May I present to you the rather unoriginal “taking a break” from social media conundrum. The tree falling phrase is now very overused and somewhat passé, but it speaks the truth.
from good ol’ Wikipedia:
Bringing this to the digital space, as many many people have said: “if I don’t post it on social media and therefore no one witnesses it, did it even happen?” or “if I don’t post on social media, do I even exist?”
It may seem rather hyperbolic, but this is oddly one of the existential conundrums of our chronically online society. Existence itself has become an odd paradox of performing the performance of self, a fun house mirror showing we are here in both the physical and digital world, taking up both literal space and algorithmic code.
A few days ago, after being witness to the zillionth ad on Instagram (one that was particularly obvious in its generative AI use because um, a baby’s feet were backwards on its body, cool… cool…), I decided to take an extended break from the domaine slot machine, thus becoming one of those “fallen trees”.
There are a ton of think pieces and hot takes on “taking a break from social media” available to read here on Substack, so I won’t add to the noise of that. I will say however, that this is the first time I’m planning to be off of Instagram for an extended period of time. 2 months.
Why 2 months?
Honestly, no idea. It just felt like the right amount of time to cleanse my brain of all the rot. I closed my twitter/X years ago, rarely go on Facebook unless its for Marketplace, don’t have TikTok, and never really used Linkedin, Pinterest, etc... Instagram was a joy for me and lately, it’s been a supreme annoyance. I used to love it back in the early days, but now for so many reasons, it’s… ugh.
So here I am on Substack (again).
While this can definitely be considered a social media platform, Substack is a place that feels more artistic than commerce-driven. Well, sort of. Yes, there are paid subscriptions and some people are writing to make money, but I’m not bombarded by ads every 3rd post. Content (for the most part) is long-form and more deeply thought-out.
At this specific point in my online life, I want to give my attention to what makes me feel alive as a human and as an artist. Part of that is choosing WHERE to share about the things that inspire me. For now, that place is here.
So on that note, here are some things that I have been loving lately (zero affiliate links, just vibes):
The “Diabolical Lies” podcast. This podcast serves extremely well-researched deep dives into a variety of current events and cultural conversations. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the points made, I’m always challenged to think deeper on each and every topic.
“The Boroughs” limited series on Netflix. Senior living + spooky stuff + a 1990s Spielberg-type film score? SIGN ME UP.
Côtes du Rhône Yes, I’m just shouting out French red wine. 5 stars. No notes.
The new Noah Kahan album, “The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs”. This album has me pining for running barefoot through sprinklers and going to a county fair.
BOOKS, books, and more books. These are my top 5 favorite books of all time:
(M. L. Rio’s “If We Were Villains”, Ling Ling Huang’s “Immaculate Conception”, Holly Brickley’s “Deep Cuts”, caro claire burke’s “Yesteryear”, & Allison Larkin’s “The People We Keep”.)
So yup, here I am on Substack to share these “Dispatches”. It may be for a long time or a short time, but I do want it to be a good time no matter what.
Until the next dispatch,
xo Hels
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.