I have been sick of social media for a while now but I do enjoy sharing things online but over the past few years, social media, and by that, I mean Instagram, which is the only platform that I really use, has become internally problematic for me. Not only is it a ginormous time suck, it also preys on our insecurities and weaknesses, by giving us too much “personalized content, that I think, biologically, our brain just cannot process. So, if you are like me, you spend at least two hours a day, scrolling, finding new things, liking new posts, and so forth. And then you share something and you get the hits of validation. Did someone like what I posted? How many people saw it? How did I come across?
This is only my perspective and I speak from my personal experiences. As I get older, I see these platforms as less and less relevant to my life, despite me on occassion, using them to my advantage to promote a new project or share things with friends — but the compromise that I make for these positive aspects of social media, certainly don’t outweigh the benefits.
I miss the old days, when blogging on a website was a thing. I started off my introduction to design by coding websites for artists and bands that I liked. I would add my email to them and every so often, somebody would email me and we would bond over a mutual interest. In those days, I had the autonomy to control how I appeared on the internet. I decided what the experience was and what people saw. Today, anything I share is paired beside other things other people share. The algorithm dictates how I show up. You may see something I share right after seeing a political post that angers you. Ultimately, because of tech giants, we are at the mercy of their control. Tomorrow, your profile and your images might disappear. Do you own any of them? Do we own them? Our memories? Our evidence of existence? Where is it? Do we understand how it works? I don’t.
So why am I saying all of this? I say this because I’d like to introduce this new part of my website as my new form of communicating with people. This is a consensual exchange in which you agree to visit this website; to walk all the way over here, to see what I have to say, because maybe you care. I mentioned to a friend that I was thinking of just posting things to my personal website as opposed to social media and he asked if I am concerned about getting less traffic. I said no. I don’t care about traffic. I don’t care about views or followers or likes or any of that stuff. I am not a brand or a product. But perhaps over the past decade that I have been using these social platforms, my brain will need some rewiring of taking ownership over my voice and where and how it exists.
I also want to share that a part of this method of “self-publishing” — I am fully developing this website. There is great power in craft and agency over building something fully from the ground up. I encourage you to find ways to do the same. So, if you are interested in what I have to say, thank you. I really mean it. I will still be on Instagram but sparingly. You can message me there or by email.
What I plan on posting here will be more streams of consciousness, where as if you would like to see more formal writing, you can always find me at my newsletter.