On Being Authentic Online

You might have noticed a subtle change in my work over the past few months. I’m covering more controversial topics and guests. This is less rooted in some over-arching ideal, and more so fatigue. After years of being an online content creator, I’m straining under the pressure of being one person online and another person in real life. The stress is subtle but persistent, and I’ve decided that, in order to be sustainable as a creator, I need more cohesion between my on and offline personas.

Continue reading “On Being Authentic Online”

The Internet is Anti-human

As my platform has grown over the years, I hit “publish” on every article and podcast with mounting terror, because I never know which one will destroy my life for a week, month, or year. I never know which one will be wildly misunderstood or misinterpreted and result in a trashing campaign. Admittedly, I could avoid all subjects of interest and just write long articles about my cats, but that would defeat the purpose of writing. Confronted with that choice, I’d rather give up writing and go raise chickens. So, I try to cover topics that matter to me and to ensure that nothing offensive or vague has slipped into the piece. But the unfortunate fact is that I can never predict how a bad faith person might choose to interpret my work.

Continue reading “The Internet is Anti-human”

Five Rules to Keep Social Media From Ruining Your Life

At this point, we all know that social media is making us unwell. We know it is jeopardizing mental health, democracy, social progress, and our collective ability to focus. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time discussing these trends, but not as much time discussing solutions. So, what can we do about it?

Continue reading “Five Rules to Keep Social Media From Ruining Your Life”

Arc Burn: How Social Media is Breaking Us

There is one particular section in Jaron Lanier’s book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now that keeps me up at night. He describes the trajectory of online social justice movements. First, they experience a honeymoon phase of progress, but because of the invisible business model of social media, these social movements are algorithmically catalogued, manipulated, and studied for profit in a way that leads to greater social unrest, bigotry, and inequality. Lanier calls this process “Arc Burn,” in reference to MLK Jr’s moral ark quote.

Continue reading “Arc Burn: How Social Media is Breaking Us”

Social Media: Where Cruelty Is Easy and Kindness Is Hard

I struggle mightily with social media. It is the most fraught and challenging part of my job as a content creator. On the one hand, I truly enjoy connecting with readers and like-minded individuals. On the other hand, that one upside feels like a tiny oasis in a desert of desolation and destruction. I recently had yet another realization about why social media is hard for me, and why it makes me worried for the future of humanity.

Continue reading “Social Media: Where Cruelty Is Easy and Kindness Is Hard”

On Being Better On Social Media

I am the person I am today, in no small part, because of social media. When I was a newly-out gay man and needed the queer community, I found them on social media. That alone probably saved my life. Ever since those first days of finding my queer community online, I’ve made innumerable friends, connection, and community on social media. I also truly adore my Satanic family on twitter. I start with all this, because I’m going to spend the rest of this post articulating the dark side of social media, how it has reduced my quality of life, and what I intend to do about it.

Continue reading “On Being Better On Social Media”