I signed up for Threads for the first time on 27 May. About two weeks later, on 11 June, I decided to do a big social media purge. I deleted all my accounts except Facebook, wanting space to re-evaluate my relationship with social media and where to focus my attention.

During that first two-week period, I posted only a few times. Most of my time was spent consuming content rather than creating it. After a few months off, I signed up again on 16 October. This time, I’ve been active daily, often multiple times a day. I interact with other content but don’t follow anyone – there’s no one I’m keen to follow. If something resonates, I like it. If I feel like commenting, I do so without overthinking. My interactions are like casual small talk in real life.

Two weeks later, despite regular posting and interaction, I haven’t received a single like or comment on any of my posts. Maybe Threads isn’t the place for me. Perhaps if I hadn’t overthought things the first time and had posted more instead of just consuming content, I would have realised this sooner.

I see some of the same things that annoyed me before – catchphrases, stolen jokes, recycled material – but I’m less bothered now. What surprises me is the lack of interaction with my content. I’m not in a rush to delete Threads again; maybe I’ll keep it a while. Still, I don’t see much point in spending a lot of time there if I’m not connecting with people, which is the whole point of social media for me.

For now, I’ve shifted my focus. I’m decoupling from all metrics. Likes, comments, and engagement no longer guide whether I stay or leave. Threads and TikTok remain on my radar, not for validation, but for discoverability and the video layer the latter offers to my personal archiving. Resonance isn’t guaranteed – on TikTok, probably even less – but that’s not the point. The point is to keep what I share discoverable, while preserving my own attention and energy.