Real value from social networks

If there’s a new social network doing rounds, I’m 100% going to try it out. I will genuinely give it a shot. I belong to the 1% in the 90-9-1 rule. When I use social networks, I actually post content. I don’t just lurk around and form an opinion. I share my thoughts, use the platform for a bit, be it 2 weeks or 2 months or even more, and then measure the value I get from the network.

For me, the real value is from learning from the posted content. Right now, there’re way too many of them. I don’t follow folks with monetary interests. The ones that I do follow, seem to post the same content on all the platforms. Since that is the case, why do I need to be active on all the social networks?

I got this exact thought while I was on a call with my sister last week. So, I decided to test out a new strategy to avoid using too many social networks.

Currently, I use –

1. YouTube
2. Twitter
3. Reddit
4. Instagram
5. Threads
6. Bluesky
7. Facebook
8. T2
9. Retro
10. LinkedIn

I get real value from (in decreasing order) –

1. 🥇YouTube: Pure gold. Entertainment + learning
2. 🥈Reddit: The communities are just way too valuable
3. 🥈Twitter: This is where I keep up with everything new
4. 🥈Instagram: To keep up with friends’ lives
5. 🥉LinkedIn: Strictly professional networking purposes

I don’t find any real value from the other social networks. Since I don’t delete or disable my social profiles, I just delete the apps on my phone to stop accessing them. Instagram is an exception. I use Instagram on my phone’s web browser and not the app. I install the app to post and immediately delete the app. The iOS app doesn’t have the simplicity anymore. I’ve been doing this since almost 4 years now.

Anyway, for the next 2 weeks, I will just stick to these networks and see how it goes. My goal is to see if I really miss the other social networks. If I do, why? I will post my findings and the outcome of this experiment after 2 weeks.

Update (09/01/2023): Nope, no real value. I’ll stick to the these for now. I will use FB though, I follow some friends there.

Update (06/08/2025): I only use YouTube and Reddit now. Sometimes Instagram to only post about some life updates.