Question

Yeah, for me Ive had it deleted for almost 2 months now and its been so freeing and I highly recommend. It was hard for me because I love making videos but it was what I needed to do

My social media kept coming up with content about predators and terrible people, and I kept engaging with it compulsively and I realized wasn't really sure how I SHOULD respond to it – whether I should be avoiding it or forcing myself to watch it. First of all, I recommend looking into the two-tailed spike in OCD recovery, it's good information to be aware of in terms of knowing how to respond to a trigger. There isn't always a "correct way" :) Second of all, I think it's good to keep it in mind, would you actually enjoy engaging with this content otherwise, or is it generally unpleasant content? Depends on your theme, but I absolutely do not enjoy hearing about grotesque details about predators, so I've personally decided that I'm okay with keeping this out of my social media feeds. It might be a compulsion, it might not be, but it has helped a ton with keeping me from spiraling and when I do come across that content, I do my best not to engage with other compulsions such as spending hours in comment sections or googling. I personally think it's totally okay to cut out social media regardless, it keeps you grounded in reality and away from polarizing and black-and-white opinions from random people online. Good luck!

Bro, I avoid that too like alot. I too even thought of deleting social media and also my own drawing when I thought that was a trigger lol.

I think it can definitely be worth a shot, with how much information overload social media gives cutting it out would probably give you more time and calm to not be re triggered over and over. Good luck!

Yes I think it would help

I just didn’t want that to be avoidance compulsions

At 24, I’ve stopped using virtually all social media apps except YouTube (if you consider that social media). Without going into too much detail, I used to get sucked in to continuously “doomscrolling”, comparing, being envious, arguing etc. over all kinds of things and I wasted so much time doing that which made me even angrier when I realized that I lost control of my time. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook were the biggest offenders for me and I eventually had to just stop opening them cold turkey. I logged out of some apps and moved some apps so that they’d be more hidden on my phone. It’s definitely helped me realize that I don’t need that extra burden in my life anymore. For you, it sounds like your algorithms may have learned what keeps you engaged (even if it’s negatively engaged) so logging out of, moving, or deleting the apps may help you in the long run. If you don’t think you can cut them out completely, try adjusting the settings in your social media apps to show different topics. I know some will allow you to somewhat choose whether you want to see sensitive items or (on the other hand) specific topics that actually interest you.