Linux For Poets

I admit that I fell prey to the Instagram scam a for a few years. I say a scam, because the idea is out there that Instagram is a good way to promote art or a business, and I don't think it is, not for a small artist anyway. For ten years I did art shows and markets, had an online shop and had social media accounts for my artwork. Social media got me only a handful of sales in a decade. Art shows provided the bulk of my sales, and fueled my online shop as well. Etsy provided some sales through its own search function. But throughout all that, I felt an obligation to promote myself and my work on social media. But I think it was primarily me and other artists all following one another, not reaching new customers and art lovers. I think that shows and markets are the best way to sell and promote and that's what I'll be pursuing again in the future. Even for sharing personal photos, I think it's a bad method, because the feed is so clogged with suggested posts and advertisements.

The other evening I watched the film the Social Dilemma on Netflix on the recommendation of a buddy.

The film talks about social media - Facebook and Instagram, but also Google and youtube, and any software with an algorithm that gathers data and tries to serve up the content that is most alluring to the individual user. That means the most emotionally engaging, provocative or inflammatory content is likely to be presented, fueling polarization and targeting people based on data gathered, with wildly differing information and interpretations of the world we live in. It's enlightening and disturbing. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It makes me very interested in disconnecting myself from those kinds of systems. I don't want to fuel them or be influenced by them.

While I am a privacy-minded Linux aficionado, I still Use Google for some things and have Instagram and Facebook and Reddit accounts. I don't use them much but I'm not proud that they are still there.

Rather than being some sort of absolutist, I am going to list my accounts and break down their use and how I am attempting to manage them. I am aiming for a Cal Newport style digital minimalism, where things serve a purpose, but don't pull me away from a sense of focus.

I'm not talking about phone apps because I haven't had social media apps on my phone for years.

I have been trying to better navigate my relationship with technology. It feels like a silly concern - I'm an adult, I should just be able to make sensible choices. But I am not always sure where the lines are between technologies being intentionally addictive, craving escapism as a way to avoid my problems, and just needing better habits. Probably a combination of the three.

Regardless, I notice the craving for distraction in myself. Every moment I'm distracted, is a moment I'm not fully present in my life. That's not to say that all distraction or escapism is bad, but I want it to be conscious and intentional, not compulsive or accidental.

I would love to take some sort of dramatic, symbolic action, throw my phone off a cliff and embark on a picturesque, romanticized lifestyle. But that's just not real. I have a house, pets, family, all the responsibilities. I just need to be better at managing it all.