“Like many millennials, Lena Dunham is no longer on Twitter. (…) Essentially, she was sick of dealing with trolls. Dunham will continue to compose tweets, but the interactions will now be managed by staff. As more and more celebrities entrust their employees with the responsibility of their 140 characters or less (or their square Instagram photos, or their pithy Facebook posts), ordinary young people everywhere are also deleting their accounts across all platforms. So, after ten solid years of the overwhelming socialisation of our lives, why are millennials and Gen Z net natives fleeing the social space?
(…)
Another user, who maintains a Facebook account as a way to manage events but tries not to engage with it beyond that, adds, “I’m definitely a much happier guy overall when I’m not browsing through my friends’ pages or reading their latest posts on my feed.” This particular user elaborates on the culture of jealousy and envy spawned by these “networking” websites. “What started as a way to keep in touch slowly became this magnificent highlight reel of the seemingly perfect lives that they were living,” writes DividedBy_Zero. “The front page was loaded with pics of engagement rings, newborn babies, exotic travels, nights out and marathons ran. Then without thinking about it, you start comparing your life to theirs; you begin wondering where you went wrong while everyone else is living their dreams. Facebook just became this unintentional pit of despair and self-loathing, and the deeper I went in, the worse I felt coming out.”
(…)
So why are people opting out of social media? For Generation Z (the oldest of whom are age 19), one big reason is an increased desire for privacy. According to The New York Times,Gen Z-ers are more aware of their digital footprint, and don’t want to get photographed in compromising positions without their knowledge or permission. They’re not the only ones craving a bit of anonymity in the era of overexposure. Céline designer Phoebe Philo was quoted as saying, “The chicest thing is when you don’t exist on Google. God, I would love to be that person!”
I think we all knew it was coming. The gratification and thrill associated with social media has substantially faded as too many images and voices vie for attention, causing what feels like thousands of attention-hungry children speaking over one another, simultaneously saying everything and nothing. A lawless clusterfuck. Sure, many of us still scroll through our feeds on auto-pilot, mindlessly double tapping photos of cacti, skimming heartful captions while feeling nothing. But, overall, we’re withdrawing from social media in favor of decluttering and clearing our heads, seeking out meaningful and authentic connections, and forgoing the dime-a-dozen opinions of others in favor of experts. Enough of “pics or it didn’t happen."”
