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The Idea
There are indeed people who are doing great even without using any sort of social media.
Cal Newport is one such name I think of. Cal is a computer science professor, a prolific author, and a popular figure.
He never uses any social media. In fact, his popular books like 'Deep work', 'Digital minimalism', etc. talk exactly about how to minimize social media to live a better life.
Time and again, he gives examples of people who are living a good life without social media. So the fact that people think they would miss out in life without social media is pointless, that's what Cal Newport believes.
Although I agree with him mostly but not entirely.
Instead of thousand ill effects of social media, it still helps you to build your social capital.
Although social media is built in a way to make you addicted, even then the choice is up to you to get addicted or not (if you are conscious enough).
Let's break down the four major social media companies and their usefulness in real life. I am going to put forward just my experiences and yours could be different (of course I would love to hear yours).
1. Facebook: Even today most people use Facebook as their primary social media. Although it's not as popular as before. I personally don't use it (still have an account though).
In the beginning, it's fun to see your friends' status and what they are up to, but after a certain point, it's become valueless.
The fact that I don't like Facebook now is because I have evolved over the last 5-6 years and I am no longer just interested in seeing or liking friends' and strangers' random photos.
Take it as entertainment, it is fine but there is hardly anything of value on Facebook. On top of that, the ads are horrible on Facebook.
Not to mention Facebook makes you polarized towards a certain ideology by showing you the same type of content/ads.
2. Instagram: This is perhaps the most favorite of all teenagers but the most horrible of all social media.
Elon Musk once called Instagram the envy amplifier. I second his thoughts.
People are most fake on Instagram. Everybody wants to look beautiful (what else filters are for), rich, classy, travel maniac, etc.
I have heard people even take fake pictures with books just to show they are classy and love books. I don't know if there is anything real on Instagram. There have been several studies (including Instagram's own study) that show using Instagram lowers the self-esteem of people.
I understand a photographer might find Instagram the best social media. It is perhaps best for the average person to least indulge in Instagram (or to not use it at all).
The fact that Facebook and Instagram are now connected makes it even more difficult to use one but avoid the other. I think it's good to not use either Facebook or Instagram as your preferred social media.
3. LinkedIn: Right now, this is my preferred social media. Not that it is great but I find it a little better than Facebook/Instagram.
People try to show off here as well (professional show-offs) but it's just that there are enough people (if you connect with the right ones) who provide value for the time you invest.
Since it's a professional social media, people do not usually share what they are eating, wearing, etc.
I personally found so many amazing people on LinkedIn. In fact, I would even say that it has helped me in my professional growth. If you want to strengthen your career, maybe connecting with some right people could benefit you immensely.
My LinkedIn account
4. Twitter: Twitter is perhaps the place where you would find most of your favorite writers, scientists, leaders, etc.
In a way, Twitter is intellectually the most evolved social media. Among all the social media, Twitter can provide you with the most value for your time provided you follow the right kind of people.
The downside is if you use Twitter too often, it will make you a terrible reader. Since tweets are always small, you would have a hard time later reading paragraphs or books.
I would even say that the ease of connecting with your favorite person is easiest on Twitter. Just write something worthwhile mentioning your favorite person, and he/she might reply and connect with you.
My Twitter account
Verdict: As I said at the start, these are all my personal opinions, reply to me if you agree or have some other viewpoint.
No social media is good if you get addicted to it (that's what they want). But if you are self-aware, social media could help you to grow professionally and even personally.
Also, you need to engage sometime in social media. You need to put out your voice to the world for proliferating your growth. Just consuming social media passively may not be the best way to use any social media.
I must confess that I often get addicted to LinkedIn or Twitter as well, but at those moments my awareness just reminds me to stop and focus on other important stuff.
The image below summarizes everything I said above-
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