I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how the technologies that have made our lives easier have also tangled us within their webs…
How we’ve been their willing (and often happy) participants…
How photos, captions, comments and DMs have, in many cases, replaced face to face interaction, creating virtual communities built around shared interests and experiences.
How else would we stay in touch with each other across space and time while living our work and family lives, taking it one uber-full day at a time?
Seems like a solid alternative, no?
Except that it started to feel icky to me. Voyeuristic, even.
If I saw some of these “old friends” on the street, would I run to them with open arms? Or would I put my head down and hope they didn’t see me?
You know, that one ex…
Half your graduating class…
The colleague you worked with for a couple of months and haven’t seen in a couple of decades.
So, why do I need to see photos from their latest vacation or what they ate for breakfast?
On top of that, the growing awareness that every click around each site was generating pennies into the pockets of humans I would rather throat punch than sit across the table from (I’m looking at you, Zuck).
And then there were the policy announcements falling in all around and at the feet of the Inauguration and the Angry Mango.
So, I decided to pull the plug on it.
I got rid of Threads and have decided not to post to Instagram, essentially shutting down my farm, family history, and personal pages without deleting them yet. I’ve been off Facebook for years and X was deleted when it was still Twitter.
I also deleted TikTok the night it went dark. I’m not interested in State Owned Media and it feels like that might be in the works there.
When I made my last posts on Insta, it was very interesting to see who wanted to stay in touch in real life…
Who emailed me or texted me directly for the first time in a very long time…
And who hasn’t…
And how it’s all OK.
So, now I’m retraining my brain to not scroll, but read instead…
To not like, but have real conversations instead…
To let go of the virtual connections and build in person connections instead…
To reclaim the time I might have spent in the Matrix that fulfilled little in real life.
Does that mean I’m a complete Luddite? No, of course not. It just means I’m working to shift my priorities and whose pockets my pennies land in.
In example:
I’m now on Bluesky as melis-willis, where I have a 15 minute limit to scroll a wide variety of users and occasionally add to the discourse.
I have also swapped out Audible for Libro.fm and Goodreads for Storygraph as melissa_505 (and goodness do I love a good visual of my reading stats).
I don’t know if any of it really matters in the grand scheme of things but I’d like to hope it does and hope is a massive piece in the mosaic of life that is keeping me going right now.
Small changes that feel good and grounding while the world around me feels wild and dangerous.
Everything adds up, you know? One drop, one step, one penny at a time.
How are you finding balance in your life these days? I’d love to know 🙂
xoxo,
Melissa
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Hi Melissa, We can each do our part, no matter how small it seems, to be the change we want to see in the world. I have not used any of the social media you mentioned. I am selective as to where I spend my time, energy (usually with family and friends) and money (to support local businesses as much as possible). I look to nature and try to think of a few good things every day to find balance in my life.
Hi Natalie! I completely agree and am so glad to hear that you never got sucked into the culture of social media. We are all doing our best to find balance and joy in this wild world and it sounds like you have found the perfect recipe! Thank you for sharing the pieces of your puzzle here.
I’m limiting my time online (well, except for bloggers—they provide a lifeline for me right now). I’m trying to use my pennies wisely, too, and my minutes as well. I’m trying to be brave and speak up for Truth and Human Rights and Democracy and Kindness and all the other good things in the world. I’m happy to have you join us on Sunday Salon. Bear with us. It takes time to find others here and for others to find you.
Deb, it feels like we’re all trying to find balance for ourselves while the earth continually shakes beneath our feet. I don’t know where the safe zone is but all the points you touched on are definitely steps in the right direction.
Thank you for the warm welcome and for providing the space. I am a patient person and trust the right bloggers and I will find each other 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.