How dev.to became my comfortable corner of the internet (and my New Year resolution)
TL;DR
The author deleted Facebook years ago for peace and found dev.to as a genuine tech community. Unlike social media's highlight reels, dev.to fosters honest sharing and learning. Their New Year resolution is to engage more on dev.to while prioritizing well-being.
Key Takeaways
- •Deleting Facebook brought peace by eliminating comparison, pressure, and noise from social media.
- •dev.to stands out as a tech community focused on honest sharing, learning from failures, and genuine support.
- •The author's New Year resolution is to be more active on dev.to while monitoring for any negative impacts on well-being.
- •Intentional engagement in smaller online spaces like dev.to is valued over being present on multiple social platforms.
Tags
It has been a little over 10 years since I deleted my Facebook account.
No long post. No explanation. I just logged out and never went back.
I never joined Instagram either. Or Twitter. Or Snapchat. Or any other social networking platform. That always surprises people, but honestly, it never felt like something I needed.
And after all these years, I can confidently say this
I do not miss it at all.
The peace that came with logging out
Back then, Facebook just felt loud. Everyone was sharing everything. Opinions, achievements, arguments, perfectly happy lives. I would scroll and somehow feel worse than when I started.
Deleting it gave me something I did not even know I was craving. Quiet.
No constant comparison. No endless updates from people I barely spoke to. No pressure to react, like, comment, or keep up.
Once that noise was gone, I never felt the urge to go back.
Yes, I do have LinkedIn
I do have LinkedIn, but my usage is very limited.
Mostly because even there, comparison sneaks in. You see people announcing promotions, new roles, startup wins, big milestones. And even if you are happy for them, a tiny part of your brain goes
Should I be doing more?
Am I behind?
That jealousy is human. I feel it too. So I keep my time there minimal and intentional.
How I found dev.to
I enjoy technical writing. I always have.
For a long time, I would write technical articles and share them on LinkedIn. That was the only place I knew. Around that time (close to six years ago), a friend of mine suggested I try dev.to instead.
Their reasoning was simple
If you enjoy tech, share it where it helps the community
Let others learn from your experience and you will learn from theirs too
That idea stuck with me.
Why dev.to feels different
dev.to feels like a completely different space.
It does not feel like a highlight reel. It feels like a shared journey.
People celebrate each other when things work. And when things break, people are genuinely heartbroken together. Builds fail, ideas flop, bugs refuse to die and everyone learns from it.
There is honesty here. You see what worked and what absolutely did not. And that makes success feel real, not staged.
It feels less like performing and more like sharing.
A small New Year resolution
This year, my New Year resolution was simple
Be more socially active on dev.to
Comment more. Engage more. Participate in conversations instead of just reading quietly.
At the same time, I promised myself I would keep an eye on my well being. If it ever starts feeling heavy or competitive or draining, I step back.
So far, so good.
No anxiety. No doomscrolling. Just learning, conversations, and the reminder that everyone is figuring things out as they go.
Final thoughts
I do not miss Facebook.
I do not miss Instagram.
I do not miss being everywhere.
What I value now are smaller, intentional spaces where people show up as humans, not brands.
And dev.to feels like one of those rare corners of the internet where that still exists.
If that ever changes, I know I can log out again. And that is a pretty comforting thought.