Night, Night

How I quit Facebook and Instagram and lived to tell

Last week, I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts. A promise kept.

I did not know how quickly I would unconsciously reach to check social media once I detached. I just knew it would happen (and literally did right before I started this post). I've been doing my homework on the subject for several years.

I could quit it. But no way was it going to quit me—not without a fight.

Getting Under the Hood

Neuroscience, psychology, and motor learning easily explain repetitive behavior on scroll-and-swipe media platforms. Specifically, they address essential brain function, habit formation, and muscle memory.

It's about the basal ganglia. No, that's not a new delectable curry. I'm referring to a group of interconnected brain bits responsible for automatic and repetitive behaviors. The basal ganglia plays a role in habit formation by helping us move from conscious, goal-directed actions to automatic, stimulus-driven behaviors. Positively, this can be an energy saver (no need to use all that goal-oriented brain power on a repetitive task). Negatively, unhealthy habits may be formed.

Habit Loop and the Dopamine Scroll

After acknowledging the positives of social media interaction, we're left with a habit loop. Or, as many have noted, a dopamine reward system.

Social media platforms are designed to exploit dopamine reinforcement. Each time I reach to check my social media, there’s a possibility of reward (e.g., likes, comments, reposting). The unpredictability of these rewards (including when and from whom they appear) creates compulsive checking behaviors, reinforcing the habit loop.

We don't need science or psychology to break it down for us, though, do we? We know.

We've been here before. The difference is that in previous eras of habit-forming behaviors, we weren't carrying humanity's worst ideas and behaviors in our hand. There's no need to drive hours to a gambling casino anymore for us to lose our rent money. We're holding a casino connected to our bank accounts.

Facebook and Instagram: A Reflection

My relationship with Facebook and Instagram has been rewarding and frustrating for the past seven years. I've had the unique experience of working with the Meta Music Initiative on a project that allowed me to create and record 300 songs, collaborating with incredible artists like Eddie Henderson, John Patitucci, Turtle Island Quartet, Marc Martel, and my son and daughter-in-law, Sam Ashworth and Ruby Amanfu. My work with Meta was a gift—artistically fulfilling, flexible, and ideally suited to my health needs. The team I worked with, including Brent Bourgeois and Leslie Barton, were always thoughtful, encouraging, professional, and fun. And my old friend Richie Biggs was there to mix and master it all. For all of this, I remain grateful.

Before working for Meta, I was an early adopter of Facebook. I maintained a personal page (maxed out at 5,000 friends) and a musician page with 22,000 followers. In the early days, Facebook was an excellent way to share music, books, people, and events while keeping up with friends. At its best, my posts would generate hundreds, sometimes thousands of responses and meaningful conversations. But over the years, I watched my engagement numbers dwindle. By the time I left last week (early February 2025), I was lucky to receive 5 to 10 interactions per post. What happened?

The Algorithm Alliance

While advising a marketing team at Meta (as part of a Beta program for public persons), I was given a glimpse into how their systems work. This Beta team merged my two existing profile pages into one, CharliePeacockArtistProducer. I was contracted by the team to provide feedback on how Facebook could better serve musicians. I consistently emphasized that artists want access to their existing audience—those who have opted to follow them. But I was met with blank stares.

Facebook’s Beta team kept asking: "Aren’t you interested in reaching new audiences and capturing new fans?" Of course. Every musician wants to expand their reach. But my point was simple: I care about my friends and fans first and want to reach all of them while hopefully gaining new followers too. Again, with the blank stares.

At its core, Facebook’s algorithm is no longer designed to prioritize organic reach. It used to be that if someone followed you, they would see your posts. Now, that’s no longer the case. Over the years, Meta has shifted its algorithm to favor engagement-driven content—mainly personal interactions and trending topics—over straightforward updates from artists and businesses. This created a misalignment of goals between me and the Man.

Untenable

Facebook has adopted an interest-based content model, similar to TikTok, meaning that up to 50% of the content in a user’s feed comes from accounts they don’t follow. You're experiencing this, correct? This means that even if you have a large following, your content isn't necessarily reaching those people. Instead, it's filtered through an opaque system prioritizing monetized/viral engagement beneficial to the platform, over intentional community and good business for the artist and followers. This is no surprise. Facebook’s complete disinterest in mutual benefit or customer service is painfully obvious. With over 3 billion users, I can only imagine that Facebook has the world’s largest AFR, acceptable failure rate.

The Breaking Point

Participating in Meta's Beta program came with two significant downsides. First, it destroyed many core functions of my original profile, creating a Frankenstein version of a Facebook page that was unfixable—even by Meta's own support teams (or did we spend 12 months talking to robotech?). I hired three third-party companies to help and interact with Facebook. All confirmed that my account was unlike anything they had seen before and that I should start again. Second, my efforts to advocate for musicians (as Meta's consultant) were met with a lack of comprehension and authentic interest. For all I know, I was in the room to confirm exactly what they would never do. I can imagine a team member taking notes: "Nope. Nope. No way. This guy's an idiot."

Eventually, I realized I was in a multiverse within their Metaverse. This Meta Beta squad was trying to turn me into a content generator to drive more engagement, scrolling, and data collection. Meanwhile, I was just trying to reach the people who had already said, "I'm interested in what you do." That disconnect was my breaking point.

Moving Forward With Optimism

Leaving Facebook and Instagram isn’t solely about rejecting what Ted Gioia calls the dopamine cartel; it’s also about realignment with values, cares, and commitments I've drifted from. It’s about opening up time for new interests and callings to emerge. And yes, I want to create in spaces where the connection between artist and audience isn’t obstructed by an algorithm designed to harm, force monetization, or achieve the exact opposite of my (our) good intentions.

Hence, my move to Substack. Now you know the story.

Thank you for joining me here. You have my gratitude. More to come!