Attention monsters
How free can we truly be? [#189]
Can we break free from social media and still stay connected?
Really enjoyed this piece by
in Playground Magazine. I relate to what she says about feeling extremely despondent about her work as a digital strategist.I was working with so many brilliant, creative people, but we were dedicating our lives to fuelling platforms that existed to commodify attention. The content machines.
I was scrolling LinkedIn the other day to save some posts I did for a client and realised it only goes back a year (and takes you that long to scroll the feed!). So unless you screenshot everything, it’s gone.
A friend who does social told me one of her clients had dropped Instagram. She'd spent a year creating content and building an audience on the platform, and for what? She had nothing to show for it.
What would it look like to walk away from Big Social and invest resources in connecting with people in other ways? We don’t quit social media as we want to stay connected, but connected how exactly? Good question. It reminds me of the fabulous Sue Kreitzman: “Don’t wear beige — it might kill you.”
Why are we settling for a bland tiny phone screen shaping our view when there’s a world of technicolour beyond it?
Matilda mentions Simone Heng’s book, Let’s Talk About Loneliness and the five types of human connection - we need a mix of all of them.
Micro-connections: I need my barista chats and Rob, my new writing buddy who is also part of the furniture upstairs at Costa Hastings. Self-connection: time alone, running and walking (am trying to wean myself off the pods). Relational within small groups – the Writers’ Café. Collective connection through shared values - being part of the hive mind here on Notes is fun and energising.
I need to make more effort with the phone calls (so easy to voice note, isn’t it?) and visit the fam, as it’s been a while.
Make a shift from passive to active connections and direct our energy into owned and earned channels.
Matilda’s doing that with her newsletter Broken Growth, which has brought her new opportunities. I’m doing the same – focusing my time and energy on one platform. I’ve cut back on my digital communities as I’m spreading myself too thin and can’t keep up.
I don’t want to be on a content treadmill (still happening on Substack albeit a nicer playground), so I’m thinking about how I can turn this letter/membership into a hybrid space – online and offline. The Writers’ Cafe, netwalking, ‘letters on tour’, dinners, cake :)
I think it’s time to leave space for the mystical in the digital by creating spaces where sparks can fly, rather than be counted. ✨
Fascinating to see this happening on Substack. I’m seeing more notes about in-person meetups, intimate dinners, writing retreats, workshops. It feels like we’re coming full circle - from global to local.
Back to using platforms as a tool to facilitate connection, rather than destinations. As AI advances, I really hope we'll be working less online and meeting more in-person. Back to the kaffeehäuser and enjoying the moment.
Nika
Playground issue 3 from Stack Magazines - bringing the world to your door via inspiring independent magazines.
🔗 Link About It
The LiveStack tour of spring 2025 – in the last week and ½, Louise Morris has travelled 758 miles by road, taken 19 trains, met 24 Substack writers & more new friends at three events featured in her LiveStack directory. Help her go global - submit your in-person event. [Watch here]
Tina Brown on truth, Trump, and the future of journalism | The News Agents. An update on the Truth Tellers Summit [Watch here], Trump’s drive for payback, and how she’s approaching her newsletter. “You take the tools of the moment and sample what you can do with them.” [Listen here]
Craig Mod on the creative power of walking. His rules: no news, social media, podcasts or music i.e. no ‘teleporting’. “From this boredom, words flow. I can’t stop them” - into a pop-up newsletter with crazy high open rates because people are excited to be there. This is what I’m craving: more ‘max full’ days. Input then output. [Read here]
Ah love to see that this piece struck a chord Nika! Playground mag is so playful and delightful - my copy arrived today and I can't wait to dig in :)