“In the age of likes and follows, we have confused the reward of creating with the reward of being praised for creating.”
Leigh Bardugo (2025), TEDxUCDavis
maia strzygowskisubstack.commaia strzygowski (@maiastrz)
the saddest think about turning everything in life into a giant popularity contest of likes and follows is that we've conflated mass approval, attention, and popularity with being "social" and we've forgotten that amusement, curiosity, and play is a worthy enough reason to do things.
sari azoutx.comWhat’s one creative thing you’d do today if social media didn’t exist?
Whatever your answer is—go do that instead.
Because at the end of the day, going viral doesn’t mean anything.
The house always wins.
Keep creating and repeating (on your terms).
Some people have told me I’m not doing enough—that I should publish more, react to breaking news, tweet every day, start a podcast. But to what end? More subscribers but less pride in my work? Host a podcast but constantly cringe because it’s not really me?
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but there seems to be an assumption now that if you... See more
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but there seems to be an assumption now that if you... See more
An easy way to lose oneself is to consume so much we lose sight of who we are and what we value. Creating is the opposite. The more we create, the more likely we are to figure out what’s really inside us.
And I don’t mean getting more people to start a Substack, or build an audience. There’s a peculiar kind of sadness that comes from adding more... See more
And I don’t mean getting more people to start a Substack, or build an audience. There’s a peculiar kind of sadness that comes from adding more... See more
Sari Azout • Make Something to Learn More About What's Inside You
There are plenty of well-documented reasons to distrust Instagram — the platform where one is never not branding, never not making Facebook money, never not giving Facebook one’s data — but most unnerving are the ways in which it has led me to distrust myself. After countless adventures through the black hole, my propensity to share, perform, and... See more