How I loved reading your piece, Maddy — and what a lovely way to discover your work!
I often find myself choosing to bake a cake (or two) rather than scrolling endlessly on social media… even though I know I should be out there, posting, liking, hashtagging and whatnot.
My relationship with social media? Let’s just say it’s a classic “Je t’aime… moi non plus” situation: I need it, I resist it, I come back to it with mixed feelings and slightly burnt cookies. 😅
Love this! I often caught myself in the same situation, trying to decide if I’m even apt to use apps or not. And one thing that I always think about is how when I was in school we had classes to learn how to use computers and how useful would be the media literacy nowadays
YOU'RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!! I flirted with Twitter and Pinterest, deleted Instagram after a few months & most recently deleted Facebook. I don't have any social media except YouTube and Substack (yes I consider both of those social media...) and honestly, it's freeing. But you're so right, anything can be distracting and we'll find that escapism in other ways too.
I recently realised I'm addicted to Youtube and I'm attempting to de-Google (don't go down that rabbit hole!), so it's not just the big ones like FB & IG that are problems.
Love your point about finding inspiration outside of screens. That's given me food for thought... That said, if you want inspo about leaving social media and living offline, check out my digital minimalism archive here: https://neurodivergentnotes.substack.com/t/the-diaries. I recommend starting at the last post (the earliest) and working your way up.
Thanks for reading Jessica!! I agree that we can always find rabbit holes no matter where we look🤪 And thanks for sharing your archive. I’m really reflecting more seriously on all things digital minimalism!
Definitely recommend taking a longer break!! I’ve done a few days here and there but a full week I feel like really broke the habit for me. Now I have the apps back on my phone but without feeling the need to check them/be on them. Feels great!!
I resonate so much with all you said! I just went through The Artist’s Way week 4 (the one where you’re not supposed to be reading), and it showed me how much i relied on social media to fill in the gaps. I did read, a lot, because i can’t let go of that, but just getting my phone to less than 5 hours of usage for that week was a herculean feat! We have such an unhealthy relationship to machines and social media, it’s not even funny anymore 😭
5 hours a week is honestly impressive!!😅 I actually just got the Artists Way and am debating when I want to go through it. I know some of the core elements are morning pages/solo artist dates which I actually already do (just not consistently which I have now started to implement). You’ll have to let me know how your experience is with it!
I’ll need to write a bigger review once I’m done, but primilary thoughts:
- do you really need it? Like did you read the subtitle about blocked creativity and is that you? Because that wasn’t me lol, so the content isn’t resonating much for now 😅 (my fault, 100%)
- did you also read the part of the subtitle about the spirituality of it all? I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone who isn’t religious/spiritual at all like me. You don’t need to believe in the catholic god, Julia makes lots of adjustments to any kind of other power, but you do need something that you believe in, for her advice to make sense.
- how much do you like “wowo” (don’t know how to spell that) creative exercises (like “write a letter to an imaginary friend” or “imagine your fear is a flower, what does it look like?”). That’s 90% of the writing tasks Julia offers, so if you hate it, you won’t have a good time.
- how much of a perfectionist are you, and are you able to let it go? You’re not supposed to do all the book, just some exercises from the list each week, but i find it so hard to not complete all the tasks that it’s not such a good time.
This sounds a bit negative, but that’s because I’m really not the target for it lol, i should have seen it coming. I’ll see it to the end, because I’m curious about all the ways in which i disagree. But if none of the things I’ve listed here seem like blockers to you, then go for it! So many people love the program, for a reason!
So good, my friend! I resonate with so much of what you have written - you aren't alone in your thoughts or struggles about social media. Thank you so much for sharing!
Such a lovely reflection Maddy. Gosh I think about this all the time and feel like I need to ask myself some of those questions to dig a little deeper x
How I loved reading your piece, Maddy — and what a lovely way to discover your work!
I often find myself choosing to bake a cake (or two) rather than scrolling endlessly on social media… even though I know I should be out there, posting, liking, hashtagging and whatnot.
My relationship with social media? Let’s just say it’s a classic “Je t’aime… moi non plus” situation: I need it, I resist it, I come back to it with mixed feelings and slightly burnt cookies. 😅
I love this reflection Pierre!! Thanks for reading. Cheers to somewhat complicated relationships with social media and burnt cookies!
Love this! I often caught myself in the same situation, trying to decide if I’m even apt to use apps or not. And one thing that I always think about is how when I was in school we had classes to learn how to use computers and how useful would be the media literacy nowadays
Ohh you’re so right!! Thanks for reading Naju
YOU'RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!! I flirted with Twitter and Pinterest, deleted Instagram after a few months & most recently deleted Facebook. I don't have any social media except YouTube and Substack (yes I consider both of those social media...) and honestly, it's freeing. But you're so right, anything can be distracting and we'll find that escapism in other ways too.
I recently realised I'm addicted to Youtube and I'm attempting to de-Google (don't go down that rabbit hole!), so it's not just the big ones like FB & IG that are problems.
Love your point about finding inspiration outside of screens. That's given me food for thought... That said, if you want inspo about leaving social media and living offline, check out my digital minimalism archive here: https://neurodivergentnotes.substack.com/t/the-diaries. I recommend starting at the last post (the earliest) and working your way up.
Thanks for reading Jessica!! I agree that we can always find rabbit holes no matter where we look🤪 And thanks for sharing your archive. I’m really reflecting more seriously on all things digital minimalism!
Love this!
Thank you for reading Florence!!
I did this last week for a couple of days and it felt so refreshing. I can relate so much!! Inspiring me to take a longer detox and set boundaries.
Definitely recommend taking a longer break!! I’ve done a few days here and there but a full week I feel like really broke the habit for me. Now I have the apps back on my phone but without feeling the need to check them/be on them. Feels great!!
I resonate so much with all you said! I just went through The Artist’s Way week 4 (the one where you’re not supposed to be reading), and it showed me how much i relied on social media to fill in the gaps. I did read, a lot, because i can’t let go of that, but just getting my phone to less than 5 hours of usage for that week was a herculean feat! We have such an unhealthy relationship to machines and social media, it’s not even funny anymore 😭
5 hours a week is honestly impressive!!😅 I actually just got the Artists Way and am debating when I want to go through it. I know some of the core elements are morning pages/solo artist dates which I actually already do (just not consistently which I have now started to implement). You’ll have to let me know how your experience is with it!
I’ll need to write a bigger review once I’m done, but primilary thoughts:
- do you really need it? Like did you read the subtitle about blocked creativity and is that you? Because that wasn’t me lol, so the content isn’t resonating much for now 😅 (my fault, 100%)
- did you also read the part of the subtitle about the spirituality of it all? I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone who isn’t religious/spiritual at all like me. You don’t need to believe in the catholic god, Julia makes lots of adjustments to any kind of other power, but you do need something that you believe in, for her advice to make sense.
- how much do you like “wowo” (don’t know how to spell that) creative exercises (like “write a letter to an imaginary friend” or “imagine your fear is a flower, what does it look like?”). That’s 90% of the writing tasks Julia offers, so if you hate it, you won’t have a good time.
- how much of a perfectionist are you, and are you able to let it go? You’re not supposed to do all the book, just some exercises from the list each week, but i find it so hard to not complete all the tasks that it’s not such a good time.
This sounds a bit negative, but that’s because I’m really not the target for it lol, i should have seen it coming. I’ll see it to the end, because I’m curious about all the ways in which i disagree. But if none of the things I’ve listed here seem like blockers to you, then go for it! So many people love the program, for a reason!
I can definitely resonate with this!
Thanks for reading friend!🤍
So good, my friend! I resonate with so much of what you have written - you aren't alone in your thoughts or struggles about social media. Thank you so much for sharing!
Aw thank you!❤️ I know we align on so many of these thoughts! Love how you continue to show up. So intentional and beautiful!
I’ve been doing this too, it’s so freeing! I also got bored, it’s a bizarre feeling to not know what to do with yourself X
It really is so freeing! Thanks for reading Laura:)
Such a lovely reflection Maddy. Gosh I think about this all the time and feel like I need to ask myself some of those questions to dig a little deeper x
Thank you for reading Charlotte! It really requires so much reflection and self awareness 😅 It’s truly a journey!
It is 😅