Social Media Evolution
Brides-to-be (Taylor, almost certainly, excluded) are treating their bachelorette parties like influencer campaigns, flooding small brands with requests for free swag in exchange for TikTok hauls and Instagram posts. On TikTok, one woman admitted to emailing over 200 companies; others share spreadsheets of brand contacts and scripts to maximize the... See more
English Teachers and Blue Books
Content creator, yes. Influencer, no. I mean, all these terms are being defined in real time. I love consuming content—short form, long form. I love people who use social media to be creative, to teach or explore or share their passions. Where I start to draw the line is people whose content basically revolves around brand deals and they're marketi... See more
The snack brand that’s roasting influencers
When TikTok was briefly shut down last month, the app’s more than 150 million American users had the same sudden realization. The platform’s centrality to human connection was made explicit and intolerable. Billions of social ties were erased by forces unseen and beyond our control. We had built this online world only to find that it did not belong... See more
Opinion | I Gave Up My Smartphone for a Dumbphone. You Can, Too.
Worlds that do not belong to us
“But then you get used to it all, is the problem,” she continued. “I feel like I’m not trying as hard anymore. When I had the flip phone, I had to put in effort to get to places, to talk to people. Everything was a task. Now it’s easy to do things. I guess I still don’t like needing the crutch of a smartphone, though I couldn’t figure out how to go... See more
Now in College, Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes
Everything is easy, nothing is hard. We’re no longer accustomed to doing the hard things
Social media once promised to be a global public square, connecting communities and sparking creativity. Yet, under the control of billionaires and venture capital driven control, it has devolved into a tool for personal gain, corporate agendas, and declining user experience. Project FreeOurFeeds envisions a better future, one where community, capi... See more
A $30M plan to take back social media from billionaires
Since the election, thousands have abandoned their X accounts — and while alternatives like Bluesky have seen growth, many people are turning further inward to smaller group chats, via text message or on platforms like Discord, where they can have conversations “free of algorithmic determinations.” (Re: “algorithmic determinations,” I really liked ... See more
Hobbyfications and Algorithmic Determinations
Free of Algorithmic Determinations
What’s happening outside your window is real; a feed of the people and subjects algorithmically determined to validate or anger you is not. I look out mine and see my neighbor on his roof. I see him there often, like he is today, watering his plants. We can do more than touch grass—we can get outside and help something, anything, grow.
Touching grass isn't enough
Now that we’re on the other side of these consequences, I can no longer kid myself. It’s time to stop ceding our humanity to these platforms. It’s time to invest back into IRL community. It’s time to stop 24/7 scrolling social media—you will not find the answers there.
Touching grass isn't enough
Algorithms, or at least the ones used by social media platforms, were supposed to be about discovery. But now they’re operating more like those daytime HGTV home decorating shows. “Oh, you like horses? We turned your house into a fake stable. Your dinner table is now bales of hay.”