[assemblylang]

>I deleted Facebook some time around 08... I've abstained from almost all social media, and suffered the consequent damage to my social life.

You're not alone, I deleted my Facebook roughly around that same time (in 09 IIRC), and haven't joined any other major social media since (only social media I have left is hacker news and a tiny mastodon instance, and only started using these recently).

I had the same outcome, its a pretty massive blow to one's social life, and looking back it probably was not worth it to leave, but I stand by my decision. My miscalculation was the assumption that social media was a bit of a fad that people would "grow out of". Turned out to be completely the opposite, people I thought would never ever have been on social media are now some of the same people that are on it constantly.

[rocketpastsix]

I've been off Facebook for about 2 years now and I've not seen any damage to my social life. Maybe its because I had a robust handful of hobbies that helped me make friends in the wild or something else I don't know but it sounds more like a problem you need to solve, not rely on social media.