This month will actually mark six months since I deleted my account. Yay! I have less desire to return than ever. I’ve actually been paring down my Facebook account as well; it is now only for communication and groups (mainly Buy Nothing). And while my lightphone dream did not materialize–unfortunately I was unable to get one of the kids’ school communication apps to function on my browser–I am feeling in a decent place overall with my transition to more analog life.
What Was Missing (for Me) on Instagram
I have really enjoyed Substack lately. Yes, it’s social media–but I am a sucker for longform content. One of my favorite blogs, How To Be Chic (by Fiona Ferris), recently transitioned its newsletter to the platform. I have briefly considered sharing my posts on Substack versus on here but am still partial to my own blog at the moment. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in, though.
When I read Substack posts, I realize how much nuance is missing from quick-bite social media outlets like Instagram. As I’ve mentioned before on here, I am neither liberal nor conservative but quite the mix on different topics. There is absolutely no way to express nuance meaningfully in a photo caption or a 30-second reel. Thinking back, most politically or culturally charged posts on Instagram came across as rage bait to me–designed to make me feel guilty, defensive, angry. I guess they accomplished that. A little too well, since I left!
I feel more content with myself, motherhood, my children and my husband since leaving Instagram. Comparison really is the thief of joy. And I love learning about things on Substack. Hearing new, well-researched intelligent perspectives on issues; reading an actionable post on a parenting topic; seeing little glimpses of beauty and inspiration that are presented as such (instead of as real life).
Analog Living: Thoughts & Goals
I read a few books about Waldorf philosophy earlier this year and one particular passage stuck out to me. It was about how kids struggle in this modern technological world because it lacks the physical environment that helps them understand how things work. We load up machines and push buttons to clean; write, research and transfer money on computers; hop in our cars to get places and hire out much of the remaining manual labor of the house.
Sweep your floors instead of vacuuming, the author advised. Involve them in the handwashing. Knead bread dough. Plant a garden. These are all rhythmic activities; some rhythmic in their repetition of movement, some in their observation of the seasons. Kids benefit from experiencing the rhythms of home and life. That is how life has always been for humans, until very recently.
I bought wool diaper covers for the baby on a whim a couple of months ago. (Side note: they’re incredibly effective at containing messes and wetness versus our usual synthetic waterproof covers!) They need to be handwashed in special lanolin soap and rolled up in a towel to dry. And darn, if doesn’t make feel a little bit like a pre-industrial washer women in a good way? It’s kind of extra but also primally satisfying.
Other doable-for-me changes I’m considering making to our life:
- Going back to making grocery lists with a pen and paper
- Writing more of my just-for-myself essays in a journal, instead of in a Google doc
- Making things with yeast, more than once in a blue moon
- Home fermenting vegetables
- Expanding our garden to accomodate the full spectrum of what we want to grow (we have to pick our favorites every year and never get around to growing more space-intensive things like blueberries or potatoes)
- Putting an analog clock on the wall
I’m aware technology means I don’t have to do any of those things. But what time am I saving, really? Time to try to explain to my kids how all those things are done with words, instead of showing them?
What are your thoughts on the social media landscape lately?
xx Claire