Why I’m not on social media — a quiet, introvert, hsp perspective.
To be clear, this is not a judgement on others or a rant. It’s a perspective of a quiet person in a noisy world.
Social media may seem like a great idea for someone who is quiet, introvert or hsp. You can push out messages as and when you want — no in-real-life drama needed!
But social media isn’t for everyone, even if it feels like everyone is using social media.
For me, it usually goes something like this… “You’re not on WhatsApp? Why?” Often followed by an eye-roll from the questioner.
I’m a quiet person. Day-to-day I love simple routines, doing great work, and time in nature. I don’t love complicated processes, surface-level experience, or being tied to the extremes of modernity.
Years ago, I did try Facebook. And I wasn’t comfortable with it. I also briefly hopped on Twitter, pre X. Same deal.
The constant need to feed the machine and continually check things didn’t resonate for me. So I stopped. Can’t say I missed it.
I appreciate why others use socials. It has loads of potential. And yes, you can filter out stuff you don’t want. But even so… nope.
As a quiet person, I’m not great with constant notifications and outrage cycles. It’s super easy to take on others’ moods through a screen. And then there’s pressure to react quickly rather than thoughtfully, plus feeling drained.
Here’s a biggie. Sharing can feel performative rather than genuine. I experience genuine discomfort with online visibility. My preference is for private conversations in-person. And yes, I know I can ask for online conversations to be private.
I don’t have a need to constantly document every aspect of life. Some things are personal, and private. I’m a person, not a packaged product.
Not engaging with social media allows me uninterrupted thinking. This helps me focus on research and client work. Yes, I could silence notifications, but I don’t want to switch notifications on and off.
I’m not antisocial, I’m not missing out, and it’s not about superiority. I want to feel calm.
This translates to less scrolling, more creative work and being in nature. My preference is for quiet living without distractions. It’s not about absence, it’s about being present in my life.
If social media works for you, that’s great. I marvel at your ability to juggle all the things.
Oh, and one last thing…
I am tempted to dip my toes in the social media pool.
Instagram looks fun.
We’ll see…