Facebook is everywhere! No, you need to know these Facebook alternatives.
This guide shows you which alternatives top Facebook’s online offering!
Let’s get started!
- 1 Meta (Facebook) is everywhere
- 2 Direct chat alternatives – the privacy messenger
- 3 Facebook group alternative – the must-have meeting tool
- 4 The ultimate newsfeed alternative – TTRSS
- 5 Facebook Like Posting – Mastodon
- 6 What are Facebook Marketplace alternatives?
- 7 The underrated Facebook Games alternatives
- 8 The best Instagram alternatives – photoblogs
- 9 My recommendation
Meta (Facebook) is everywhere
Meta (formerly Facebook) offers more than you think.
Meta not only offers a social media platform Facebook to post messages, but also offers many different services and apps such as Instagram.
Not everyone uses all of Facebook’s services.
Some people only use the marketplace, others only use Facebook Games. There are free alternatives for all Meta functions that top the Meta version.
This guide shows you the best alternatives for the various functions. At the end, I will give you a far-reaching recommendation on how you can tackle the “problem with Facebook”.
Steffen Lippke
Why is it so hard to get away from Facebook?
Facebook is a platform that stays alive through the network effect. What is a network effect? Let’s go back a few years in history:
When Phillip Reis / Bell invented the telephone, developers could only reach one person with their phone via network. The idea is nice, but the benefit was very small.
The power of the network effect
Then the inventor started laying multiple cables, installing terminals and attracting users to their invention. If you can call 100 different people with the same device via telephone numbers, the “telephone” device is suddenly much more useful.
Instead of sending letters or travelling, you are connected to another person in a matter of seconds so that you can communicate.
Steffen Lippke
Facebook benefits from the same effect. When Facebook was still called TheFacebook, only a few students from selected US universities had access to the platform. Now you can get in touch with 4 billion other people on the various meta services “for free”.
Direct chat alternatives – the privacy messenger
The direct messaging messenger Signal uses the Signal protocol of the same name to transmit end-to-end encrypted messages.
Signal is not a company interested in profit, but an association that prioritises privacy. You don’t have to do without any features and can contribute to the project.
Facebook group alternative – the must-have meeting tool
Jitsi Meet is the Zoom / Facebook video / WhatsApp video call alternative. The open source software allows you to stay in touch with your friends.
The Jitsi software allows you to send video and audio via your own server. With this solution, you can be sure that no third party can listen in.
Signal: You can also use Signal to create groups and communicate with each other securely and safely.
The ultimate newsfeed alternative – TTRSS
Facebook and other social media websites centralise content on one platform. The social media platforms censor and delete (hide) content according to their wishes.
The alternative are the “decentralised” websites that can act independently of any censorship. You can subscribe to blogs, magazines and news sites via RSS or Atom. The software TTRSS or FreshRSS are news feed readers that can process and bundle RSS feeds. You always stay up to date and can “monitor” 100 blogs and always receive the news immediately. With caching, you can save posts that are no longer online.
Facebook Like Posting – Mastodon
The Mastodon software works like a social media platform, with all the features such as posts, likes, comments and followers. The big difference is that each user operates their own instance. Censorship or suppression by an internet giant is not possible here.
Anyone can use the software free of charge.
What are Facebook Marketplace alternatives?
New trend with potential – swap parties
Instead of impersonally auctioning off your things on the Internet, you can get rid of old things at swap parties, enjoy new things for free and make new friends.
The classic – classified adverts
With your e-mail address, you can register with classified adverts and simply sell your things there. Facebook Marketplace is big, but Kleinanzeigen is even bigger in Germany, optimised for selling and known for it.
The underrated Facebook Games alternatives
Fun for free – open source games
Do games have to cost money? Do free games have to spy on you or force a virtual currency on you? No! Open source games allow you to pass the time without having to pay money for any freemium currencies.
Quality before freemium – Steam Games
Most game developers don’t work for fun. Instead of letting yourself be bombarded by Facebook Games, (indie) Steam Games offer you a better alternative. Favour real quality content over hidden money machines.
The best Instagram alternatives – photoblogs
Anyone can upload their pictures to a blog with a web host.
You can create a WordPress blog in minutes. You can install it with one click, assign a password and get started. Interested parties can leave comments under your pictures and like them. You have full control over the server and no third party censors you.
My recommendation
I need to go into a little more detail here: What is your use of Facebook anyway?
Aren’t free offers “free”?
Steffen Lippke
No. Every offer like the one Meta (formerly Facebook) provides costs you opportunity costs. You have to accept opportunity costs if you decide in favour of one option (spending time on Facebook) but have to say no to all other options.
What did I do in my free time before Facebook?
Practising instruments, painting, drawing, cooking, playing sports, etc.
Instead of filling your Facebook void with other “better social media networks”, fill it with quality free time (per Cal Newport’s idea).
Instead of just consuming in your free time (scrolling Facebook feeds), you can produce something (beautiful music, paintings, the muscles from your workout, etc.). Even if the result seems useless (modern art ;-)), the activity alone can bring you great joy. Flower experience is better than hours of scrolling.
Set yourself leisure goals. Don’t fill your time with war feeds and celebrities, but with working on small other leisure projects and goals.
- Play a song on the guitar → record a song → edit a song
- run 5 km at a stretch → Run 10 km at a stretch → Run 20 km at a stretch
- Programming your own app or learning to programme
- Bake a yeast plait → Bake a strawberry cake → Bake a gateau
- Draw motif A → Fill motif B with acrylic → Paint motif C with oil
The aim is not to “work” more doggedly, but to set yourself small incentives to fully enjoy your time.
Steffen Lippke
Most people waste their time on Facebook. Everyone should find an activity and a pace for themselves that is more fulfilling than just filling the time between work and sleep with social media consumption.
