To the cinema “Fresh” Mimi Cave, millennial Noah (Daisy Edgar-Jones), after a bad date through dating apps, meets the charming and slightly mysterious Steve (Sebastian Stan) in the supermarket aisle and they exchange phone numbers. Steve does not have social networks, and when Noah shares this information with his best friend Molly (Jojo T. Gibbs), she warns her that it is very suspicious.

We won’t spoil too much, but Molly was right to be worried. Of course, this was not the fault of the protagonist of the film, who does not have (?) social networks, however, his absence in them was considered the first “guilty” element of his disturbed personality.

Bad lies, whatever they write about social media toxicity about how he turns our lives into a virtually lost race, about wasted hours eternal scroll, the dangers that await mainly the younger ages and, finally, the apotheosis of vanity they achieve, few of us don’t use them and/or don’t use them heavily. After all, there is something for every taste, or rather, for all purposes, and, in the end, we all meet in almost everything. No matter how much we moan about them and no matter how we try to “detoxify”, we give a gift, unconsciously considering it. given that everything is out there somewhere.

Social media; i live outside

“It’s scary not to have social networks”, the girl at the bar told him some time ago Kostis Plataniotis, characterizing it simultaneously as “out of season”. Up to this point, they flirted, but when it came time to exchange information, the 28-year-old told her that he did not have a profile on any social network. Then she “pulled herself together”, did not want to give him her number, but did not agree to take it, as he suggested as a “safer” option.

Of course, Kostis Plataniotis passed ca. seven years of his life in social networks. In particular, on facebook, in which he ended up somewhat by accident, since his friend, who wanted to communicate more easily and directly with him, compiled a questionnaire and … handed it to him.

He was 18 at the time and had just entered university, so Facebook was a new way too. share what you see, hear and read with people with the same interests as him, and of course, talk to his friends.

“But at some point I felt that it took me a lot of time and effortmade me feel like I was more involved than I wanted to be with her narcissistic side of me. I got bored and realized it was something that didn’t suit me,” he says. It was the moment when he decided to close his profile.

On the other hand, Mr. Pavlos Dimitriou was an “active user” of social networks. He was active in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, Flickr, “plus something forgotten that I can’t even remember the name and where there were only 100 people.”

He walked around six o’clock in the afternoon in this abundance of social networks, while the lion’s share of this time is spent on visiting the top three. He, like many others, had eternal scrolling like a break from too much reality. In addition to the “dead time” he spent in them, he also felt the benefit of his presence in the digital social life. But then, almost one fifteen years wear and tear came: “I was no longer interested in sharing with all these people what I believe in, where I am, who I am and what I read, and eventually I stopped being interested in the analogues of all these people. , he admits. And just like that, in 2021, he closed all his social networks.

It wasn’t the first time he’d chosen to stay away. In 2012 he closed all his accounts again but this “detox” only lasted three or four months before he was tempted to open them again. However, now, as he says, “I seem to be really tired” of social media.

Kostis Plataniotis was also tempted to open his profile again. In particular, when he again entered the university halls for his master’s degree, timidly reconnected to Facebook, but this did not last long and quickly returned to its former “analogue” state.

Pavlos Dimitriou is now 42 years old. The reaction he gets to “I don’t have social media” varies from age to age: “People my age often tell me, ‘I’ve thought about that too many times.’ The boys make fun of me: “Okay, now let’s build the windows of the house.” The much younger ones, if they don’t keep their mouths open, have a suspicious look on their faces: “This can’t be done.” It’s like writing your high school newspaper by hand in high school.” None of this particularly bothers him, other than suspicious reactions.

You win something, you lose something

42 year old too journalist, a profession for which social media is, for better or worse, a tool, since a tweet you see right away can instantly generate news. And of course, for most people, their accounts are a filtered web of pages and people that ultimately provide more direct and centralized access to information.

The journalist does not hide how the lack of a schedule complicates the whole process. But it’s not that he’s afraid or there’s no solution: “Fortunately, there are hundreds of reputable news sites and agencies, real sources of information and, of course, conversations with colleagues. Access to direct information is difficult, but often this is life itself: you win something, you lose something, ”he concludes.

The professional part, as well as the promotion part of the project (he is involved in film and music as well) are the only reasons that accordingly make Kostis Plataniotis leave. a small door open to a possible “return” in social networks. That is, if he found a job that he is really interested in, and his presence on social networks was considered necessary, then he would think again.

In addition, there are times when abstaining from social media can “skip” event about which he would otherwise be informed in some way, he does not have the opportunity to participate in meaningful discussions with people he appreciates and not necessarily in his very close circle, while returning to the professional part, he believes that if you have social networks, you can sell yourself and what you do for a lot more.

To fill this “gap”, the 28-year-old he developed his skills a lot more when interacting with people in real life: “I do not settle down at a safe distance or imaginary image that can be created through social networks. In light of that, I’m glad I need to practice these skills,” he says without hesitation.

There is always a way to “steal”. When Pavlos Dimitriou misses social media, he records “his spies” who tell him what’s going on. At the same time for all those “missing links” who would otherwise click and not catch his radar in his daily “walk” through the sites of interest to him, Kostis Plataniotis has friends who know very well what suits him and will definitely share with him what they see and know that he would be interested in.

Unless they were doing it while sitting in the store or at home with their partner or friends: “There is nothing worse than seeing people sitting around and instead of talking to each other, chatting with other people online or just watching content without any filters.” Something we’ve all been “guilty” of from time to time.