How to quit social media (and build something better)

A different kind of newsletter today—about focus, mental health, and the real cost of staying "plugged in"

Look, we don't usually do this.

Normally, you open this newsletter and get tactical AI systems. Workflows. The stuff that actually makes you money and improves your business with AI.

But today I need to talk about something different. Something that I know many of you are experiencing too.

I'm deleting social media. Most of it, anyway.

Not because I finally listened to those digital minimalist influencers (though maybe I should've). But because it's gotten really really bad.

It's bad for your mental health. It's bad for your productivity. And no matter how much we tell ourselves it's necessary for the business—it’s not.

These past few weeks have been rough. And I mean rough in a way that's hard to explain. But I probably don't need to, because you already know.

The lie we tell ourselves

Here's the story I kept telling myself:

"I need my X account to stay current on AI."
"I should be building my brand on Instagram."
"This is how you network in 2025."
"Everyone important is having conversations here."

You know what actually happens on these platforms?

Hours disappear.
Anxiety spikes.
Focus craters.

I don't care how successful you are on there. You won't convince me that the cost isn't massive.

I've decided to keep only what's necessary for my community and brand: My newsletters, the AI WriterOps community, YouTube, and LinkedIn. That's it.

Everything else? Gone for now.

If I ever decide to return, it would be a post-only situation. No reading, no scrolling.

I would build better systems to consume and distribute this information (more below).

Here's what you should be doing instead

All right, so I've been thinking about this a lot.

What would a better system look like?
How do we stay informed without drowning?

Here are some ideas I'm exploring:

Idea 1: Time-box your information diet

What if we treated social media like email?

Specific windows.
Controlled doses.

Instead of the all-day drip of information, you could set up something like:

• Morning block: 30 minutes for industry updates

• Afternoon block: 30 minutes for community and networking

That's it. One hour total. Not four.

The key is making it intentional. Not reactive.

Idea 2: Create friction

Here's something worth trying: Delete all social apps from your phone.

If you want to check LinkedIn or whatever platform you keep, you need to:

• Be at your desk

• On your laptop

• During designated times

Your thumb can't mindlessly tap what isn't there. I’ve done this myself.

This single change can cut usage by 80-90%.

Idea 3: Go straight to the source

Why filter AI news through social media at all?

Think about it. Everything important eventually shows up in:

• Company blogs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google)

• YouTube deep dives

• Curated newsletters

• Direct announcements

• Reddit (still social but different IMO)

No middlemen. No commentary on commentary. Just primary sources.

You could build a whole information diet from just these sources and miss nothing important.

Idea 4: Build an AI agent to do the scrolling

This is the one I'm most excited about.

What if we built an agent that:

• Scrapes specific sources daily

• Filters for actual news and insights (not opinions)

• Identifies patterns and trends

• Delivers a single daily brief

Basically, let AI doom-scroll so we don't have to.

Imagine getting one clean summary instead of spending hours parsing through noise. The agent faces the chaos. You get the signal.

Why this matters for everything we do

The quality of your output is directly proportional to the quality of your input.

When your brain is processing 500 random takes a day, your writing becomes scattered. Your systems become inconsistent. Your voice gets lost.

But when you control your information diet? When you're intentional about inputs?

That's when you create your best work, build systems that actually matter, and have the mental space to think deeply about problems.

The uncomfortable truth

We're all addicted to the scroll. And the platforms know it.

They've weaponized FOMO. They've gamified engagement. They've turned "staying informed" into an anxiety loop that never ends.

Stop for a second.

You're not missing anything. You just need an alternative way to get it.

I'm not here to preach. Maybe social media works for you. Maybe you've got better discipline than me.

But if you're feeling that same drain, try out some of these techniques.

What I'm wondering about

Are you feeling this?

Are we all just pretending that consuming 8 hours of information a day is normal?

What if the future isn't about keeping up with everything, but building systems that filter everything for us?

What if the most productive thing you can do is subtract?

I don't have all the answers, and this is an experiment.

But I know I can't keep doing what I've been doing.

The cost is too high, and the return is too low.

Because at the end of the day, we're trying to build something here.

And you can't do that when your attention is shattered across seventeen different platforms.

Sometimes the best system is the one that protects you from the noise.

—Alex

Founder: AI WriterOps | AI Disruptor

Help me out: should I do more newsletters/takes like this every now and then?