Sunday Release #10: I'm Deleting Social Media
Will you join me? Plus my camera roll, a great book, my sketchbook, and fave links.
This edition of the Sunday Release is available for ALL subscribers in case you’d like to join me in this summer experiment.
I’ve decided I’m deleting social media for the summer. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about in recent months. I talked about my addiction to my phone here. And I figure what better time to try it out, to see if I actually need social media, than over the summer when what I want is to be focused on sun, water, books, and my family?
After thinking about how to get my focus back on track, my attention then turned to my social media habits. Now, I’ll say right up front - my social media habits really aren’t that bad. According to my screen time reports, in a week I use social media for five hours - so let’s say maybe an hour a day, but likely less. And, downloading the One Sec app has made it even easier to stick within certain boundaries.
But: I don’t like it. Plain and simple. I’ve done a lot to change my relationship to it. I don’t post anything except my newest Substack essays on my feed. I’ve unfollowed people that don’t bring me joy, and I’ve followed a ton of art, interiors, fashion, and other accounts that inspire me. But at the end of the day, Instagram (especially) is the place I go when I’m bored and I scroll Stories for longer than I’d like to. And while I don’t necessarily feel bad afterward, I just feel like I’ve wasted time. I don’t want to waste my time in the summer.
So, here’s my plan:
On June 1st, I’m deleting both Instagram and Facebook off my phone, and I’m logging out of them on desktop. A small caveat to this - I will still have to check into a client’s profile a couple times a week on Instagram, and I do actually really like the Facebook memories. But I’ll do all of this on my desktop so that I’m not tempted to start scrolling “for just a few minutes.”
I’m putting up an “I’m Not Here” post on Instagram to direct people here to Substack if they’d like to keep in touch. Because I know that new clients often check out my Instagram profile, I want to be sure if anyone needs me, they know how to find me.
I’ve signed up for a couple of newsletters that’ll keep me informed about the news - but on my terms. Not being bombarded with them as soon as I open up the Instagram app. And hopefully that’ll help lessen my news anxiety. (I signed up for The Skimm and also read Jessica Yellin’s News Not Noise Substack.)
To help with losing the inspiration that I gain from fellow artists on Instagram, I signed up for Skillshare. That way I can learn from incredible people AND also support them financially by taking their classes.
I’m hoping you’ll be my accountability buddy. There’s a reason I’m announcing it here - I want to hold myself accountable. And also ask if you want to join me? My plan would be that for those of us interested in doing this together, we could form a little chat group here on Substack (or maybe even take it offline into WhatsApp depending on the number of people). That way instead of being tempted to go on social media, I could just check in with you instead!
I want to learn to be bored this summer. I want to be present. I don’t want to worry about what’s happening “in there” on my phone. I want to just sit with my friends and talk about our lives without worrying about the notifications that may be piling up. Will I be perfect at this? Of course not. But I’m damn sure going to try.
If you want to join me:
I would seriously be OVER THE MOON if you joined me in this challenge. We can hold one another accountable. All you have to do to join me is let me know in the comments of this post, or by replying to this email. From there, once I know who is in, I’ll figure out the best way for us all to keep in touch over the summer.
Let’s do this, yeah?
A friend of mine works in the kids’ school and she said at lunchtime the kids sometimes take her phone to take photos. She sent me this picture of Henry that she found on her camera roll. I always love seeing Henry in his life that doesn’t involve me.
I had to censor some of these sketchbooks pages since the projects I’m working on are for a client. Also, please don’t make fun of my person in the last page. I’m terrible at drawing people :)
📖 This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub - Alice is just about to turn 40 and while life isn't exactly what she had hoped for, she's mostly happy. But her beloved father isn't doing well. So when she wakes up on the morning of her 40th birthday only to discover it's actually her 16th birthday, she is completely in shock. And then, as she walks to the kitchen of the home she grew up in, she sees her dad - her dad that had been in the hospital just the night before - but this time he's 40 years old and in the prime of his life.
This book is mostly about relationships - specifically about the relationship between Alice and her father. But also, the beautiful friendship between Alice and her lifelong friend Sam who is with her every step of her time traveling life. It's one of those books that I loved so much while I was in it, I shed tears in the end because I wasn't ready to let the characters go. At the time I read it, I didn’t think I’d remember much of it in a month or so. But I read this one in September of 2022 and I STILL think of it constantly.
🎙️ Last week I talked about “Is there a sane way to use the internet” on the Search Engine podcast. And this week I want to talk about the March 15th episode called “How do we survive the media apocalypse?” It’s another really great one and if you’re joining me in the social media challenge, definitely a good one to listen to.
👚 For summer, I have t-shirts, I have tank tops, but I don’t have anything in between that would be considered “nicer” for things like going out to dinner. So I’ve been on the hunt. I got this shirt from Amazon and actually really like it.
📝 Absolutely LOVED this essay from
called “Crying on the Internet”. It summed up so many of my own feelings in such a beautiful way.📚 One of my favorite bookish Substacks is
- and I was so stoked to see her Summer Reading Guide pop up for paid subscribers on Friday. I downloaded it immediately.🖥️ If you’re joining me in the social media challenge and want some great Substacks to read while you get away from social, let me know. I subscribe (pay for) several really incredible ones that I’d be happy to shout about from the rooftops. One of my favorite things about Substack is that if I come across a great article, I can just save it for later when I have more time to read it. It’s like building up my own blog roll of words I can’t wait to feast my eyes on. The Substack app is perfect for that.
✍️ I started Morning Pages with my Substack buddy
and naturally needed a pretty journal to do it in. I grabbed this one from Target and each morning when I open it, it makes my eyes happy.🚨 REMINDER: You have until May 31st to claim your 20% off an entire year of Human Feelings. Which means you’ll ALWAYS get this Sunday Release delivered to you.
*this post may contain affiliate links which throw me a bit of a kickback with no extra cost to you!
I won’t be completely off social media for certain reasons, but I plan to completely cut down. I want to read more and get back to practicing piano
Love the sketchbook pages you shared! I’m inspired!