Social media.

This is a lament I’ve held for some time now – how do I balance my social conscience with my need as a creative to reach those who might potentially support endeavors?

Most social media these days boils down to – which bloated, billionaire megalomaniac do I throw my lot in with while trying to further my own meager career? All I’m looking to do is build a following of fellow creatives, and interested readers as I navigate the landscape of becoming a self-published author.

To accomplish this, I have to choose between a small host of fetid cesspits, largely populated by trolls, incels, conspiracy theorists, and bots. Trying to carve out a tiny oasis of creative sanity has become increasingly difficult on these platforms as their demagogue overlords strip away basic protections and safety nets for users, while lining their own fat pockets.

For transparency, I have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Instagram has been my primary account where I regularly post and interact. Honestly, it has remained the least cringey of all the platforms, and I’ve managed to craft a nice little niche for myself. On Facebook, I follow fewer than five people, and use it only for shared posts. I don’t interact there, at all. Though I still maintain an account, I have abandoned Twitter entirely. It’s unfortunate because I had curated a pleasant writing community for myself, but I can’t stomach the changes made to the platform of late.

I would love to be able to leave social media completely, and I’m sure my mental health and moral conscience would benefit greatly from such a move, but it would also render my work invisible. If I want to be a self-published author, I need social media.

It honestly tickles me to see people posting “fuck Elon Musk” as they depart Twitter, raising their middle finger while making an inaugural post on Threads – owned by Mark Zuckerberg. I wonder, are they even aware they’re just trading one greedy billionaire for another, throwing off the shackles of one status quo to embrace another?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m neither high nor mighty here. I feed the same beast for my own creative ends, but I do so with awareness, all the while searching for an alternative to the drek.

I understand in a world filled to the brim with ignorance and animus, there are no perfect solutions to “social” media, but I will continue my search in hopes of finding a better balance than what’s currently available. To be sure, I have options, but given my creative needs, I need a village instead of an island.

And so the search goes on as I stand knee deep in the muck and mire, hoping I don’t drown before finding a lifeline.