>I realized that nothing in this social media hellscape was going to help me because even in so-called “safe spaces” I was met with vitriol and hatred in the ex

>I realized that nothing in this social media hellscape was going to help me because even in so-called “safe spaces” I was met with vitriol and hatred in the exact time I needed understanding and comfort. What a fantastic way to sum up all of my issues with social media. How occasionally, or even most the time you do get support, when people say really f*** up things it's going to affect you. For me the negatives by far outweighed any positives I was gaining from it. >Dating offline now is as challenging as it was for my dad. That’s how I think of it. But I feel like it’s just the right way to do it. It just rings truer. At least for me it's actually much easier, I don't waste time swiping on fake profiles or talking the bots. In 2019 I would meet people basically at random, send one or two text messages seeing if they wanted to go out, and that's it. Every courtship indicator I've seen, has dropped tremendously in the age of social media. I recall my first relationship partially failed because I was so afraid of what she'd post on my Facebook, and who would see what she posted. There's no need to introduce this extra stress and bullshit into your life. I've never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I did find social media and online dating would become addictions for me, it wasn't making me feel happy. Since I got so much time back from not using social media I was able to teach myself Python in 2019 and significantly increase my income. I went to tons of Meetup groups, found people willing and ready to chat me up, got set up on a date since I attended an alumni event. I'm very much hoping things get back to somewhat normal this year, I'll also say for certain populations social media can be extra traumatizing. And at that point it comes down to, do you want to be called slurs and re-traumatized every single day. Or do you want to wake up and live. One of my partners I met just because I thought I saw her from someplace else, and we had fantastic fun. It wasn't something where like I felt I was owed a partner, but a gift was given to me. I hope I can always live life like that.