Opting Out
I don’t do social media. People ask me about it a lot, they seem genuinely confused that an artist would opt out.
I quit a few years back because I wasn’t being myself anymore. I was outraged about subjects I’d barely considered before. Scared. Anxious. Sad.
Online, it felt like civil war or complete collapse was imminent. In real life, people still smiled and waved. The streets didn’t have the political violence I found in every comment section. At the time I quit, it had just come out that Facebook was manipulating feeds to alter users’ emotions. I don’t know enough to do a deep dive, but I’d bet these manipulations weren’t about Facebook wanting to make you mad or happy, they were about which mood makes you spend more, engage more.
Turns out, activated emotions, fear, outrage, anxiety - keep you scrolling. You’ve probably heard the old adage “if it bleeds, it leads.” It’s not a grand conspiracy, it’s just economics. Maximize activation by any means. They aim to make you feel like you’re missing out, like there’s no hope. They want you to see all the worst parts of us. A quiet conversation with a friend isn’t post-worthy. A night at home in pajamas eating pizza with the family won’t get you as many likes as a hot take.
The result? We’re swimming in ambient dread. Algorithmic cortisol. There’s no upside to doomscrolling, no skill gained from consuming the 47th story about systems collapse. We’ve gotten so good at functioning despite the suffering that we forget it’s not supposed to be the baseline.
The real mindfuck is that we know this is happening. Everyone kind of understands they’re being manipulated. But knowing doesn’t make you immune. Your nervous system still responds. You still feel the cortisol spike. You still check your phone.
So I left. Not as a grand statement - self-preservation. I don’t think I’ll be going back.
That means building outside the toxic soup. Meeting people in person. Having them sign up for a mailing list. Being there when they experience the work. It’s slower, more methodical, but it’s real. The connections are stronger. The foundation is solid.
I’m not gonna lie - it’s lonely out here. I’m not even sure if anything I’m doing will pay-off. All I can do is put my head down and do the work.
