The alternatives only suck because we've been made lazy by the seeming ease with which social media facilitates human contact and interaction. Yes, you absolutely should delete social media, and yes, making an effort with people will feel like hard work. But it will be worth it.

I personally think sites like HN and Reddit are better forms of social media because they don't necessarily try to replace the contact you should have with friends and family. If I interacted with friends on Facebook, I felt like I'd already done enough with/for them, and left it at that. Without it, I make more of an effort to stay in touch. But at least on HN, this isn't a replacement for my friend circle, it's just more of an interest group that provides some interesting reading and conversations.