The early 2000s were the best years for social media. The novelty of social media as a technology, and connecting with old friends generated excitement. Earlier platforms had limited functionality making them both easier to learn and use. Many were a great - and free - marketing tool. It was just a matter of time before hacking, spam, fake accounts, hate groups, and a steeper learning curve ruined everything.

We've normalized expectations that even the most cryptic password is only good for a few months. We're used to seeing Facebook friends "I've been hacked" messages. After all our stop light clicking and robot declarations, we are greeted with regular reports that our data has been breached – again. When AI moves into all of these platforms today's mom-and-pop data breaches of 30 million people will seem like small potatoes.

But it's the cost to my personal happiness and sense of security that troubles me. Every few weeks I receive messages like, "someone has requested a reset of your Facebook password. If it wasn't you, let us know." (Spoiler alert - it was never me.) I've found at least one duplicate Instagram account. Who does this and why?

I'm tired of all of it. But there are a couple of bright spots that I'm unwilling to give up. I can't just walk away – yet.

Social media security plan:

1. Delete any platform you can. Twitter was easy to delete. All the others (Mastodon, Post, Blue Sky) made me realize that you can't recapture something once it's gone. RIP, Twitter. Ask yourself, "Is this fun anymore?" and if the answer is no? Delete it. If you want to keep Facebook as an option open but leave for a while, deactivate your account instead. Avoid adding any new accounts anywhere.
2. Make all accounts more private. Instagram? Private. Facebook? Limit past posts and turn privacy settings up to "friend only" or "only me."
3. Weed your feeds. I keep 3 months of active data on Facebook, and every month delete old posts. It's nearly impossible to actually delete anything on Facebook save for deleting your account so it may be easier to choose change audience to only me.
4. Shrink your world. I routinely cycle through friends to see if they are still active. If they haven't posted within six months? I unfriend them. Not because I don't like them, but because the chances of their Facebook accounts being hacked are infinitely higher. Hackers use these abandoned accounts as a gateway to your accounts. Social media hacking has increased 1,000% over the past year. Facebook (32%) and TikTok (26%) are the top targets.
5. Limit Facebook Messenger use. It's the preferred tool of Facebook hackers and social engineers.
6. Do not store payment information on social media sites. On Facebook, 53% of messages in hacker groups are related to hijacking credit cards. Account takeovers are mentioned in 16% of messages.
7. Embrace the "respond without sending a message" option for platforms like LinkedIn.
8. Prioritize your social media accounts, and consider dropping the one you use the least. It's my version of "quiet quitting."
9. For those platforms you are keeping? Check in regularly.
10. Start getting used to the idea that you will walk away from all of these platforms, and it may be the first step toward reclaiming your peace of mind.

Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash