# Keep social on purpose

A remaining social presence needs a named reason, a thin public record, and a way to leave.

Personal social media needs a named purpose before it deserves a daily place. That purpose should hold only the public record it needs, so the rest of life stays somewhere you control. A remaining presence also needs an exit: identity and connections should be able to move if a company, instance, or policy changes.

## Start here

### [Use personal social media only with a clear purpose](https://live.freewithtech.com/practices/use-personal-social-media-only-with-purpose.md)

Personal social media needs a named purpose and a boundary that keeps it from becoming an automatic part of daily life.

**Start small:** Choose one personal social account and write down the single purpose that justifies keeping it.

### [Keep public profiles thin](https://live.freewithtech.com/practices/keep-public-profiles-thin.md)

A profile that holds a whole life becomes a reason to stay with the platform that hosts it.

**Start small:** Open one profile and remove or archive one category of life that does not serve its named purpose.

### [Use social media on open protocols](https://live.freewithtech.com/practices/use-social-media-on-open-protocols.md)

A social presence is easier to keep or leave when identity and connections live on an open protocol that more than one app or host can use.

**Start small:** For one remaining social purpose, find a network that uses an open protocol and check whether the people or work that purpose needs are already there.

## Related concepts

- [intentional friction](https://live.freewithtech.com/concepts/intentional-friction.md): A small obstacle creates time to reconsider an automatic digital action.
- [ownership and open exits](https://live.freewithtech.com/concepts/ownership-and-open-exits.md): A tool remains acceptable while data, access, and future choices can be retained or moved.
- [minimal retention](https://live.freewithtech.com/concepts/minimal-retention.md): Data and digital residue are kept only while they continue to serve a deliberate purpose.

## From the public trail

- [my phone addiction damaged real connection](https://fwt.wtf/rebuild-relationships?utm_source=live.freewithtech.com)
- [a jury hit Meta and YouTube for $6M and why it matters](https://fwt.wtf/addictive-design?utm_source=live.freewithtech.com)
- [how I fixed my relationship with technology (4 steps)](https://fwt.wtf/dumbscrolling?utm_source=live.freewithtech.com)
- [what I learned about relationships after deleting social media](https://fwt.wtf/shattered-connections?utm_source=live.freewithtech.com)
- [how I escaped the digital trap (without going offline)](https://fwt.wtf/my-story-video?utm_source=live.freewithtech.com)

## Continue

- [Practice database](https://live.freewithtech.com/)
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