I'm one week into a two week social media fast (the longest I've ever really done) and the only thing I miss is Discord. Thanks for the extra push I needed, Seth.
-How does it feel when no one can reach you? Makes me so anxious!
Many years ago my brother went backpacking in Greece. We had to lose track of him for a whole week before even starting to worry. From then till now something definitely went wrong.
Reading this, maybe 4-5 days before your half-marathon, Seth! All the best! I love going digitally rogue on social platforms. Ooh the thrill of not posting selfies and consuming other people's worlds. But then I hop back in, only for the cycle to continue.
Oh, i was posting WEATHER REPORTS on LinkedIn the last few months. I'd just copy and paste the text from Weather Underground, and paste it on LinkedIn and hit post. Then LinkedIn would send me emails saying my posts got 382 impressions hahah.. what a joke!
Thank you for this insightful piece on the importance of taking breaks from social media. As a traditional Islamic calligrapher, I have found that disconnecting from the constant noise of social media is essential for nurturing my creativity and focus. The practice of calligraphy requires a deep level of concentration and mindfulness that can be difficult to achieve with the distractions of online life.
In my own experience, stepping away from social media allows me to immerse myself more fully in my art and connect with the rich history and spirituality that underpins Islamic calligraphy. It's in these moments of quiet that I often find the most inspiration.
I also appreciate the suggestion to gradually ease off social media rather than going cold turkey. This approach has worked well for me and my students, helping us to build a more sustainable relationship with technology.
After the jam session with @sethwerkheiser and @ascottperry last Saturday in this topic, I deleted LinkedIn entirely 😮 I’ve had an account for most of the ten years I’ve been in the online coaching space, never really used it so has no real audience there, yet recently I was trying to get some traction despite committing to making Substack my main focus. Silly wabbit 🤣
...seth...love you bud...but what differentiates this from social media?...i am struggling to see why a story told here differentiates from a story on "social"...
There is no difference! A photo, with some text under it. That's an Instagram post. That's a Substack newsletter. That's a Facebook post.
But some people can't go on social media and take "just one sip." Before they know it, they've been scrolling for 25 minutes, or an hour, and by the end of the day they've spent 4 hours looking at their phone. That can add up to 20+ hours in a week, looking at stories, memes, video clips, etc. Watching hours of video, 8 seconds at a time.
For some people, showing up in that space everyday works for them. Great!
But for others, it's destructive.
I'm just trying to say that there's ways to tell stories that don't involve social media. That you don't need to set up shop at the food court at the mall to build an audience. I don't need to post on Substack Notes to appease an algorithm, and you don't need to follow me there either - you'll still get my newsletter once a week.
And, I would just add, you don't own that audience on Instagram. You could share photos with some text underneath day after day on Instagram, but when everyone flocks to a different app or the algo changes you're back to square one. Whereas here of course you can build something more lasting that you can transfer elsewhere if the need ever arises. One feels like a waste of time, the other feels more productive. To me at least.
Oh, yeah, that big huge thing, too. You can share and share and share and build a six figure audience on Instagram. and then one day Meta locks you out and you're f**ked. And heck, doing that work to amass 100,000 followers is huge... but then to reach just 1 or 2% of them every time you post? No thank you.
...it is brutal Seth...have a client in that exact case close to 1M followers on facebook and twitter and only has semi-access to either with no ability to ever reach a human at either company to resolve the lockout...goblins...
Yes it's pretty horrifying to realise how much power they have. I was locked out of Facebook and Instagram a few weeks ago and I still have no idea why or whether I'll be able to get back on. I realised I've been on Facebook for 15 years! And they have zero customer service to help me resolve this issue. Thank goodness for regular ol' email, phones and real life humans.
...and there is literally no way to reach customer service at either app...it is gross and yeah powerless...i have said it before and will say it again but it was never "myspace", just always "theirspace"...i have hope that this platform continues to develop to be more and more ourspace but am always worried when there are investor needs on the line seeking more and more benefits...will be interesting to see if any WEB3 equivalents emerge and compete over time with even more creator focused tools beyond e-mail lists...
Very worthy topic! I've just come aboard Substack, and wrote something similar, arguing that while social media has indeed reshaped our perception of self-worth and societal value, digital fatigue is beginning to settle in and pushing us away from social media. Your plan would accelerate that, with more immediate benefits. I wonder what you'd think about my view on the issue. It's kind of long, but I depend on comments, the main reason I am here. Looking over your Guidance page now.
Uncle Seth once again says things with a gentle voice and it goes straight to our heart 😀 nothing can beat the feeling of gaining back so control on our time, on our life without the constant fear of missing “something”. I have deleted many apps and accounts since the beginning of the year, sometimes with fear, but now i’m using buffer and it’s a bit of fresh air : i’m seeding but im no longer constantly watching if the seeds is growing or not every single minutes !
I was without service and involuntarily without my phone once for three days at the river and it was so liberating. I just let my mom know I was alive when we drove into town and that was it. 🖤 thank you for reminding me I should recreate this every year at least
Thank you so much for this.
I'm one week into a two week social media fast (the longest I've ever really done) and the only thing I miss is Discord. Thanks for the extra push I needed, Seth.
Ooooh, a social media fast! I love it. I hope you've filled up that time with wonderful things!
I'm prepping to host a writing camp, so I needed to eliminate distractions.
DISTRACTIONS! Exactly! Doing that work, HOSTING and making a camp a great experience for your students - THAT is the work to be doing! Good luck!
I've taken a break from social media for the past few days, and I'm finding that I don't miss it at all.
It's actually really refreshing.
there you go! Just one more day, then figure it out from there!
-How does it feel when no one can reach you? Makes me so anxious!
Many years ago my brother went backpacking in Greece. We had to lose track of him for a whole week before even starting to worry. From then till now something definitely went wrong.
Reading this, maybe 4-5 days before your half-marathon, Seth! All the best! I love going digitally rogue on social platforms. Ooh the thrill of not posting selfies and consuming other people's worlds. But then I hop back in, only for the cycle to continue.
Oh, i was posting WEATHER REPORTS on LinkedIn the last few months. I'd just copy and paste the text from Weather Underground, and paste it on LinkedIn and hit post. Then LinkedIn would send me emails saying my posts got 382 impressions hahah.. what a joke!
Such a great reminder. Gosh when WAS the last time we turned off our phones and were unavailable?? Thank you for writing this Seth!
Perfect timing. I’ve had enough of seeing vile videos on Twitter (X). Time to say goodbye. Thanks for the gentle push, Yasin!
You’re welcome! More pushes and on Monday haha
Thank you for this insightful piece on the importance of taking breaks from social media. As a traditional Islamic calligrapher, I have found that disconnecting from the constant noise of social media is essential for nurturing my creativity and focus. The practice of calligraphy requires a deep level of concentration and mindfulness that can be difficult to achieve with the distractions of online life.
In my own experience, stepping away from social media allows me to immerse myself more fully in my art and connect with the rich history and spirituality that underpins Islamic calligraphy. It's in these moments of quiet that I often find the most inspiration.
I also appreciate the suggestion to gradually ease off social media rather than going cold turkey. This approach has worked well for me and my students, helping us to build a more sustainable relationship with technology.
Looking forward to more of your thoughtful posts!
Thank you Yasin! It's great to hear you and your STUDENTS - you're teaching a new generation to be mindful of their social media use!
After the jam session with @sethwerkheiser and @ascottperry last Saturday in this topic, I deleted LinkedIn entirely 😮 I’ve had an account for most of the ten years I’ve been in the online coaching space, never really used it so has no real audience there, yet recently I was trying to get some traction despite committing to making Substack my main focus. Silly wabbit 🤣
Holy moly, that's amazing! Build that email list!!!!
...seth...love you bud...but what differentiates this from social media?...i am struggling to see why a story told here differentiates from a story on "social"...
There is no difference! A photo, with some text under it. That's an Instagram post. That's a Substack newsletter. That's a Facebook post.
But some people can't go on social media and take "just one sip." Before they know it, they've been scrolling for 25 minutes, or an hour, and by the end of the day they've spent 4 hours looking at their phone. That can add up to 20+ hours in a week, looking at stories, memes, video clips, etc. Watching hours of video, 8 seconds at a time.
For some people, showing up in that space everyday works for them. Great!
But for others, it's destructive.
I'm just trying to say that there's ways to tell stories that don't involve social media. That you don't need to set up shop at the food court at the mall to build an audience. I don't need to post on Substack Notes to appease an algorithm, and you don't need to follow me there either - you'll still get my newsletter once a week.
And, I would just add, you don't own that audience on Instagram. You could share photos with some text underneath day after day on Instagram, but when everyone flocks to a different app or the algo changes you're back to square one. Whereas here of course you can build something more lasting that you can transfer elsewhere if the need ever arises. One feels like a waste of time, the other feels more productive. To me at least.
...that is the huge win here no doubt...and totally agree (dude with no facebook/insta and an almost full dead blue bird)...
Oh, yeah, that big huge thing, too. You can share and share and share and build a six figure audience on Instagram. and then one day Meta locks you out and you're f**ked. And heck, doing that work to amass 100,000 followers is huge... but then to reach just 1 or 2% of them every time you post? No thank you.
...it is brutal Seth...have a client in that exact case close to 1M followers on facebook and twitter and only has semi-access to either with no ability to ever reach a human at either company to resolve the lockout...goblins...
That is horrifying... close to one MILLION?!? I can't even imagine how powerless that makes somebody feel.
Yes it's pretty horrifying to realise how much power they have. I was locked out of Facebook and Instagram a few weeks ago and I still have no idea why or whether I'll be able to get back on. I realised I've been on Facebook for 15 years! And they have zero customer service to help me resolve this issue. Thank goodness for regular ol' email, phones and real life humans.
...and there is literally no way to reach customer service at either app...it is gross and yeah powerless...i have said it before and will say it again but it was never "myspace", just always "theirspace"...i have hope that this platform continues to develop to be more and more ourspace but am always worried when there are investor needs on the line seeking more and more benefits...will be interesting to see if any WEB3 equivalents emerge and compete over time with even more creator focused tools beyond e-mail lists...
Very worthy topic! I've just come aboard Substack, and wrote something similar, arguing that while social media has indeed reshaped our perception of self-worth and societal value, digital fatigue is beginning to settle in and pushing us away from social media. Your plan would accelerate that, with more immediate benefits. I wonder what you'd think about my view on the issue. It's kind of long, but I depend on comments, the main reason I am here. Looking over your Guidance page now.
https://adrianzidaritz.substack.com/p/man-search-for-relevance.
Choose your boundaries. Choose your future.
Great advice.
Uncle Seth once again says things with a gentle voice and it goes straight to our heart 😀 nothing can beat the feeling of gaining back so control on our time, on our life without the constant fear of missing “something”. I have deleted many apps and accounts since the beginning of the year, sometimes with fear, but now i’m using buffer and it’s a bit of fresh air : i’m seeding but im no longer constantly watching if the seeds is growing or not every single minutes !
I admire how this piece is written as a gentle nudge.
I was without service and involuntarily without my phone once for three days at the river and it was so liberating. I just let my mom know I was alive when we drove into town and that was it. 🖤 thank you for reminding me I should recreate this every year at least