My Appless Life
When I dumped social media in 2022, I made a public announcement here on my blog and contact page, and did a post at SleuthSayers, the mystery blog I write for, about the books and other resources that pushed me to make that important change. Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to report how that decision has impacted my life and work. Since I’m focusing my first few articles of the year on productivity, I thought it was a good time to let the world know how it’s going. The freaking upshot is, getting off social media has changed my life for the better!
That’s the easy part. The more complicated issue is that of course I’m being the eight ball when it comes to promoting my own work. But you know, I always was anyway. Even when I had the power to promote in my grasp, I never did it well.
Anyway, if you have ever considered dropping the apps that are rotting your brain, you my want to read my post, which is entitled,
Citadel of Ignorance!
I dive into key insights such as how dropping social media has boosted the number of books I’m reading. And I talk about the challenges: How do I keep up on news? What happens when all the people I follow in the media shift to a social-media platform like Substack? And so on.
Anyway, it’s article that generated some decent comments already from my fellow mystery scribes, so I think I touched a nerve.
Here’s a bit of what’s talking about:
Back in June 2022, I deleted my social media accounts. I shared that news right here on SleuthSayers, enumerating the resources that help nudge me to that decision: three books and two documentaries. Each of those resources were sightly different, but they all telegraphed a truth that took a while in coming, but is now taken for granted by anyone who reads: social media rots your freaking brain.
In my 2022 post, I promised to check back in the future to let you know how my cessation was going. The future is now.
The backstory: I joined Twitter in 2010, and from that point forward, I joined everything else under the sun because everyone said it was in a writer’s best interest to do so. I did Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, and Instagram. For a time, my only working blog operated on Tumblr. I created accounts on sites that lasted four minutes in the life of the Internet. (Who remembers Klout?)
Remarkably, perhaps, presciently, I never created a personal account on Facebook…
Yeah, I kind of can’t believe that one. For some reason, Denise and I never got fully sucked into the bullshit of FB, now Meta, when it was in its infancy. But as I discuss, there are still plenty of attacks on our sanity.
While you’re at it, you might want to check my older article, which lists the books and documentaries that altered the way I think about social media. You can find it here:
Five Things That Convinced Me to Dump Social Media!
If you’re considering making the leap yourself, the books you need to be reading are Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Now, by Jaron Lanier, Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, and Deep Work by Cal Newport. (Affiliate links above and below.)
In the realm of documentaries, watch The Social Dilemma. Then watch it again. Then, if you have time, watch Fake Famous, which is will tell you all you need to know about the bullshit behind influencers.
And by the way, I talked about these resources here on my blog and at SleuthSayers as far back as 2022. They are still my go-tos in this area of thought. I still recommend them to many people.
Sadly, of course, the people who need to watch and read these probably never will. For a variety of reasons not worth getting into.
Thanks for stopping by, and here’s to a great and creative New Year!
I usually try to mention one of my books when I do post. Preferably, one that fits the topic I’m writing about. But since social media rots your freaking brain, I might as well go with a cross-genre mystery set in the Italian wine country. When I started writing The Marshal of the Borgo, I sat down to write a simple murder mystery, and something very unusual—I dare say special—came out. Witchcraft, vino, and murder, as I often tell people.
Click for details (affiliate links).
BUY THE MARSHAL OF THE BORGO
CHOOSE YOUR ONLINE STORE
BUY AUTOGRAPHED COPIES
READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE MARSHAL OF THE BORGO
Typewriter image copyright Joseph D’Agnese.
