In March 2021, following much thought, research and experimentation, I deleted all of my social media accounts.
The reasons were mostly to do with the infinite time suck that social media brings, and also the fact that it does weird things to my mindset, and encourages addiction in its users that even I’m not immune to.
In October 2021, I restarted my Instagram account.
For the months I was social media free, I created my own photo gallery on my website where I would post the kinds of photos I used to put up on Instagram. These are pictures from my everyday life that relate to the themes and aesthetics of my fiction, as well as snapshots from my writing process.
This was a time consuming process, and I could never get the galleries to display quite right. I had created another time suck.
So I have now gone back to using Instagram. The platform makes it quick and easy to share photos, and many of my readers are right there already so it improves the experience for the other side too. I did consider using an alternative photo-sharing app, but again, most of my readers are already on Instagram and I didn’t want to spend any time and effort learning a new platform.
This was a HUGE decision for me. I loved being free of social media for so many reasons, and rejoining Instagram felt like a conflict of values.
So, I’m in experiment mode in trying to create a new user experience from the platform that gives me more control over how I use it and how it uses me.
I’m happy to keep posting my photos over there for now. If that comfort level changes, I’ll shift my approach once again.
In early 2022, I required access to a Facebook group for non-social media related purposes, so (much to my annoyance) I created another Facebook account. I don’t use Facebook for any other purpose.
I am still joyfully free of Twitter with no plans to return.
If you would like to learn more about my choice to stop using social media, and then return in a modified way, you can email me with any questions or comments. I plan to write essays about the decision and the general culture of social media through Three Pillar Authors later in 2022.
If you’d like to contact me directly, you’re welcome to email me – kate (at) kate krake dot com or use this contact page form.