I kind of had a personal epiphany of an analogy: eating empty calories makes you fat, so having empty "friendships" on something like Facebook makes you socially inept.
So, I deleted half of my Facebook friends--anyone I haven't talked to directly in the last 6 months got axed. Some of those people were even extended family members. There is nothing my redneck cousins have to say that I need to be reading. I'd quit completely but it has lately served a significant purpose for coordinating meat-space socializing; apparently most people have forgotten how to email. I only check HN once a day, and I only open technical articles now. No more news site trawling, and no more politics. No more Facebook and Tumblr on the phone, only on a real computer.
So, I deleted half of my Facebook friends--anyone I haven't talked to directly in the last 6 months got axed. Some of those people were even extended family members. There is nothing my redneck cousins have to say that I need to be reading. I'd quit completely but it has lately served a significant purpose for coordinating meat-space socializing; apparently most people have forgotten how to email. I only check HN once a day, and I only open technical articles now. No more news site trawling, and no more politics. No more Facebook and Tumblr on the phone, only on a real computer.
It's helped a lot.