I read a newsletter by Heather Cox Richardson today about the conspiracy theories being promoted on the platform formerly known as Twitter regarding the Baltimore bridge. She noted (or quoted someone who noted) that some people write extremist views not because they believe them, but because they draw comments and the more comments, the more likely they can sell products. I love your analogy with a bag of chips because that is what scrolling through social media feels like to me. Consumption of empty calories. I quit Twitter for that reason (among many others), and I’d like to quit Facebook except I have too many friends and family to insist on using it to share news.
I have Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook accounts, and I use them sparingly. I can go whole days without checking IG or Bluesky, and I limit my Facebook time to real-time feeds which I get bored with pretty fast. Interesting, it’s only since I left Twitter that I’ve reduced my time on social media substantially. That’s good for the most part, but I do miss sharing what I read and write through Twitter/X. Wordpress (where I have my blog) used to allow automatic sharing but thanks to Musk’s policies, the platform could no longer provide that. So … the writer in me misses the social engagement with other writers, but I definitely have more time now to do other things … like knit ;-)
I read a newsletter by Heather Cox Richardson today about the conspiracy theories being promoted on the platform formerly known as Twitter regarding the Baltimore bridge. She noted (or quoted someone who noted) that some people write extremist views not because they believe them, but because they draw comments and the more comments, the more likely they can sell products. I love your analogy with a bag of chips because that is what scrolling through social media feels like to me. Consumption of empty calories. I quit Twitter for that reason (among many others), and I’d like to quit Facebook except I have too many friends and family to insist on using it to share news.
I have Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook accounts, and I use them sparingly. I can go whole days without checking IG or Bluesky, and I limit my Facebook time to real-time feeds which I get bored with pretty fast. Interesting, it’s only since I left Twitter that I’ve reduced my time on social media substantially. That’s good for the most part, but I do miss sharing what I read and write through Twitter/X. Wordpress (where I have my blog) used to allow automatic sharing but thanks to Musk’s policies, the platform could no longer provide that. So … the writer in me misses the social engagement with other writers, but I definitely have more time now to do other things … like knit ;-)
I read that same newsletter! She referred to it as "engagement farming", and I shuddered. Isn't her newsletter just the best?
Yes, I love her newsletter. I read it out loud to my husband :-)
Thank you for another great post which resonates with most of us I think.
Thank you, Heike!