Are You Still Using Social Media?

Lifestyle

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Hey everyone. Let’s talk a bit about social media today. First off, did you submit a claim for the Facebook lawsuit settlement? If you used Facebook between 2007 and 2022, you can claim a share of the $725 million privacy violations settlement. You can submit a claim here – Facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. Facebook improperly shared users data with third-party apps. Honestly, I don’t think I was affected by this. I only use Facebook occasionally and I assume they sell my data. I’ll take a share of the settlement, though. Submitting a claim form is one of my low-effort side gigs. Heh heh.

Are you still using social media?

Anyway, I have a question for you. Are you still using social media? Over the last few years, I’ve been using social media less and less. I used to check Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every day, but now I rarely check those accounts. Social media just isn’t compelling for me anymore. Most of my close friends and family aren’t using Facebook or Twitter. These days, we just email or chat via Google. Mrs. RB40 still uses Facebook and their messenger app.

Oh yeah, RIP Twitter. Elon Musk rebranded Twitter. It’s called X now. It’s his favorite letter. What is he 4 years old? It seems like a bad move to destroy an established brand. Oh well, what do I know? He’s the richest man on earth. He can do whatever he wants. It’s all a grand plan to take over the world. One of these days, Musk is going to be a real-life James Bond villain.

I signed up for Threads (by Meta), but I haven’t used it at all. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. I’m just not interested in what people are doing. I still use social media to broadcast a new blog post, but that’s about the extent of my participation.

YouTube and Reddit

These days, I’m using YouTube and Reddit for casual entertainment. Are they social media? I don’t interact with YouTube much. I mostly listen to music and watch stand-up comedy. It’s a lot of fun. I rarely comment or like a video, though.

On Reddit, I’m a bit more active. I browse the Portland, Thailand, FIRE, Doordash, and a few other subreddits. It’s a good way to get current updates. Last week, there was a shooting incident near our home and Reddit was a good resource. Occasionally, I’d comment. It’s something to do when I have a few minutes of free time. If I get busier or find something else to do, I probably can drop this activity. Reddit is going public soon. If they start charging the users for a checkmark, I’m gone.

I’m the Neil McCauley of social media. As soon as an app starts charging money, I’m gone. I’ll always be on the lookout for a class action lawsuit, though. All these social media companies are probably doing something illegal with my data. Heh.

Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

Neil McCauley (from the film Heat)

Social media is still growing

According to the internet, social media usage is still growing. That’s interesting. Everyone I know is using social media less these days. I guess new users are still coming online from all over the world. That’s great for the big tech companies. Hopefully, they’ll be more responsible with our data. But if not, I’ll be ready to submit more claims. 😉

How about you? Are you still using social media? What’s your favorite?

*Passive income is the key to early retirement. These days, I’m investing in multifamily properties with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the United States. Go check them out!

image credit: Markus Spiske

Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.

Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!

Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.