Do you miss Twitter?
Do you miss twitter?
This week’s question comes to us from Alexandre Plennevaux:
Do you miss Twitter? Have you found a social network that brings you joy or have you given up on them entirely?
Yeah, I do miss Twitter. During its heyday Twitter was fun. I told jokes. People laughed. I made friends. Shaq gave away tickets to random fans. And when we talked about bot accounts we meant @horse_ebooks. But when I think back to those days I realize that we’re going back almost twenty years. Twitter remained fun for a bit after that, but it became harder to ignore that there was a dark cloud emerging. And that for people that didn’t look like me, that cloud might’ve always been there.
But, Lordy, I have written enough about Twitter, as have people much smarter than me.
I wanna focus on the ”bringing you joy” part of your question. Because, yes, there was a point where Twitter, and even a couple of other social networks, brought me joy. But at this point, at least for me, they are at best a sometimes necessary evil, and at worse a rat’s nest of transphobes, racists, and incels.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you are not required to find joy in social networks.
You are, however, required to find some joy.
Let it be in mud. Several of my friends have taken up ceramics in the last few years. They make things out of mud. They make bowls, they make mugs, they make all sorts of stuff. They seem happy.
Let it be in paint. A few years ago I started painting again after a 20 year hiatus. Am I good at it? I don’t care. I’m happy when I’m doing it.
Let it be in words. A few years ago I made a pledge to myself, that whenever I was bored, or antsy, or anxious, I would pick up a book. As a kid, I read books voraciously. As an adult, my book reading time slowly transitioned into social media reading time. Books made me smarter. Social media made me dumber.
Let it be in human connection. The pandemic certainly put a pause on this, and I certainly don’t judge anyone who’s still skittish about it, but take some time to see real people. Go see a band. Sit on your stoop. Rescue a dog! You meet all sorts of people at the dog park. Plus, you get a dog!
Let it be in sandwiches. In 2008, I made an amazing sandwich. I remember every single ingredient in it, from the bread to the mayo to the mustard to the cheese to the tomato slice to the very last pickle I found in a jar at the back of the fridge. Everything worked. It wasn’t a fancy sandwich. In fact I’d made this sandwich at least a hundred times before, and I’ve recreated it a hundred times since. But on this particular day, the heavens aligned, my brain chemistry aligned, the weather aligned, I ate that sandwich and I thought “Fuck. That was a damn good sandwich.” I found joy in that sandwich. And like I said, I spent years trying to recreate that sandwich, until I realized that it would never happen again. At least not in a sandwich.
Throughout your life, you will find joy in many things. Once upon a time I found it in a sandwich. Once upon a time I found it on social media. Those moments came and went and left amazing memories. But chasing a repetition of those moments and expecting to find them in the same place may close you off from finding joy in where it may be hiding next.
Got a question you’d like a weirdly vague answer to? Ask it.
I still have a few slots in my next workshop.
My friend Bobbie Johnson started a reading club some of you will find joy in.
And for the love of god, buy a zine.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if standing up for Palestine has cost you a friend… no it hasn’t.
🍉