The Friday Life Edit: Social media fatigue
Friday greetings!
We made it through the week. It’s unofficially officially summer. We’ve Substacked a lot together this week - thank you for being here.
If Instagram is the party, this newsletter is the quiet dinner afterwards. After all my uninformed griping about Substack, this platform has been quick to become my favorite corner of the internet.
Call me old fashioned, but I’ve begun to gravitate more and more toward email and blogs and away from scrolling social feeds. Although I tap down the unreads in my ‘promotions’ folder in a ruthless manner several times daily, I will always sheath the sword to read a newsletter I love. Some are by bloggers, some are particularly clever marketing newsletters. If it’s good, I’ll read it. One of them even managed to sell me on oat milk.
As an elder millennial, it’s odd to think of something on the internet as being ‘old school.’ “But it’s the World Wide Web and that’s a newfangled contraption! It’s the Information SuperHighway!” My elderly leanings aside, blogs are indeed an old school art form that stir up memories of joining groups on Xanga.
I’ve enjoyed seeing a blog renaissance within the past two or three years. It’s refreshing to read blogs that explore actual topics rather than simply throwing out endless lists of LTK and Amazon Affiliate links. Personally, I always enjoyed writing my monthly newsletter, whereas blogging on a WordPress site often felt like a chore. It’s been a big creative boost to be able to combine a blog with a newsletter on a site that supports community and authors.
Going back to my main point, social media is what really started to feel like a chore. By ‘party,’ I meant a loud, crowded party full of uninvited guests. Whenever I attend any of Algorithm’s events, he lets in all these people who weren’t on the guest list. They bring their pets to do goofy tricks. If I talk to the extra guests even once, I can’t shake them the rest of the night. I wave at my friends across the crowded room, but they’re too busy watching pet tricks. If this were a real party, I’d leave.
That’s not to say I think social media has no value. I just don’t value it the way I once did - obsessing over reach and follows and who unfollowed and tapping through a hundred Stories because I feel somehow obligated.
Many of you subscribed to this newsletter because of our connection on Instagram. It means a great deal to me that you’ve come along to the quiet dinner. I see a lot of inspiring content on social and have made many, many friends on Instagram. Charles_BITXCRYPTO_traderxxx69, I’m looking at you. And you, _henry393395460285, holding that giant salmon in your profile pic like a true boss. I’m sure you’d make an excellent sugar daddy.
In all seriousness, my social media usage is yet another thing I decluttered this spring. I had already stopped using Facebook in 2020 and stopped using Twitter shortly thereafter. Of course, all the time I had spent using those apps got shifted to Instagram. I then became a little too obsessed with Instagram. Of all the social apps, I do prefer it, but I got burned out on it also. I enjoy making connections, but not putting a lot of work into content that’s only seen by 10% of the people who’ve opted into it.
When I decided to relaunch my blog here on Substack, I also decided to channel most of my energy into writing useful and fun and witty newsletters and not sweat Instagram quite so hard. It’s fun to see the content on Instagram, but I’ve severely curtailed the amount of time I spend on it daily. And as I’ve mentioned before, my day job is very social media heavy, so limiting personal use off the clock has been especially important for my mental health.
Despite having thought about it in fits of pique, I have no actual plans to delete Instagram or stop using it altogether. The plan is to use digital platforms more mindfully and with less pressure. Let’s skip out of the party early and enjoy a quiet dinner without telling Algorithm. He’ll never miss us.
Wishing you a very happy and analog weekend!