Category: Social MediaCategory: Social Media

The isolation of social media is apparent when we fall into a doom scroll, or go down a rabbit hole of the latest drama. When we finally “snap out of it,” we realize the time that’s passed, and the missed text messages from friends.

Breaking up with social media is hard, not just because it consumes so much of our day, but our life. Social media soothes, takes the edge off, lets you unwind after a long day at work, which sounds much like how we describe cigarettes, alcohol, and other various substances.

Like a toxic partner, social media keeps us from our friends and family, from our hobbies and passions. It doesn’t demand our attention, but it makes it irresistible.

We can delete the apps and go cold turkey, but I believe the way out is other people. It’s community. It’s relationships. Maybe that includes the Social Media Escape Club Zoom calls. Or maybe it’s joining a group on campus.

Whatever it looks like, it’s making eye contact and talking with other people just like you, to help you realize that you’re not weak, or stupid, or that you don’t have willpower.

We need to understand that lots of people get paid huge salaries to keep us coming back for more. The cure, though, is even more people who want to see us blossom.

As Substack co-founder Hamish KcKenzie recently said “email is an important distribution channel. It should not be your only one.”

I’m pretty he didn’t mean “if you’ve built everything on Substack and Substack goes away tomorrow, you’re fucked,” but well, the shoe fits.

Email lists are wonderful, of course, but only until Substack has an outage, or KIT suspends your account (I’ve heard that happen), or Gmail banishes your email to the promo folder (or worse).

The entirety of your work shouldn’t live on a platform you don’t own; not Substack, not Instagram, not YouTube. A website you own, on a hosting service you pay for, via files you can back up – that’s your safest bet.

Publishing your work on your own website ensures your biggest fans can find it, even when they don’t get an email from you.

​Join us later this week to talk about what a real owned presence looks like; things like your website, RSS, print, word of mouth, direct relationships, and more.

Thursday, April 30th at 2PM EST
Sign up here. https://luma.com/7asv89sv

From Lauren Bliss over at Thought Enthusiast:

I recently took a month off from social media, and while I initially thought it would be detrimental to my work, like I needed to stay tapped into trends and what other brands are doing, it actually had the opposite effect. I felt like I had more creative ideas because my brain wasn’t bogged down by endless content (and constant bad news).

This is why some people say to take walks without listening to a podcast, or eat without watching YouTube videos – we need to give our brains time to process and sort things out! By doing so we might actually think of our next great idea!

From a Cal Newport blog post, “In Defense of Thinking,”

“I’m done ceding my brain — the core of all that makes me who I am — to the financial interests of a small number of technology billionaires or the shortsighted conveniences of hyperactive communication styles.”

The platforms display view counts of short form “content,” but that doesn’t mean you’re required to play along. Are those numbers even accurate?

Lots of people drive past billboards everyday on highways, but so what?

It’s 2026 and $20 magazines exist. People are buying vinyl records. Young people are buying digital cameras and camcorders and CD players.

There is a possibility that people you’re trying to reach aren’t even on social media anymore.

Someone asked me about finding engagement outside of social media on today’s Substack Live.

I get asked this a lot, and it came up in a great conversation with Deanna Seymour on her podcast that I recorded earlier today.

My answer isn’t super complicated, but it does require patience. I make it work by showing up on other people’s channels (think podcasts, YouTube interviews, live sessions) and having genuine conversations.

I don’t do this as a growth hack. I’m not expecting a thousand people to rush to my site. Maybe ten people really hear me, and two of them subscribe to your newsletter, and if I keep doing that, those twos and threes add up.

The real trick is consistency, though. One podcast every four months ain’t gonna move the needle. But showing up regularly, having good conversations with good people, and letting their audience find me over time – that’s how all this works without social media.