This is a response to Jatan's prompt at this week's session of Indie Web Club BLR
Well, for starters, I would consider myself as someone whose primary relationship to the internet started with social media. Orkut, then facebook, then tumblr and twitter simultaneously (tumblr to me doesn't fit into the traditional definition of a blog, because even though I did share some personal content/ thoughts/ opinions there, mostly I just reblogged existing stuff related to fandoms I was a part of.)
There was a lot of talk in the group today about nostalgia and missing the good old days of blogging. As someone who really hasn't blog blogged before -- I miss the good old days of social media!
There was a time when it wasn't this terrible, though of course, the seeds were being sown for it to become the addictive, toxic, attention and sanity snatching monster it is today.
As the pace of social media has increased, and the joy and actual feeling of connection has drastically decreased, I do think a lot of people are looking for alternatives.
I, for one, was looking for a space to sit with my thoughts and work through them deliberately. I already have a physical journal, but there is just that special something about sharing things on the internet that makes you feel like a part of something bigger, while still being comfortably insignificant.
This is purely anecdotal evidence, but I have seen so many people in my tiny social media bubble start their own blogs in recent months. And it is so refreshing. I think a lot of people don't want to skim through information/ thoughts/ ideas only to forget them the next second. We want to be able to engage and soak them in.
That being said, social media is not going anywhere. And as awful as it is, we live under a system where we don't really get to opt out of all the oppressive structures that "rule" us. At least not without isolating ourselves and being completely out of touch with the rest of the world.
Completely ditching social media doesn't seem feasible to me in any sense. It's a highly individualistic solution to a structural issue. Plus hey, I like the cat videos, I do find important information there sometimes, I like sending reels to my friends half way across the world. It's realistic to enjoy the ease and instant gratification this form of communication gives us. Sometimes, we truly don't have the energy or the time. And that's just the way it is. I don't think this is the ONLY form of communication or expression that one should rely on online in this day and age.
As a mentally ill and neurodivergent person, I have worked hard to break the hindering belief that some coping mechanisms are "bad" while others aren't. Is relying on social media for dopamine hits ideal? FUCK NO! But it's what I'm working with right now, and I don't think guilt or shame (I AM A SLAVE TO BIG TECH WHY OH WHY DON'T I HAVE MORE WILLPOWER!!!!) is going to help me out of this. Baby steps. Deliberate ones, with patience, and a LOT of grace is what it takes. That's what it takes to make any habit stick... even more so to break a bad one. Social media, the communities I found there, the friends I made there were my safe haven for all my gruelling teenage years. I still feel that sense of comfort on the internet. And so I'm trying to find ways to channel this need for comfort in other directions.
For now, I'm trying to strike some sort of balance (lord knows there is no ultimate state here that will be achieved, but we try) between this blog and social media usage.
And ever since I started my blog, I have drastically reduced posting on my finsta or twitter. I mostly journal, blog, or text my friends. In a way I hope this is wiring my brain to tolerate slowness and embrace it.