I think I'm just over social media
When I first got on Bluesky I was really stoked. It felt like old internet Twitter. It was friendly and exciting and fun to engage with.
Then it got more popular, and started feeling a little more like twitter in the middle years. People seemed more interested in gathering followers, increasing engagement through “starter packs”, and more businesses got on board. It was still fun, it still felt like a cool place to be on the internet, but the shine was starting to wear off for me.
And then, within the last couple of weeks, it began to feel like Twitter of a couple of years ago. As in, Twitter as it was right before it got sold. I was seeing a huge increase in followers - I’ve always been a micro-presence on the internet (and let me be clear, I still was/am, but having over 500 followers felt extremely weird to me). I actually didn’t like the feeling of having more followers, it didn’t jive with where I’m at with my internet presence these days.
More than my issues with my own personal profile, it started to feel as though most posts I saw were about self-promotion. Artists I follow were promoting stores and sales, and I was hardly seeing any actual art. There were more political posts (and don’t get me wrong, in this climate if you have a platform, speaking out is definitely a Good Thing. It was just a vibe shift.). I also started seeing things like Wordle scores in my feed, which I had joked would be the signifier of an established Bluesky. I had worked really hard to create a feed of comedians and artists that brought me joy, but all of a sudden it just felt like… being on social media. And I realized, I hadn’t missed that at all.
So, sort of unceremoniously, I’ve decided I probably won’t be posting there any more. I didn’t delete my account or anything. I still like the idea of Bluesky, and it’s not their fault I wasn’t having fun on the platform any more. But, I exported all my posts, and I think I’ll just be posting here from now on.
This is definitely a me-thing. I think I like just putting my thoughts in my own little sphere, and not having people really engage with them at all. I like the sort of return to a livejournal-esque internet that I find with blogging. I post when I want, I don’t if I don’t want to. I don’t feel pressure to engage with anyone or respond to things.
Honestly, I think I’m just over social media.