For now - I regulate social media (and checking email) by signing off on Sundays. Slowly this habit is naturally spilling over to Saturdays. Going beyond social & news media use - I’ve started leaving my phone downstairs to purposely quiet the buffer spaces of my day. Less music, less podcasts, less audiobooks. It’s been the best decision for my creativity to re-emerge.
Two years ago, I locked myself out of my Twitter account. Had my browser change the password randomly and then forget it. I really miss the relationships I'd developed on it, but it was taking a toll on me and, above all, eating up so little time with nothing to show for it. I kept a sock with me and vowed to knit a few rounds each time I was tempted to reaccess it.
I also use Instagram very sparingly; I only use direct links to people's profiles rather than scrolling through the feed.
Tay, I love this! I was reading Mehret's Substack this morning and they had a little quip about how it's a low-key flex to be able to check "I don't use social media" on survey forms. I'm trending in this direction, too.
I'm still working on creating better boundaries with social media. I've had an app for time limits for a while, and I just recently set firmer limits on my social media time. I've slowly started removing accounts that don't feel like they fit for me anymore so I can clear some of the mental clutter for when I do spend time there.
I think this week I will be paying attention for accounts which are doing good work, but which I find triggering, so I can mute them for a while. I am autistic and have high justice sensitivity, so I can easily get really dysregulated and end up doomscrolling instead of doing something productive to help the situation, which I've realized isn't helpful to anyone.
Ooof, the doomscrolling. I'm trying to notice more when I do this myself, and turn it off, put down the phone, etc. I also love how you call it "mental clutter." Yup.
My rules for regulating social media? My age (65) might have something to do with it, but I have intentionally limited the number of accounts I use to two—currently Facebook and Substack (3 if you count YouTube but I don’t use it the same way).
Like many my age, once Facebook opened beyond college age users, we went there, and our children fled. I didn’t want to chase my daughter to Instagram, so I went to Twitter.
I loved Twitter. I found like-minded people, and then I found knittingtwitter, which opened me up to the knitting community much more than Ravelry ever has.
My carefully curated Twitter feed got me through 2016 and beyond. I live in a red county in rural Illinois and have to co-exist with Trump supporters, so other than my husband and my best friend, I had no one I could be completely open with about my politics. I spent way too much time on Twitter.
Then came Elon Musk and X. Most everyone I followed left but went to different sites. I wasn’t going to open an account in multiple places. I ended up here mostly due to following Heather Cox Richardson, Erin in the Morning, and Louise Tilbrook Everyday Knitter.
Every now and then I think about joining Instagram for knitting, but I don’t need it, and I still want to intentionally limit my accounts. My Facebook is now mostly knitting groups, I follow a few here, and I have more than enough knitting ideas. Being on Instagram would widen not deepen my knitting. Right now I’d rather deep dive into my select projects than stretch my time and space.
I wish I could remember how many I found you Anne, but I’m glad I did. Thanks for inviting us into your space and being true to your values. I’m still learning that knitting is just knitting and knitting is more than just knitting.
Oh, how I love your ways of regulating things. Diving deep is so, so pleasurable. Also: I'm smiling at your words "knitting is just knitting and knitting is more than knitting." SAME.
I remember when we first started logging into the internet, using DOS. It was the information highway, and the availability of information today is overwhelming. The most social I ever got was chatting on certain websites, or privately in PowWow. I enjoyed connecting to people all over the world, how amazing it was. I am too old for today’s social media I think and don’t participate. I just now decided to get a Facebook account because I joined a weight loss program and that’s where I’m able to access some of their content. I found that I’d rather have real physical connection with people to make my life more meaningful. I move at the speed of slow. I limit my news to just my iPad’s newsfeed and just skim articles, pulling out the facts from the opinions and bias, and never watch the news on tv, that’s just drama for the masses and I don’t need more drama in my life besides my own. Life is much more bearable when I’m focused on my part in this world and what I can do to make it better in as small a footprint as I’m able.
This is an incredibly well written and powerful post! I related to just about everything and much of it provided me much needed perspective! Thank you! This is why I’m a paid subscriber - good for my mind, body and knitting hands! ❤️
Thank you for sharing. 🧡
For now - I regulate social media (and checking email) by signing off on Sundays. Slowly this habit is naturally spilling over to Saturdays. Going beyond social & news media use - I’ve started leaving my phone downstairs to purposely quiet the buffer spaces of my day. Less music, less podcasts, less audiobooks. It’s been the best decision for my creativity to re-emerge.
Two years ago, I locked myself out of my Twitter account. Had my browser change the password randomly and then forget it. I really miss the relationships I'd developed on it, but it was taking a toll on me and, above all, eating up so little time with nothing to show for it. I kept a sock with me and vowed to knit a few rounds each time I was tempted to reaccess it.
I also use Instagram very sparingly; I only use direct links to people's profiles rather than scrolling through the feed.
Tay, I love this! I was reading Mehret's Substack this morning and they had a little quip about how it's a low-key flex to be able to check "I don't use social media" on survey forms. I'm trending in this direction, too.
I'm still working on creating better boundaries with social media. I've had an app for time limits for a while, and I just recently set firmer limits on my social media time. I've slowly started removing accounts that don't feel like they fit for me anymore so I can clear some of the mental clutter for when I do spend time there.
I think this week I will be paying attention for accounts which are doing good work, but which I find triggering, so I can mute them for a while. I am autistic and have high justice sensitivity, so I can easily get really dysregulated and end up doomscrolling instead of doing something productive to help the situation, which I've realized isn't helpful to anyone.
Ooof, the doomscrolling. I'm trying to notice more when I do this myself, and turn it off, put down the phone, etc. I also love how you call it "mental clutter." Yup.
My rules for regulating social media? My age (65) might have something to do with it, but I have intentionally limited the number of accounts I use to two—currently Facebook and Substack (3 if you count YouTube but I don’t use it the same way).
Like many my age, once Facebook opened beyond college age users, we went there, and our children fled. I didn’t want to chase my daughter to Instagram, so I went to Twitter.
I loved Twitter. I found like-minded people, and then I found knittingtwitter, which opened me up to the knitting community much more than Ravelry ever has.
My carefully curated Twitter feed got me through 2016 and beyond. I live in a red county in rural Illinois and have to co-exist with Trump supporters, so other than my husband and my best friend, I had no one I could be completely open with about my politics. I spent way too much time on Twitter.
Then came Elon Musk and X. Most everyone I followed left but went to different sites. I wasn’t going to open an account in multiple places. I ended up here mostly due to following Heather Cox Richardson, Erin in the Morning, and Louise Tilbrook Everyday Knitter.
Every now and then I think about joining Instagram for knitting, but I don’t need it, and I still want to intentionally limit my accounts. My Facebook is now mostly knitting groups, I follow a few here, and I have more than enough knitting ideas. Being on Instagram would widen not deepen my knitting. Right now I’d rather deep dive into my select projects than stretch my time and space.
I wish I could remember how many I found you Anne, but I’m glad I did. Thanks for inviting us into your space and being true to your values. I’m still learning that knitting is just knitting and knitting is more than just knitting.
Oh, how I love your ways of regulating things. Diving deep is so, so pleasurable. Also: I'm smiling at your words "knitting is just knitting and knitting is more than knitting." SAME.
I remember when we first started logging into the internet, using DOS. It was the information highway, and the availability of information today is overwhelming. The most social I ever got was chatting on certain websites, or privately in PowWow. I enjoyed connecting to people all over the world, how amazing it was. I am too old for today’s social media I think and don’t participate. I just now decided to get a Facebook account because I joined a weight loss program and that’s where I’m able to access some of their content. I found that I’d rather have real physical connection with people to make my life more meaningful. I move at the speed of slow. I limit my news to just my iPad’s newsfeed and just skim articles, pulling out the facts from the opinions and bias, and never watch the news on tv, that’s just drama for the masses and I don’t need more drama in my life besides my own. Life is much more bearable when I’m focused on my part in this world and what I can do to make it better in as small a footprint as I’m able.
I remember DOS too!!!
I remember DOS! Not having to use it is a good change!
Resonate deeply. Thank you!
This is an incredibly well written and powerful post! I related to just about everything and much of it provided me much needed perspective! Thank you! This is why I’m a paid subscriber - good for my mind, body and knitting hands! ❤️
😭 thank you!!!
Ugh let’s go back to Filoli
Truth