@Gina I recently rewatched #AngelTheSeries (spin off of #BuffyTheVampireSlayer), which has a recurring theme of:

If nothing we do matters, then the only thing that matters is what we do now.

I always loved that sentiment. Hope it can help anyone else that might be stuck on the first part.

@krupo @renata oh totally. I remember whatapp doing some crazy duplicates as well. So many reasons I am glad to be out of there!

@krupo @renata that's a good friend. They stuck with you and tells you what they think about it a bunch of mine had switched in 2021 when WhatsApp changed their privacy policy, and most people I talk to and daily group chats had actually moved... but Signal woes made them go back 🥲 Now I'm back to my techie friends + really close circle that use it. It's enough for me. Just like you, for everyone else, I send them texts.

I'm just laying in wait to hit them with the Signal chants again

@renata stories definitely became spammy & annoying really quick

I think for a lot of people it was purely convenient, but I did chat with some that were just looking for an excuse to start a conversation.

Funnily enough, one of my friends, who mostly replied to my posts randomly on IG, ended up calling me 5-6 months after I deactivated my accounts to see if I was still alive that is always nice to experience!

Here's to keeping the people that want to be around

@renata IG was especially terrible for that. Quick replies to random stories or posts make it feel like people are interested, but not really lol

My connections now are more intentional and meaningful ️

@renata for sure. It's like that in my circles too. Even the iMessage people would use WhatsApp to talk to each other in group chats. I had about 20 group chats, personal, volunteer, work. All of them, disconnected from. It's been a double edged sword. Thankfully, I've managed to convince enough to switch Signal that I am okay with this compromise

If your only way of chatting with specific people is WhatsApp, it's really hard to give up.

@renata it's so frustrating. I had a similar experience. I even told everyone I was leaving and not to message me on IG/WhatsApp. Took me deleting/disabling everything for people to finally try and reach me else where. Definitely some people I don't talk to anymore 🥲 Hope your journey on the freedom path is a bit more smooth