One Small Exception
01/21/2025
Jokes aside, I'd like to announce that I have not, in fact, entirely quit social media. While my intention to scale back my Online presence has helped my mental health in some ways, I feel like I've been struggling to follow up with redirecting my focus towards my inner circle and passions. I have simply not had the headspace for any of it.
The last few months have been incredibly stressful for me as we've been busy moving, adjusting, and making improvements to the new house. My ambition to Weekend Warrior it into a functional space has been whittled away by the labor and technical skill involved. I tried to plumb a laundry drain last night and just wanted to cry. Shit is nothing like HGTV. And on top of all that, there's the lingering dread of everything involving you-know-who (I started writing this post on Inauguration Day 💀).
But despite these challenges, I am still here. And I'm also on Bluesky.
I have to remind myself that I don't have to - and don't really even want to - DIY everything all the time. That goes not just for the Home Ownership experience, but Existing as a Person Online and Offline experience. I love working on my personal website - the freedom and flexibility that indie web dev gives me to share myself continues to be unparalled by any major social media platform, and it is becoming increasingly important in this digital climate for me and people like me to have a space to call their own. It also takes a lot of work to make it work, and it doesn't replace the discoverability and ability to interface with other people that a Platform offers (no matter how janky). I still have my reasons for avoiding Tumblr, the Website Formerly Known as Twitter, and anything Meta, but this seems like an Okay place to start.
There are no perfect solutions to this problem I have with Online - I think what I'm lacking is the instinct to know when I'm at my limit, take a breather from my anxiety-laden mindpalace and just. Go have fun? Talk to someone?? Do literally anything else more meaningful with my time. This is something I'm currently working on with my therapist, spouse and other people close in my life IRL, but I'd like to take that energy to my outer circles too. I am only a talker to be entertaining, after all.
Hope to spend more time with you soon. Maybe drop me your plumber's number if you're in the Buffalo area. /hj