43 things you can do instead of spending time on social media
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 4:18 am
What would happen if Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp suddenly disappeared without warning? There would be chaos like the one that happened the day before yesterday when a currently unknown bug prevented users around the world from connecting to their favorite apps and wasting time productively on them.
The system outage of Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and some (media) functions of WhatsApp came quickly and unexpectedly. I have to admit that it caught me completely off guard and unprepared.
I was trying to post something on my Instagram Story and after 2 denmark whatsapp list of unsuccessful uploads I decided something was wrong with my internet. I spent the next 10 minutes fixing my modem, which wasn't broken.
I decided to connect to Facebook to see what was going on, but that didn't work either. Increasingly convinced that the internet was down, I decided to use YouTube. And lo and behold, the videos opened as quickly as ever and worked without a hitch.
Hmm…the internet is obviously working, I concluded brilliantly. But what's the problem then, I wondered after WhatsApp told me that the message had not been delivered? Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, which are all owned by Facebook, are having the problem at the same time?
When popular social networks are down, who do you turn to? Twitter, of course. The forgotten and confusing social network that no one uses. Or, they don't use it until those popular networks crash, and then everyone flocks to good old Twitter, which is always up, to find out what's going on and share their frustrations with the rest of the world.
Even Instagram and Facebook had to turn to Twitter to let people know that there was indeed a problem and that they were working on a solution. There was no solution for about the next 14 hours, during which I nearly drowned in countless panicked emails from people who had just realized that nothing was working and were begging me for help.
How can I help them when Instagram can't even help itself right now? And then I started thinking about what we did without social media, which wasn't that long ago. It's only been about 10 years, more or less.
I won't lie and claim that, somewhat addictively, I didn't miss Instagram, browsing through pictures and communicating with people there. I didn't even think about Facebook, which is proof that I don't need it.
But Instagram…ah Instagram…Instagram is addictive, and judging by the reactions on Twitter, the media, and the fact that people in some countries have even called the police to complain that Instagram is down and ask them to fix the problem, we can conclude that it is a pretty important social network and that there is a global panic when it is down.
We live in a pretty dysfunctional world, and this is coming from someone who makes a living off the internet. My job is digital, which doesn't mean I'm saying we have to be digital all the time, every day, 24/7, and sleep with our phones by our pillow to check our social media notifications and emails as soon as we open our eyes. Yet that's often what we do, isn't it?
Just go outside and pay attention to people on the street, in parks, on public transportation, on cafes, on benches, and anywhere else you'll find human beings. Everyone is glued to their phones. Everyone is staring at their screens, only looking up when they need to take a selfie.
A while ago, I was riding a tram. It was crowded, I was bored, so I did a little people watching (in a discreet and not at all stalkerish way). And what did I discover? I was a rare person who didn't have a phone in my hands.
I understand about the kids. They scroll through Instagram and Facebook to kill time and because they are addicted to social media. What can be done? These are the new generations. What shocked me was that all the older people were on their phones too.
The pensioners were glued to their phones. Many of them were on the phone, but a good number were typing away. The highlight was the lady sitting next to me, who was, by my estimate, around 80 years old, browsing Facebook. No offense to the pensioners, but I didn't expect it.
It partly shocked me, and partly (positively) surprised me. The fact is that everyone is digitalized and we (almost) all have embraced the charms of digital technology. But at what cost? Have we forgotten how to live without social media?
Judging by the reactions on Twitter, I would dare say that we did. Or at least a large part of us, because I've also received messages from people (albeit rare) who claim that they didn't even know something was happening until they saw the notifications on my site.
It's true that social media is fun, inspiring, and informative in small, healthy doses. To argue that the world would be a better place without it is like arguing that rock is satanic music that encourages people to commit murder, which was a popular claim in the early days of rock music.
The problems start when you realize you're so addicted to them that you start feeling physical symptoms of stress just because Instagram isn't working and you turn to Twitter, which you never use, to post anything and communicate with the rest of the world.
The system outage of Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and some (media) functions of WhatsApp came quickly and unexpectedly. I have to admit that it caught me completely off guard and unprepared.
I was trying to post something on my Instagram Story and after 2 denmark whatsapp list of unsuccessful uploads I decided something was wrong with my internet. I spent the next 10 minutes fixing my modem, which wasn't broken.
I decided to connect to Facebook to see what was going on, but that didn't work either. Increasingly convinced that the internet was down, I decided to use YouTube. And lo and behold, the videos opened as quickly as ever and worked without a hitch.
Hmm…the internet is obviously working, I concluded brilliantly. But what's the problem then, I wondered after WhatsApp told me that the message had not been delivered? Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, which are all owned by Facebook, are having the problem at the same time?
When popular social networks are down, who do you turn to? Twitter, of course. The forgotten and confusing social network that no one uses. Or, they don't use it until those popular networks crash, and then everyone flocks to good old Twitter, which is always up, to find out what's going on and share their frustrations with the rest of the world.
Even Instagram and Facebook had to turn to Twitter to let people know that there was indeed a problem and that they were working on a solution. There was no solution for about the next 14 hours, during which I nearly drowned in countless panicked emails from people who had just realized that nothing was working and were begging me for help.
How can I help them when Instagram can't even help itself right now? And then I started thinking about what we did without social media, which wasn't that long ago. It's only been about 10 years, more or less.
I won't lie and claim that, somewhat addictively, I didn't miss Instagram, browsing through pictures and communicating with people there. I didn't even think about Facebook, which is proof that I don't need it.
But Instagram…ah Instagram…Instagram is addictive, and judging by the reactions on Twitter, the media, and the fact that people in some countries have even called the police to complain that Instagram is down and ask them to fix the problem, we can conclude that it is a pretty important social network and that there is a global panic when it is down.
We live in a pretty dysfunctional world, and this is coming from someone who makes a living off the internet. My job is digital, which doesn't mean I'm saying we have to be digital all the time, every day, 24/7, and sleep with our phones by our pillow to check our social media notifications and emails as soon as we open our eyes. Yet that's often what we do, isn't it?
Just go outside and pay attention to people on the street, in parks, on public transportation, on cafes, on benches, and anywhere else you'll find human beings. Everyone is glued to their phones. Everyone is staring at their screens, only looking up when they need to take a selfie.
A while ago, I was riding a tram. It was crowded, I was bored, so I did a little people watching (in a discreet and not at all stalkerish way). And what did I discover? I was a rare person who didn't have a phone in my hands.
I understand about the kids. They scroll through Instagram and Facebook to kill time and because they are addicted to social media. What can be done? These are the new generations. What shocked me was that all the older people were on their phones too.
The pensioners were glued to their phones. Many of them were on the phone, but a good number were typing away. The highlight was the lady sitting next to me, who was, by my estimate, around 80 years old, browsing Facebook. No offense to the pensioners, but I didn't expect it.
It partly shocked me, and partly (positively) surprised me. The fact is that everyone is digitalized and we (almost) all have embraced the charms of digital technology. But at what cost? Have we forgotten how to live without social media?
Judging by the reactions on Twitter, I would dare say that we did. Or at least a large part of us, because I've also received messages from people (albeit rare) who claim that they didn't even know something was happening until they saw the notifications on my site.
It's true that social media is fun, inspiring, and informative in small, healthy doses. To argue that the world would be a better place without it is like arguing that rock is satanic music that encourages people to commit murder, which was a popular claim in the early days of rock music.
The problems start when you realize you're so addicted to them that you start feeling physical symptoms of stress just because Instagram isn't working and you turn to Twitter, which you never use, to post anything and communicate with the rest of the world.