[paulhallett]

I quit about six months ago. The majority of people I followed, I felt obligated to follow, in order to keep ahead of social issues. But the toll of "doom scrolling" constant negative/angry/depressed posts really hammered my own mental health. I also developed a habit of refreshing the feed on my phone every five minutes.

I quit, and I found myself lost when I picked up my phone, like a lingering habit (I see someone mentioned it being similar to quitting smoking).

On reflection, I think the reason I felt an obligation to keep up with social issues etc, was because I was using my real name (ironic that this HN account is also my real name!). I felt like I had to show I was caring and keeping track of it. I do wonder, if I create an account without my real name, I can just use it how I like, and maybe it will be a different experience.

[_qulr]

> I felt like I had to show I was caring and keeping track of it.

I don't think this is necessary. A lot of people tweet about purely "professional" subjects and never tweet about social issues. If you stick to that, your followers will know what (and what not) to expect.

[konjin]

The best advice my father gave me about the internet: assume everyone is a rapist who will stalk you and put you in a van if you say anything that can be traced back to you.

Ironically enough I use uber under my real name and I'm fine, but everyone I know how uses their real name in social media has had problems.