Announcing a social media departure may be one of the biggest faux pas a millennial can commit but I’m a solid-born-in-1984-millennial and I don’t know how to do things without over explaining myself so here we are.
It’s no secret that online apps have offered me more anxiety than education and it’s also no secret that I keep coming back for more because apparently I am a mssichist.
And also because the content creator gods keep saying that if you just post 17 times a day with 6 reels a week and only post during peak hours, well then all your writing dreams will come true.
I have been at it for almost a decade and yes- I’ve had some massive writing dreams come to fruition (eternal gratitude and thank yous, Starfish Stories Publishing) but I have also lost some (ok all) mental capacity and I just need to reclaim it.
It takes up a lot of brain space to try and grow online. And if I had endless funding and full time child care and kids who didn’t mind an overwhelmed, absentee momma, well then I could afford to reserve said brain power in the name of dream chasing. But none of the aforementioned traits hold true so instead I must find balance and I’m working on that in the form of deleting the apps that take up the most gigabytes in my head and surprise surprise those apps are Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
Currently, you won’t find @rebelhousewifeblog on any of those platforms but surprise surprise I did find another space to scroll and that space is the most lovely creative space known as Substack.
It’s full of writers and dreamers just sharing their words and their hearts and their arts and I’m here for it. I’ve seen a few accounts try to infiltrate the beauty of that space with “how to grow” articles but I just hit “mute” to shut that shirt down and move on to the accounts trying to cultivate a “we’re here to share our words not our numbers” safe space. I’m just saying that if you want to be immersed in beautiful words that have the capacity to speak to your soul and not your pocketbook, might I suggest Substack.
Anyway.
I’ve been off the Big 3 since circa two weeks ago and I’ve spent my time moving for my mental health, making morning meals for my fam, and learning new languages courtesy of DuoLingo.
Scrolling and waiting for a piece of mine to take off into the viral realm really took more brain power than I care to admit but you know me. If I’m going to be honest and mindful and intentional and balanced, well then I gotta admit the stuff that elicits the shame so as to take away its power.
Anyway.
We’ll see how long it lasts. Both my social media sabbatical and an online space rebelling against the monetization of creative spirits.
Anyway.
I am mostly sharing this as an invitation.
An invitation to pause and reflect on what is taking up healthy space inside your mind and what might just be taking up space.
An invitation to be honest if social media is offering more connection than control and if the thought of getting off of it elicits a FOMO that paralyzes your insides, well maybe it’s time to embrace the MO and just be present within your own sphere of influence.
An invitation to log off if the notion has been weighing on your shoulders and an invitation to follow me on Substack.
But seriously.
I don’t think we can change the world by posting online but I do think the world can change if we spend more time in it.
And side note: if you are truly finding joy and connection and community online, then I invite you to stay connected to that which serves you.
Keep going, friends. I promise we’ll be glad we did. 💚
Oh and if you liked what you read…
rebelhousewifeblog.com 