Insta-jam 🍓
Hello, my sunburnt chums. Don’t @ me you southern hemisphere winter people! We get so little sun I’m going for full gloat. Welcome to all the new faces, one of you lovelies is clearly sharing this madness - thank you
I want to talk about social media.
The good, the bad and the downright stinky.
In the manner of all my letters, let’s jump in at the stinky sweary end.
But first coffee. I get so many lovely emails asking if there is a way to contribute without subscribing. I am so glad you asked! Because yes there is. I know subscription is often just a financial stretch many of us can’t reach. (I wish
would consider building an in-house donate button.) Anyway until that day dawns - you can buy me a much-needed glass of wine here.On with the shitting topic of social media.
‘Ok, hold up, Emma! What has this to do with Parkinson’s?’
Dear, reader, you know me well enough to understand that every little thing is connected to PD and our response to it…bear with me you impatient sods.
As many of you know, I quit Twitter some time ago. It has so little relevance and I can’t remember if it was a few months or a few years ago. The point is I haven’t missed ‘it’. I have missed some of the folk who made my time on there beautiful but not the scrolling and the filtering and the infernal blocking. Frankly, it was bloody hard work!
The community who like what I do - thank you, you beautiful souls - are here or emailing me directly. The result? More authentic conversations and genuine friendships are being formed. Who says email is dead? Junk emails from companies trying to get you to fill your life with plastic crap - they should be shot before those emails are conceived. But real emails from people sharing their thoughts, stories and kind words…yes! Yes, more, please!
I am technically on Instagram and TikTok for my art business but I have been looking at what that brings and what it does not.
Pros:
…
Cons:
minimal interaction - likes don’t do it for me - I got no dopamine to trigger (hahah)
views are NOT people interested in your work - they are bored scrollers who happen upon your stuff
algorithms are designed to make us feel lack and then assuage that feeling by buying
so much work…when I would be better painting, writing, ironing (ok only joking about that last one)
feeling slightly grubby - the worst of hard selling and smarm
time vacuum
I literally only make sales from people I meet in person or via my art newsletter
It eats into every part of my day. Not to mention the easy distraction…ooo look pretty Italy pictures. (Caveat: looking at pictures of Italy is my only real sanity moment on the whole of social media - I ain’t giving that up!😂) I recently subscribed to
and Seth shared this observation:Social media made us believe we must become graphic designers, video editors, sound engineers, interview hosts, SEO experts, copywriters, and about a dozen other things in addition to the thing we do.
Experts will have you believe that if you tweak your About page a little bit more, focus on SEO, or make better thumbnails, then success is just around the corner!1
You just know what I’m going to say next. Honestly, I don’t know why I write this if it’s that predictable…
None of this social media masochistic shit is good for us.
Oh, I know you know this but do you feel it? Does your body get tense, sore and rigid after a marathon scrolling session? Does your mood falter and darken? Do you find yourself Google-tapping at a furious rate hoping that the promise of turmeric or coconut oil really will cure Parkinson’s? Yeah, me too.
Years ago I left Facebook and damn, I felt great after that break-up. To share our family moments with friends and extended family we set up a shared photo album via Apple Photos (other systems are available) Now the real people in our lives can comment and enjoy our adventures…in private. No public showing off, no judgment, privacy for our children, hell privacy for me. I don’t want randoms looking at photos of me 10 years ago and judging the ravaging effect PD is having on me now. It was liberating and there is no schedule as to when we ‘post’.
Interestingly I did get some backlash in a passive-aggressive way. Along the lines of ‘Didn’t you know XYZ? Oh, of course, you’re not on FB anymore…’ Oh, do grow up and fuck off was my thought! FOMO doesn’t seem to impact on me!
Anyway, I am about to vanquish my Instagram and TikTok. I do like a good vanquish…
I will undoubtedly feel better in myself and certainly, the dark side of Mr P who wants me to suffer, will have one less thing to grab hold of.
Ha!
Let me know your thoughts, and as ever please keep replying and commenting on these posts. We do have the best community here.
with love
E xxx
To read the full post pop over here.
I decided last week that, even though I’m on social media, I won’t check it as often as I used to. Now, I have so much time to do much more. I do like chatting with my friends who used to blog but are now on Facebook. I’ve never met them in person but I just know they are simply lovely. Plus, via FB, I can get a good feel about things happening around Guyana and people’s opinions. I’ve met others on IG too.
I do feel better not scrolling, scrolling.
I’m so sorry about the PD. My grandpa had it and we grandchildren used to help him in many little ways.
I was forced to quit Instagram and Facebook last year when I reacted badly to those awful tablets, because I was literally not well enough to use them. I still have them - I just don't bother with them any more. I'm on Bluesky for the "The Archers" feed, and I have a trundle through Reddit most days, but I rarely post there. I'd rather read, write, draw, paint, sew....