Until pretty recently, whenever some new social networking thing would come along, I would go and sign up. I wanted to see what everyone was on about or, at the very least, make sure I got my name. Not so much lately, though. The realization was that these services aren't here to, well, serve me. They're here to monetize me or add me as a statistic to their monthly active users. 

Does using whatever thing help me achieve my personal goals? That's totally incidental to the people making it. What matters to them is figuring out ways to make me feel like me using their thing is important. They want to make sure I have notifications on so they can steal my time and attention whenever it suits them. Why would I let any random venture-funded startup do that? 

My time is valuable and finite. I've got things I want to achieve and only so much time to do it. I want to make apps. I want to write. I want to record podcasts. I want to pursue spiritual goals. Maybe having TikTok on my phone is key to understanding the true nature of reality, executing on creative projects, and being a complete person. Maybe by not letting it send me notifications, I'm losing out. You know what though? I'm willing to take that chance.