In January of 2024, I made a pivotal decision: I stopped drinking alcohol. This was a significant shift in my life, as I had been accustomed to drinking at social events since reaching adulthood. But as I reflect on the year that followed, I feel confident that my body—and my mind—are all the better for it.
As 2025 approached, I found myself pondering another major change. Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, the answer became clear. I decided to stop sharing content on Meta’s platforms.
There are several reasons behind this decision. For one, Meta is a for-profit corporation, and while they may claim otherwise, their business model hinges on the use of your data. What they do with it—how it’s shared, sold, or leveraged—is anyone’s guess. Beyond that, I believe social media giants like Meta have fundamentally altered the internet and the world in ways that are, on balance, detrimental. The rise of these platforms has brought with it a host of negative consequences, from the erosion of privacy to the spread of misinformation. And then, of course, there are the well-documented mental health concerns tied to social media use. I won’t delve into those here, but a quick search will provide all the evidence you need.
Instead, I’ve chosen to focus my time online creating content on my own sites, wilcosky.com and upviber.com. I’d rather explore smaller, more meaningful corners of the internet than continue to pour my energy into Meta’s walled garden.
So, goodbye, Facebook. Goodbye, Instagram. While my accounts remain as digital placeholders, they no longer serve an active purpose. For anyone else who shares my desire for a healthier, more thoughtful internet, I encourage you to consider stepping away from these platforms as well.
Am I completely absent from social media? Not entirely. Is that contradictory? Perhaps. However, I choose to support certain platforms, like Bluesky, because, at least for now, they seem to be managed more thoughtfully and responsibly.