Looking back, I think there were three reasons why I left social media. Maybe my testimony can help someone who contemplates the plunge. I can say that it was well worth it.
With the publication of my book, Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here and Where We Need to Go, I was advised to open social media accounts to aid in its promotion.
I dutifully set up accounts on then-Twitter and LinkedIn and regularly posted on them. I followed all the rules for promoting books, but I have no way to measure how much they helped boost book sales.
However, I did calculate the time and effort required to maintain the account. All the articles and promotions had to be posted. I had to build up a good number of followers to make it worthwhile.
Worst of all, it is hard to avoid the constant scrolling and dopamine hits that come with being on social media. I was by no means an addict of social media. However, even the most self-disciplined users easily find themselves hooked. There’s no use denying it. The system is designed to make frenetic intemperance happen, and it is fabulously successful.
Making the Break
Because of these problems, I always sensed there would be a time when I would leave social media. The day would come when I would decide it wasn’t worth it. However, it seemed that decision was always just a few more scrolling sessions away.
I imagined the august moment of rupture would be dramatic, like social media itself. I had seen posts of people making their announcements with a bit of fanfare, and I thought I might write a gripping story about severing my ties.
The announcement would trigger a large number of clicks, serving as a kind of grand finale after the final sign-off. The accounts would go out with a bang and not a whimper.
But that is not what happened.
Disengaging
The process of disengagement began a few months back. It was unprovoked since I was quite willing to continue my book “promotion.”
It was all so underwhelming. I experienced no anger toward the platforms for taking up my time. There was no struggle with intense emotions to make the break. I cannot even identify an immense act of heroic virtue that I could flatter myself into having taken. No eureka moment came when everything seemed to click.
At the end of 2025, I just started walking away. I felt no interest. By the beginning of the new year, I did not think leaving social media was even worth a resolution. There was no itch to return.
A Scrambling Effect
Looking back, I think there were three reasons why I left. Maybe my testimony can help someone who contemplates the plunge. I can say that it was well worth it.
The first reason is that social media has a scrambling effect on the soul. Everything is mixed up, serious and funny, superficial and profound. The reader must adapt to ever-changing emotions, attitudes, and contexts.
The scrambling effect also applies to those who post. Social media encourages impulsive behavior, so those posting often do not think about what they are sharing with others or its impact.
This constant shifting of topics left me disoriented. I could never dig deeper into subjects. The next postings constantly beckoned.
A Brutalizing Effect
The second reason for my departure was the brutalizing effect it had on me. With many thousands of followers, the feeds were alive with videos of political and social events, many of them violent.
Thus, with every crisis, we see violent videos of beatings, fights, and degrading human behavior. I felt that the constant witnessing of these acts desensitized me to the horror of what was happening.
It became a blood spectacle that actually increased the appetite for these things. I did not want this to become part of me.
An Exhausting Effect
The final reason for the break was that social media can be exhausting. It wears upon the person almost without realizing it.
It is easy to lose track of time on the platforms. Each post calls to another. Abyssus abyssum invocat (Deep calls to deep), says Scripture. At the end of a session, there is almost nothing to show for it.
The exhaustion comes from time not well spent and duties left undone. The constantly changing posts drain the person of energy and focus. There are so many more worthwhile ways to spend time.
Just Walk Away
Inside this context, I left social media. I still do my duty and post occasional articles, but I do not engage in the feeds that are the core of social media. FOMO (the fear of missing out) no longer bothers me because I am not missing out on anything. I feel liberated from the clutter that enters the mind.
Unfortunately, I have no secret for leaving social media. There was no special method in my case. Perhaps the key is not to turn it into a melodramatic affair. Just walk away.
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The featured image, “Man with Walking-stick” (between 1870 and 1880), by Frederik Collett. This file is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
