clarity where I’m like, You know what, if I want to get stuff done, I need to not constantly hit this thing for a news item or a joke or some praise, and then be suddenly sad when there’s hate and then hate and then hate.”
Antonio Savorelli
Facebook The Friction of Quitting
- 2015-03-31:
A couple of months ago I decided to quit Facebook once and for all, and stop considering it an inevitability of my digital identity. Its business strategy had always creeped me out, even before the advent of frictionless sharing, which is something bad labeled as something good. Nothing I’ve done throughout the years has ever fully succeeded in toning down the sources of creepiness, from the so-called Facebook envy to the feeling I have that even the smartest of my friends become shallow, babbling dummies the moment they open Facebook—which makes me certain that I too, in their eyes, must appear the same way, even more than my offline self does.
Dan Gillmor
Facebook (except to stay "up to date on how it works") https://www.facebook.com/dangillmor/posts/1757944654431393
- 2015-01-31:
his last post on his Facebook profile.Please don't be insulted if I don't accept friend requests -- I'm using FB solely to make sure I'm up to date on how it works, and will be spending very little time here. So it's unlikely I'd catch up with you this way in any case.
Graydon Hoare
Twitter (and perhaps other "social media") https://twitter.com/graydon_pub/status/556131987564408832
- 2015-01-06:
Think it's time for a social media break. See y'all in a while.
- 2015-04-06: 3 months later, returned to Twitter: https://twitter.com/graydon_pub/status/586263366844477441
… I returned to twitter …
2014
Geoff Nicholson
- 2014-12-12:
A few people have recently asked me why I left facebook. Mostly, it was because I was compulsively checking it for no real reason. Yes, I miss out on the heartwarming stories that people post, and I miss out on hearing what my friends are doing in places far and near. But I also miss out on tracking cookies, being an outlet for advertising, and siloing my data in Facebook's vaults.
Mostly, I've decided to implement the #indieweb. This is a set Principles which I think the web is missing out on. [...]
Brad Colbow
- 2014-07-31:
Decided to move all my blog posts from Medium and Tumblr back to my own site http://bradcolbow.com/blog.html[2]
Chuq Von Rospach
- 2014-06-29: Announced he is probably leaving Facebook in one week.
- Facebook Steps In It
My bottom line is that I keep looking for ways to spend less time on Facebook because I get very little value for the time spent there — I’d rather put that time into more productive things. Facebook just isn’t that interesting or useful, and I’m not thrilled with their tendency to set policies that ignore the needs and interests of their users in favor of things that benefit Facebook.
Brennan Novak
- 2014-06-06 Dear Facebook, Goodbye
In honor of the one year anniversary of Edward Snowden's revelations and in effort to #ResetTheNet, I am leaving Facebook. I will first download all my pictures, updates, and private messages and then delete my account data.
Tyler Finck
- 2014-05-06 Tyler Finck: Antisocial Networking
Last weekend I deleted my Instagram account, my Facebook Page, and my Google+ profile. [...]
Over the past year I’ve tweaked my website almost every month, editing code and experimenting live. I’ve also started to create content two or three times a month. This site has become the place that I’m ready to host almost everything I make. The one stop Tyler Finck shop, which sounds horrible but is the best summary of the journey that I didn’t even know I was on until very recently. [...]
Note: I plan on keeping my Twitter account active because after six years of use I still love it. My Flickr stream will soon become private as a means of backup and my Tumblr panoramas will be rolled into tylerfinck.com. Vimeo/YouTube? I’m not entirely sure what to do with them (since I utilize those sites only to serve up content). My love/hate relationship with Dribbble continues, and I’m still experimenting with Soundcloud.
Doug McKown
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr:
- 2014-04-16 Doug McKown: Why I’m Quitting Facebook
[Strong emphasis in original]I’ve already deleted my Pinterest, Google+, and Tumblr account, but still have too many accounts to manage: Facebook, two Instagram accounts, and three Twitter accounts. I’m closing both Instagram accounts and my Facebook account.
I want to own and control my content.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is taking a ~6 month break from "social media", as announced in:
- Where did I go? Out. What did I do? Nothing. OR, why I'm coming back to the blog once more... , which refers to an earlier piece in :
- The Guardian on by : Neil Gaiman prepares for social media 'sabbatical'
He is, however, still blogging on his own site:
Eat24
- 2014-03-31 Eat24 (company): A Breakup Letter to Facebook from Eat24:
We’ll pack our things and be gone by 11:59pm on Monday night. Yes, you read that right. Eat24, the company that is always telling customers to Like our page, post on our wall, and ask us for coupons on Facebook… is deleting its Facebook. This is real.
Dadepo Aderemi
- 2014-03-21 Dadepo Aderemi: Getting Personal:
I am avoiding Facebook by all means now. I still keep using twitter though, but majorly as a source of discovery for things around my area of professional interests, and once in a while, a place to engage in ephemerial and disjointed rants. If I have something on my mind I really feel the need to share or capture, I write a coherent post instead. No, sorry: fusilade of tweets is no longer for me.
Michael Garvin
- 2014-03-28 Michael Garvin (gar) started self-hosting project code Time for gitlab
Of course, with github you still can own your data, git is a decentralized version control system so you have a complete copy of everything even on your local clone. The things github provides (that are also the data you do not control) are things like issues. Things that are the real ‘community’ part of your project. As my friend @baldwin said to me earlier today, “It’s interesting that github seems to have re-centralized git.”
Sebastiaan Andeweg
- 2014-09-09 Sebastiaan Andeweg left Facebook (deactivating), after downloading the data-package they provide. Not everything seems to be in there, and it's certainly not easily parsed, but it's enough to not reactivate when in search for a memory. I did leave partly to get more time and space in my head, partly because I just did not want to have the feeling of being analysed all day.
2013
Aaron Parecki
- :
"I am no longer publishing content to my App.net account until I can syndicate my content to their service without writing a single line of code."
Kartik Prabhu
- Redux :
Jamie Zawinski
Laurent Eschenauer
Douglas Rushkoff
2012
- ...
2011
Aaron Sorkin
2011-06-22 Both The Telegraph and The Guardian reported that The Social Network's [writer] Aaron Sorkin quits Facebook: Writer of Oscar-winning drama is no longer a friend to Mark Zuckerberg's creation due to 'opinions on social media'
2010
Jesse Eisenberg
2010-10-16 The Courier Mail reported that Jesse Eisenberg, the star of the film The Social Network who portrays Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg had joined Facebook for the film, but subsequently quit.
But his brief flirtation with the site left him "freaked out".
"I joined under a fake name and was sent a message from Facebook suggesting people I should befriend," Eisenberg explains.
"One of them was a girl my sister was friends with in high school. I don't know how they found her, no idea. I signed off right then."
2007
Leo Laporte
- 2007-04-06 Leo Laporte leaves Twitter for Jaiku Laporte tweeted: “I’ve asked Ev to delete my Twitter account. I’m concerned about confusion with TWiT. I’m moving to Jaiku: account is ChiefTWiT. CU there!” followed by “I should never have trademarked TWiT. Curse you Ev. Couldn’t you have called this Odeoer or something?”
- According to Scoble's post:
we’re having dinner with Lisa Stone and Chris Carfi and Chris says Leo is the “Twitter quitter.” The reason Leo’s leaving Twitter is significant is because Leo kicked off the Twitter hype by talking about Twitter on his show, TWiT (This Week in Tech) about two weeks before SXSW.
- 2007-04-08 Being part of his technology journalism beat, Laporte rejoined Twitter days later.
- 2018-01-16 Laporte is apparently suing Twitter for it's move into audio/video space:TWiT is suing Twitter, alleging breach of contract and trademark infringement
years ago
- Michael Bishop quit LinkedIn "a long time" ago.
Purging Rather Than Quitting
- 2017-07-14 I Flushed The Last 9 Years Of My Facebook Profile
I flushed the the last 9 years of my Facebook profile over the last couple of days. Instead of deleting my account, I just cleaned up everything except what I have posted in 2017. In the future I will make it a yearly ritual to flush the previous year of my Facebook profile
- 2018-10-12 Robin Derosa deletes all content at end of each month to maintain local connections
My plan going forward is to manually delete all engagements at the end of every month. I will also refrain from hosting much content on Facebook, and will instead add most things to my blog and then link to Facebook (go #IndieWeb!) Facebook Delete and Stay
- 2019-01-08: Ryan Barrett deleted all his FB and G+ posts (and isn't posting any more).
Silo quits to File
So many have been quitting silos that many haven't been properly documented in the calendar timeline above. This section collects those that need to be filed above properly. (Roughly in order by date):
- Digg in 2010 had a mass silo quit when users abandoned Digg V4 to go to competitor Reddit.
- 2011-11-20 7 Months, No Facebook
- 2018-03-26 Ben Werdmüller quit Instagram and left a final post in place: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgzsAZQltSQ/?taken-by=ben.werdmuller
This is my final Instagram post. If you want to continue to see my photos, please keep in touch at werd.io. I will not participate in this.
- 2018-04-26 returned a month later with this post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiDzbpIFKf6
Monkey, God of Pens, says “Ben’s back, which was inevitable”.
- 2018-04-26 returned a month later with this post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiDzbpIFKf6
- https://twitter.com/APBusiness/status/983309928495550465
- "#Apple co-founder [Steve] Wozniak decides to shut down his #Facebook account. http://apne.ws/z1h42TR" @APBusiness April 9, 2018
- #DigitalCleanse (via [3])
- 2015-09-30 The Telegraph: Why do celebrities like Lena Dunham leave Twitter?
- 2018-03-08 Instagram silo-quit: https://instagram.com/p/BgD-k5KFpm8/
I’m quitting Instagram. Here’s why. […]
- Wetherspoon pub chain shuts its social media accounts
"It's becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion," [Wetherspoons CEO] Mr Martin added.
- 2018-04-28 I tried leaving Facebook. I couldn’t by Sara Jeong
I’ve never managed to leave Facebook of my own accord. My year off Facebook was kind of my choice, but was really because Facebook temporarily banned me until I agreed to stop impersonating a Pokemon.
- 2018-07-20 Maggie Haberman quitting using Twitter as dialog: Maggie Haberman: Why I Needed to Pull Back From Twitter
After nearly nine years and 187,000 tweets, I have used Twitter enough to know that it no longer works well for me. I will re-engage eventually, but in a different way.
- https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1018625748939177984
- "With exception of breaking news and my own stories, taking a break from this platform. No reason or prompt other than that it’s not really helping the discourse." @maggieNYT July 15, 2018
- 2018-07-22 Halsted Mencotti Bernard quit Instagram with this last post: Thank you for viewing! I'll continue to share at cygnoir.net. See you there.
- 2018-07-28 WIRED / Emily Dreyfuss: I'm Deleting All My Old Tweets Because Nothing Matters
- 2018-08-01 WIRED / Emily Dreyfuss The Sadness of Deleting Your Old Tweets
- 2018-08-08 https://twitter.com/tinysubversions/status/1027325323317104640
- "100% related to this article that I'm going to try really hard to turn this into a promo-only account from now on. ("promo" meaning "promoting interesting projects or information"). If you want to engage with me as a person, follow me on Mastodon. (1/5)
https://twitter.com/tinysubversions/status/1027270383181811713" @tinysubversions August 8, 2018
- "100% related to this article that I'm going to try really hard to turn this into a promo-only account from now on. ("promo" meaning "promoting interesting projects or information"). If you want to engage with me as a person, follow me on Mastodon. (1/5)
- 2018-08-15 Mike Montiero and #DeactiDay https://twitter.com/monteiro/status/1029816025129209856
- "Stand with us on Friday. I doesn't have to be permanent. Come back when/if you want. A day. A week. The point is to have them see a dip in engagement. Show them how many of us there are. Also: Do the #BlockParty500 thing!! It’s totally awesome. #DeactiDay" @monteiro August 15, 2018
- 2018-08-17 Mike Monteiro deleted his Twitter account https://twitter.com/monteiro; he subsequently reactivated it.
- 2018-08-15 Mashable: #DeactiDay: The growing Twitter movement urging users to delete their accounts over Alex Jones
- https://twitter.com/girlziplocked/status/1029909564819496962?s=19
- "Overheard this today between a teenager and her dad:
“Why did you delete your Twitter account?”
“I dunno. I just did.”
“Were you being bullied?”
“No. I just...all the people on there say the exact same stuff as everyone else on there and like I get it, we’re all gonna die.”" @girlziplocked August 16, 2018
- "Overheard this today between a teenager and her dad:
- 2018-08-17 Twitter quit: longtime user Derek Powazek deleted his primary account https://twitter.com/fraying though his private placeholder https://twitter.com/powazek still seems to be up (and says to check @fraying)
- 2018-08-17 Wil Wheaton deleted his Twitter account https://twitter.com/wilw
- 2018-08-29 Perhaps more of a site-quit than silo, or fedi-quit? Wil Wheaton leaves Mastodon (the instance he was one) https://mastodon.cloud/@wilw
- ^^^ apparent star(t) date: https://mastodon.cloud/@wilw/27202
- "Maybe this is the one that will stick? Hello, World." @wilw April 5, 2017
- Om Malik quits Facebook https://om.co/2018/09/01/the-long-goodbye-to-facebook/
- 2018-09-03 Charlie Owen "It's time to say goodbye to Twitter"
- https://twitter.com/svoisen/status/1048071680457826304
- "This week I deleted my Facebook account and removed Twitter from my phone. Life feels lighter, a little more focused." @svoisen October 5, 2018
- https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1075513588859645952?s=19
- "We've decided to become a Facebook-Free Business at @basecamp starting today. No Facebook, Instagram, no WhatsApp. No ads. No profiles. No pages. No usage. No more. Run your own business? Consider joining up. https://m.signalvnoise.com/become-a-facebook-free-business-5bfefc20c09d" @dhh December 19, 2018
- 2019-01-01 Dietrich Ayala deleted Instagram (native app) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGnDKPgcnS/
- "Cleaning house of Facebook surveillance apps. Happy last @instagram post day! #unstagram" @Dietrich Ayala January 1, 2019
- https://twitter.com/colinjohnston/status/1082107744495128576
- "I’m deleting Facebook tomorrow. I set up a @tinyletter newsletter for friends and family. I’m going to experiment with personal blogging using @indiewebcamp practices." @colinjohnston January 7, 2019
- https://twitter.com/espiekermann/status/1081727078016241664
- "I intend to spend tomorrow, Sunday, getting off Facebook." @espiekermann January 6, 2019
- https://twitter.com/MarcoInEnglish/status/1023597053350477825
- "I was never on Reddit, and I deleted my FB account on March 31. Use Twitter, some little Mastodon, and am transforming my blogs to be #indieweb capable, so I can pull all the stuff out of the Twitter silo now as well." @MarcoInEnglish July 29, 2018
- https://twitter.com/vincentlistens/status/1089986141804204035
- "Quit #Instagram going fully micropub on my photo posts. Plus Instagram is pants etc.. #siloquit #indieweb" @vincentlistens January 28, 2019
- 2019-01-30 https://twitter.com/Emma_Marris/status/1090728196788477952
- "I emailed Dr. Tilcsik and he says he closed
his account because it was his New Year's resolution to delete all his social media accounts by the end of January 2019." @Emma_Marris January 30, 2019
- "I emailed Dr. Tilcsik and he says he closed
- Wiki Brainstorm: Consider moving specific silo quits to those silo pages (e.g. Facebook#Silo_Quits/Twitter#Silo_Quits) and leaving this page for general social media quits
- Pro: More specific reasoning
- Pro: Visible when looking at specific silo
- Pro: Would improve this page
- Con: Lots of work to clean up
- Con: Some overlap with Criticism sections
Articles
General articles about silo-quits as well as how-tos:
- Quitting facebook increases time with friends and family, reduced political polarization, and increased well-being The Welfare Effects of Social Media
- 2018-04-07 Buzzfeed: Teens Also Sometimes Quit Social Media
- 2018-12-19 New York Times How to Delete Facebook
- "Lost faith in Facebook after data leakages, breaches and too much noise? Here’s a guide to breaking up with the social network and its photo-sharing app for good."
- "How to delete Facebook:
1. Assess what you might lose
2. Download your data
3. Hit the delete button
4. Resist getting back together
5. Delete Instagram
6. Ensure there is no tracking
https://nyti.ms/2EzlsrM" @nytimes December 19, 2018
- 2018-12-27 Consumer Reports How to Delete Online Accounts You No Longer Need
- Quit social media silos because they’re a BUMMER: 2018-10-18 Quartz: A simple acronym sums up what’s wrong with social media
… the sinister purpose of tech companies that brought us the platforms we’re hooked on and their effect on us—BUMMER. It stands for Behaviors of Users Modified and Made into Empires for Rent.
See Also
- silos
- why
- app-quits
- getting started
- Posts about the indie web
- delete your account
- soft quit
- Temporary silo-quit(s): http://larrysanger.org/2018/09/im-quitting-social-media-cold-turkey/
- ""
- 2019-02-25 Mark Nottingham quits Instagram, for Flickr instead: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuU5QZonWGT/
- "" @Mark Nottingham February 26, 2019
- 2019-03-23 NYT: Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good / Screens used to be for the elite. Now avoiding them is a status symbol.
Conspicuous human interaction — living without a phone for a day, quitting social networks and not answering email — has become a status symbol.
- https://twitter.com/jennschiffer/status/1117093332377845761
- "it’s been almost 4 months since i quit instagram so everyone i used to talk to there that is on here needs to send me their quarterly life reports pls/thnx" @jennschiffer April 13, 2019
- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/15/tech/aoc-quit-facebook-just-like-me/index.html
- April 16, 2019
- “Twitter has made many debates poisonous. The reality of each side is now based on the two dimensional possibilities offered by a screengrab of the very worst people on the side of the argument you wish to despise. Before long, everyone with even a modicum of agnosticism towards your position becomes as grotesque as your most extreme opposition. All dissent is monstrous. All questioning is an affront to your inherent decenc
- “These platforms encourage compulsive use by offering forms of social approval—likes on Facebook and Instagram, retweets on Twitter—that are intermittent and unpredictable, as though you’re playing a slot machine that tells you whether or not people love you.” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/29/what-it-takes-to-put-your-phone-away
- https://twitter.com/utopiah/status/1126390508400578560
- "...And in other news I deleted my @Google account." @utopiah May 9, 2019
- https://twitter.com/utopiah/status/1099075503955288064
- "Deleted Facebook and WhatsApp.
Want to contact me? Use DM (duh), @telegram, @signalapp, SMS, email, phone call. It works." @utopiah February 22, 2019
- "Deleted Facebook and WhatsApp.
- https://twitter.com/utopiah/status/1099080598579302400
- "Forgot Instragram. Deleted that too, duh." @utopiah February 22, 2019
- https://twitter.com/Mamboleoo/status/1126442042719076352
- "Thanks for your answer! I quit Instagram, Snapchat in the past and I deleted my Facebook profile (not messenger) as well but I'm heavily using Whatsapp and Messenger as a communication tool.
I gave a try to Mastodon but the lack of people over there is really not helping :/" @Mamboleoo May 9, 2019
- "Thanks for your answer! I quit Instagram, Snapchat in the past and I deleted my Facebook profile (not messenger) as well but I'm heavily using Whatsapp and Messenger as a communication tool.
- quit and thread of more: https://twitter.com/susanthesquark/status/1131957106213392385
- "I deleted my Facebook account ~6 months ago and I never, ever miss it. I genuinely do not even notice its absence in my life." @susanthesquark May 24, 2019
- ORLY (not quite quits, staying in touch via spouse as FB proxy) https://twitter.com/lindseywiebe/status/1103722338422583296
- Saying goodbye to Facebook cross-posting
- DeleteFacebook
- https://twitter.com/enhle1994/status/1194344705800200204
- "Twitter is no longer reflective of my state of mind and how I seek to engage with the world. Spiritually, it unnerves me. It takes more than it gives and like with any toxic addiction, it is difficult to leave- but necessary." @Enhle1994 November 12, 2019
- https://twitter.com/Ebonyteach/status/1195786961560178693
- "This is the last straw for me and Twitter. I have worked too hard and sacrificed too much for this hellsite to damage my professional relationships, which is what that article has tried to do.
It's been real, y'all. In 2020, this will become an updates-only account." @Ebonyteach November 16, 2019
- "This is the last straw for me and Twitter. I have worked too hard and sacrificed too much for this hellsite to damage my professional relationships, which is what that article has tried to do.
- The escape from Instagram
- thread of a bunch: https://twitter.com/hamillhimself/status/1216482695061966848
- "So disappointed that #MarkZuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I've decided to delete my @Facebook account. I know this is a big "Who Cares?" for the world at large, but I'll sleep better at night. #PatriotismOverProfits 🇲🇾>💰 https://nyti.ms/30cPqKG" @HamillHimself January 12, 2020
- https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1223425267831574534
- "I'm quitting Facebook. Not comfortable with the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users' privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like." @StephenKing February 1, 2020
- https://www.dieselsweeties.com/ics/987/
- 2018-08-17 Derek Powazek on Medium: Why I Quit Twitter, a List
- Kara Swisher quits publicly in a NYT editorial https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/opinion/facebook-zuckerberg-labeling.html
- 2008-04-10 Twitter silo-quit why i deleted my twitter account, restored a "couple of hundred e-mails later".
- 2010-08-27 TechCrunch: Wow. If You Think Quitting Booze Freaks People Out, Wait 'Til You Quit Twitter
- 2020-08-22 TechCrunch: Fr Th Mmrs: The Rise Of Microblogging, The Death Of Posterity
A little over a week ago, I closed down all of my social media accounts, with the exception of Twitter, which I locked.
- 2020-10-25 WIRED: How to Clean Up Your Digital History / There are plenty of reasons to declutter your online traces. Here’s how to tidy up.
- Example: North Idaho ISP "Your T1 WIFI" silo-quit Twitter & Facebook for all their customers: https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2021/1/11/22225796/north-idaho-internet-provider-blocks-facebook-twitter-censorship
- https://twitter.com/girlziplocked/status/1359322613085048833?s=20
- "If I could patent an antidepressant that could make you feel as good as studies show deleting your Facebook account would make you feel, it would make me billions of dollars.
https://amzn.to/3q8W5Sl" @girlziplocked February 10, 2021
- "If I could patent an antidepressant that could make you feel as good as studies show deleting your Facebook account would make you feel, it would make me billions of dollars.
- 2021-03-25 Chrissy Teigen quit Twitter: The Verge Twitter’s ‘unofficial mayor’ Chrissy Teigen quits platform after years of harassment
Chrissy Teigen, a prolific tweeter the company once called the mayor of Twitter, quit the social media platform Wednesday night.
- Regularly purging example: https://twitter.com/curmudgeonaf/status/1379530809179303937
- "I delete all of my old acitivity on social media services regularly. So there is nothing to remember. All of my Facebook activity has been deleted (I don’t post there anymore), and I use Tweet Deleter to automatically delete old tweets on schedule." @curmudgeonaf April 6, 2021
- 2021-07-16 iNews: Millennials like me are abandoning Twitter – I feel less lazy and am thinking better already
Over the past few years, I’ve anecdotally noted a Great Millennial Media flight from Twitter. And it’s not just journalists – celebrities such as Hayley Bieber, Lizzo, and Millie Bobby Brown …
- “It wasn’t until Twitter made me feel especially glum – a mixture of diminishing highs and the criticism that accompanies being mildly prominent and wildly fallible – that I realised how totally I relied on it for my self-esteem.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/aug/04/a-moment-that-changed-me-i-realised-i-had-become-a-masochist-and-quit-twitter
- “taking a Social Media break.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CSEpeG7LJrV/
- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/26/im-happy-to-lose-10m-by-quitting-facebook-says-lush-boss
- 2022-01-28 DHH quits Twitter: We can't thrive without friction
- 2022: Awkwafina (Nora) pausing Twitter posting for "a few years": https://twitter.com/awkwafina/status/1489996505100558347
- "Well, I’ll see you in a few years, Twitter - per my therapist. To my fans, thank you for continuing to love and support someone who wishes they could be a better person for you. I apologize if I ever fell short, in anything I did. You’re in my heart always ❤️" @awkwafina February 5, 2022
- ^ only Twitter, explicitly noting still on "all other socials": https://twitter.com/awkwafina/status/1490007608102694918
- "To Clarify: I am retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to, and I didn’t drunkenly hit someone with a shoehorn and now escaping as a fugitive. Also am avail on all other socials that don’t tell you to kill yourself!" @awkwafina February 5, 2022
- 2022-08-10 Why Millie Bobby Brown Decided to Give Up Social Media / “It’s really hard to be hated on when you don’t know who you are yet.”
- 2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeaLeoni/status/1586374019078668290
- "Hi everyone. I’m coming off Twitter today—let’s see where we are when the dust settles. Today the dust has revealed too much hate, too much in the wrong direction. Love, kindness, and possibilities for all of you, thank you,
xoxtéa" @TeaLeoni October 29, 2022
- "Hi everyone. I’m coming off Twitter today—let’s see where we are when the dust settles. Today the dust has revealed too much hate, too much in the wrong direction. Love, kindness, and possibilities for all of you, thank you,
- Twitter, many celebrities, 2022-10-31 https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1587138866997100544
- "Téa Leoni, Shonda Rhimes, Alex Winter and Sara Bareilles are among the celebrities leaving Twitter after Elon Musk's takeover. https://nbcnews.to/3gYPIS3" @NBCNews October 31, 2022
- ^ 2022-10-31 NBC News: Celebrities are starting to leave Twitter. Here's a running list.
- 2022 October/November, lots of folks quitting Twitter after it was acquired by Elon Musk, including notable musicians: 2022-11-21 Rolling Stone: Jack White Quits Twitter, Calls Elon Musk’s Trump Reinstatement ‘A–hole Move’
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor also decided to close out his Twi
- Cory Doctorow: Social Quitting
As I type these words, there is a mass exodus underway from Twitter and Facebook. After decades of eye-popping growth, these social media sites are contracting at an alarming rate. […]And then…Stuff happened. Mark Zuckerberg got worried about losing users and decided we were all going to live as legless low-polygon
- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/09/elton-john-quits-twitter-policy-change-allows-misinformation
- How to quit Facebook: 2022-09-19 How to ditch Facebook without ditching your friends, some user & developer perspectives, and brainstorm mockups of UIs for migrating accounts & maintaining connections
- 2023 KCRW quitting Twitter: https://www.kcrw.com/news/articles/npr-twitter-state-affiliated-media
- 2023-04-12 NPR quits Twitter: https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1646138100035272704 (and soft-quit a week before https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1644114036185874433 )
- "" @NPR April 12, 2023
- ^
Emphasis added.NPR will no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds, becoming the first major news organization to go silent on the social media platform.
- 2023 Twitter quits: 2023-04-20 ‘Not Worth It’: SF Supervisors Shutter Their Twitter Accounts
Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Connie Chan, Shamann Walton and Hillary Ronen have deactivated, deleted or left their accounts stagnant.
- 2023 (or earlier?) BBEdit quit Twitter per https://twitter.com/bbedit
Not posting or replying here until further notice. Contact: https://barebones.com/contact/
- ^ 2022-12-07 per https://twitter.com/bbedit/status/1600525177330229248
- 2023-04-20 (or a few days earlier) Chris Messina quit Twitter. https://mastodon.xyz/@chrismessina/110200896203066807 and https://www.instagram.com/tv/CrRiuuorBH4/ (and the substack link therein)
- "My legacy check is gone. I'm done with Twitter." @chrismessina April 15, 2023
- ^ Chris Messina’s last tweet announcing his quit: https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/1647091154629038080
- 2023 Monterey Bay Aquarium quits Twitter https://twitter.com/MontereyAq/status/1691918503899742582 (thread)
- Silo-quits of Twitter and Reddit: 2023-08-23 So Long, Twitter and Reddit
Detecting that Reddit enshittification was reaching terminal levels, I decided that during these protests was the ideal time to close the /r/zig subreddit…
I have a Mastodon account, but I don't love it, for the same reasons I didn't like Twitter. …
Discord has been decent for a while. I suspect enshittification will commence soon…
I'm going to look into setting up an RSS reader for myself and start hunting for high quality blogs.
And finally, I will be redirecting my micro-blogging energy that was previously wasted on Twitter into actual-blogging energy here.
- NPR quit twitter and didn't lose traffic https://niemanreports.org/articles/npr-twitter-musk/
- https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/10/23/leaving-twitter
- ""
- https://whatever.scalzi.com/2023/11/16/yup-done-with-the-former-twitter/
- 2023-12-06 W3C quit Twitter: https://w3c.social/@w3c/111534700276754588
- "W3C has posted that we are no longer active on X/Twitter and have directed all our followers here to Mastodon. We are encouraging all W3C-related accounts to do the same.Encourage your friends to follow us here!" @w3c December 6, 2023
- ^ W3C locked their Twitter account https://twitter.com/w3c
- Molly White (of http://web3isgoinggreat.com) quitting Substack in 2023: https://twitter.com/molly0xfff/status/1739835037355319318
- ^ Molly moved her newsletter, "[ citation needed ]" to a subdomain of her own domain: https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/
- ^ https://citationneeded.news/citation-needed-has-a-new-home/
- https://youtu.be/OrmOW5ahCg0?si=5QkZDyPmzA98wK_S
- 2024: A bunch of celebrity quits of Twitter/X and moves to Bluesky: 2024-11-15 SF Chronicle: Hollywood is ditching X for Bluesky. Here’s what to know about the social media site