3 | Anti-social social club
Social? Or media? Choose one.
Newsflash: Social media is bad for our health. And some of us (🙋♀️) have even deleted Instagram and Facebook before.
There are all those sneaky lil reasons to keep it. There's no Buy Nothing group quite like Facebook Marketplace, amiright?
But in our late-stage capitalist society, I decided this is my one tiny FU to the broligarchs.
** This is a reflection on my own social media use and not a critique of anyone else’s. **
Idea: Nuke all social media (for real this time)
In 2019, I did that radical thing where you delete IG from your phone, so you can only use it on your laptop.
And wow, was I doing emotional somersaults to see what my ex's ex did the previous weekend. It sucked.
Once I realized that I could feel shitty about myself without assistance, I said good riddance (not "deactivate") to both FB and IG.
I had a blissful 5 years of phone calls, 10-minute voicenotes, and unscheduled FaceTimes with my dearest friends.
By October 2024, I was peer pressured into getting back on IG. And all my "deleted" info came right back.
🫤 Social media is good, bad, and ugly
And you don't really get to choose (that's the algorithm's job!).
Start with a soothing recipe video, then within a few days, you're on the crunchy-granola-to-tradwife pipeline. Like politically engaging memes, then next thing you know, you're losing sleep and angry all the time.
In her Substack, Aminatou Sow said that her brain can't handle too many inputs, and the internet has endless input. That's kinda how I started to feel.
It starts fun, and in my experience, usually morphs into something scary. And I want to return to the fun.
🛝 Joy is a form of activism
So is rest. So is calling your representatives. So is engaging with your peeps and building community IRL.
The same folks you shake your booty with on the weekend can also be the ones you protest the coup with.
And showing up in person makes me feel a whole lot better than accidentally double-tapping an old pic of a stranger on IG.
😩 But what about...
- Buy Nothing? Find or start a Freecycle (also, Craigslist!).
- News? Support local, independent outlets.
- Other information? Literally go outside and talk to people.
A park, public library, anywhere. Ask questions, share knowledge, keep in touch. Relish your capacity for creativity.
That's what I've been trying to do since I deleted IG and FB (and this time Twitter) back in February.
I'm open to ideas! How do you build community without social media?
ABCD: Ashley Trawick
(Anyone But Cis Dudes. And if you hate this section, examine why!)
Ashley's new venture, Her Take Works, amplifies Black women working on dope film projects.
☎️ Again, for the folks in the back: Call your reps
🤷 Nobody knows what the hell they're doing
🍪 The 2 best flavours in one cookie: lemon cardamom snickerdoodles
➰ 4 loops that cause creative struggle
💌 Love letter generator
You're awesome! Toodles!
Lulu