I nuked my Reddit accounts today. Deleted all comments and posts, then the accounts themselves. The tool I used showed each comment as it was deleted, and it was bittersweet.
I watched old gaming and movie discussions I barely remember appear and then get flagged as deleted. Communities I once participated in and then moved on as the years past flashed by. I remembered how I felt back then, and then watched them scroll on into oblivion.
Now I feel…I guess it’s grief. Sadness for that part that’s gone. Sadness that it’ll never be there again. Like footprints on a beach wiped away by the tide. It’s like it never happened. There is no trace.
And I feel anger. Mad that it came to this. Mad that I let a corporation have so much of my time and thoughts. Mad that they made it clear my life was nothing but a product to them.
It’s over now. Time for a new chapter.
Anyone else have strong feelings about losing a part of the past like this?
When I deleted my account a few years back, I felt similar but mostly relief actually.
The sad part is that we spend so much of our lives in our phones. I don’t like that it’s reddit that gets the data, it’s much better if it’s not under some corporation, but I wish we enjoyed our lives more instead. But they are often boring and routine since our daily energy goes into working for someone so we can pay bills and have a place.
There was definitely a relief in unsubbing from doomscroll subs. But there are specific interest subs and posts that legitimately boosted my appreciation for real world activities. There’s just no other place to have that kind of discussion and engagement. Definitely sad.