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A Random List About The Joys of Social Media Sobriety
I’m 90 days “clean.”
I deactivated my social media accounts three months ago for several reasons, chief among them I have a manuscript I have to finish. Surprisingly, with social media no longer in the picture, I’ve been able to make a lot of progress in certain areas of my life.
I’ve written at length about my hate-love relationship with the powerhouse entity. Without social media, I wouldn’t have gotten my book deal. Had I not posted my story to my Medium account, I wouldn’t have merited my agent’s attention. I understand that because of social media it has removed a lot of the gates and the gatekeepers, allowing creatives, particularly Black creatives, to “flood the marketplace.” But social media also has its flaws. It’s made a lot of people believe they have the expertise to enter a field simply because they see the ease with which it looks like it can be done.
Social media has also become a playground for people’s insecurities to receive a stage and a microphone, and I, like so many people, was digesting too much of it. So, I said bye. Now, I understand how privileged I am to be able to leave. For all its imperfections, social media has become a lot of people’s places of business. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, it’s more than just a space to digest content, it’s where you must post as…
