Why Did I Delete My Facebook and Instagram Accounts?

A few reasons. I’ve been thinking about doing so for the past year and change, I took breaks, got rid of the apps, etc. I’m just mentally in a better place without Facebook and Instagram, I’ve come to realize that.

The latest push to do so was the upcoming changes Meta is forcing on those with a business account, which I had. I’ve heard conflicting things that they’ve changed the language of the new agreements. Regardless if it changed or not, the new deal was anyone with a business account that had a website linked was forced to allow Meta to scrape their website(s) for AI training. I’m sure this included anything posted on Meta accounts too.

On top of that, I’m just over Meta. The apps and sites are mostly ads, rage baiting for engagement, and forcing AI slop/features upon users. I just don’t care anymore. The bad is out weighing the good.

Will Dumping Meta Hurt Me as an Artist?

Maybe in the short term? I really don’t think so, in the long run. Having a Facebook page is basically useless unless you are spending money these days. I wasn’t spending money on my Facebook page, so my reach was pretty much zero. You can’t even post links without paying anymore.

I had almost two thousand followers on Instagram, but I saw very little engagement. The twist of the knife is, the most engagement I had lately was on the post saying I was deleting my account. Go figure.

I still have my websites, my Patreon, Bluesky, and my newsletter list. I’m not that worried, to be frank. Let’s not forget my mostly dormant YouTube and Twitch channels as well (and Letterboxd, too!). I’m far from turning into a hermit. I dumped Twitter a few years ago, and I don’t have any regrets.

I realize too, as someone with very little engagement on Meta and not making consistent sales via them, or relying on it to drive my business, it was very easy for me to walk away. I have other artist friends who do rely heavily on Facebook and Instagram, including my wife Steph Joy Hogan, and it is a much more difficult choice. I won’t fault nor judge them for staying.

What’s Next?

I’ll be posting to Bluesky more, that’s for sure, and on Patreon. I plan on tweaking danieljhogan.com as a result. I may do the same for clattertron.com for comics after I’m done with my 31 Bad Comics challenge (this is very much TBD).

In short, I’m not that worried. The main thing I’ll miss is interacting with friends and family. I’ll probably miss Facebook Messenger more than anything for staying in touch. I could have deactivated my account and kept using Messenger, but I just wanted to be done with it all.

I’ll come right out and say I was 100% addicted to Facebook and Instagram. I can tell because I noticed big differences when I was and wasn’t using them. There’s not shortage of research saying this is very much a thing, too.

Maybe I’ll do more blogging like this again too. I don’t need, nor want, AI slop machines to write for me. I can do it myself.

You can see some more photos, including behind the scenes process photos, over on my Patreon–and for free! Become a Pencil Pal member for free today, just click the Join for Free button in the header. You can always upgrade later to a Pen Pro membership later for $3/month and get extra perks.

I post a lot of stuff for free over on Patreon, and becoming a free member is a great way to see all of it. You can also get email updates and read new public posts in your inbox. Fun!

You can join my page as a free member and still see a lot of stuff. I do have exclusive things for paid members, however. This includes my patrons only Diary Comics. I just posted a new one yesterday, my first in months.

I’m still sorting out what I want to post there, but my goal is for it to be the main place I’m active.

Regarding video and livestreaming, well, I’m also figuring that out.

I’m sorta soft-rebooting my Twitch, etc as I dive back into video game streaming tomorrow night with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I missed gaming on stream, and well streaming anything at all. It’s been a quiet few weeks. I still want to do art, but that may more of random thing.

Come hang out with me on stream tomorrow, May 6 at 7 PM ET for episode 1 of Linky Business! I’ve only ever played the first hour of Breath of the Wild, so this time I will play the whole game, DANG IT.

I’m going in without any tips or starting suggestions, so come watch me stumble and make bad jokes.

OTHER NEWS

I’m working on diary comics again. I have two done, so I’ll get them up here soon. They will remain for patrons only. I taught a journal comics workshop last Saturday, and it kinda of sparked me to get going again.

This will get its own post, but come see me at East Lansing Art Festival on May 16 – 17 in downtown East Lansing. I’m on M.A.C. Ave again!

(Watch on YouTube)

Do you like using a fountain pen or what to try one out? Consider the TWSBI Eco Fountain pen.

It’s a fun and easy to use upgrade over entry level fountain pens, but isn’t a big investment like the fancier models.

If you are in Lansing, visit Odd Nodd Art Supply to learn more about fountain pens.

The Platinum Carbon Ink (black) I use in my fountain pens.

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