I, for one, am more than happy to follow you off the tightrope of mainstream social media. An app originally designed for photos is maybe unsurprisingly too narrow for a long-form writer. Good on you for gracefully outgrowing it AND for acknowledging the losses of moving on.
So here's a question (fellow overthinker here, hi!). What would be the most helpful/healthy way for readers to interact with your posts here? I already feel pulled toward the same old social media expectations: "I should like every post I read! I should comment, but not with my own feedback or opinion because no one cares, just with a string of emojis depicting my adoration! Do it for the algorithm!" But obviously that can be problematic, as you've noted here. How can readers best help support you?
This is such a good question. (And I am so sorry I didn't get to it until now—clearly I need to pay better attention to Substack's notification system 😂 Though it is kind of nice to not have such an obnoxious red bubble automatically stealing my attention... I digress.)
I really appreciate you asking. Likes and surface validation still feel good—I won't deny it!—but what I most miss about my early days on Instagram and think would be cool to cultivate here, if possible, is greater sense of community and connection. If you have something to say? Please comment!! Yes to feedback and opinions (I do care)! If you liked something? Consider sharing it with someone else! But please don't ever feel *obligated* to do any of those things.
Over the last year I've been trying to lean into deeper thought and better approach writing as a craft, so I am rambling a lot as I turn to this word-centric platform for expression instead of Instagram. I like how liberating that's felt, but it's also great to know what resonates with people reading, especially because I don't fundamentally want to be shouting into a vacuum.
Thank you! (And don't worry about response time; one of the things I kind of resent about cell phones, social media, etc. is the expectation of the instant reply.) I'm still figuring out what I want my presence to be here, but so far, I'm really enjoying just reading complete sentences.
I, for one, am more than happy to follow you off the tightrope of mainstream social media. An app originally designed for photos is maybe unsurprisingly too narrow for a long-form writer. Good on you for gracefully outgrowing it AND for acknowledging the losses of moving on.
Thank you so, so much for saying so.
So here's a question (fellow overthinker here, hi!). What would be the most helpful/healthy way for readers to interact with your posts here? I already feel pulled toward the same old social media expectations: "I should like every post I read! I should comment, but not with my own feedback or opinion because no one cares, just with a string of emojis depicting my adoration! Do it for the algorithm!" But obviously that can be problematic, as you've noted here. How can readers best help support you?
This is such a good question. (And I am so sorry I didn't get to it until now—clearly I need to pay better attention to Substack's notification system 😂 Though it is kind of nice to not have such an obnoxious red bubble automatically stealing my attention... I digress.)
I really appreciate you asking. Likes and surface validation still feel good—I won't deny it!—but what I most miss about my early days on Instagram and think would be cool to cultivate here, if possible, is greater sense of community and connection. If you have something to say? Please comment!! Yes to feedback and opinions (I do care)! If you liked something? Consider sharing it with someone else! But please don't ever feel *obligated* to do any of those things.
Over the last year I've been trying to lean into deeper thought and better approach writing as a craft, so I am rambling a lot as I turn to this word-centric platform for expression instead of Instagram. I like how liberating that's felt, but it's also great to know what resonates with people reading, especially because I don't fundamentally want to be shouting into a vacuum.
Thank you! (And don't worry about response time; one of the things I kind of resent about cell phones, social media, etc. is the expectation of the instant reply.) I'm still figuring out what I want my presence to be here, but so far, I'm really enjoying just reading complete sentences.