Why blog, Annabel?

Hello — and welcome to my BLOG!

Ah, the blog. The precursor to all social media. There was once a time when folks would share their thoughts in a vacuum, without having to worry about pleasing a big bad algorithm, or getting enough engagement or followers to seem “successful”. The simple, humble, unassuming, blog.

Well, I won’t say I was completely immune to the algorithm overlord’s demands, or the desire to see those notifications stream in after posting a Reel, but that’s not my main reason for leaving social media. No. See, I am but one of billions of people on the planet that were maliciously targeted with weapons such as “short form media” and “endless scrolling”, in order to get me to form an unhealthy habit (addiction) around the use of these platforms.

For a few years now, in order to get control on this complete time-wasting, mind-numbing habit, I have kept all socials off of my devices, even blocking them on my desktops. When I would create something that I was proud of, and wanted to post it, I would simply redownload, post, scroll for 4 hours afterwards as if I had no control at all, cry, and then delete it again.

This was not a fun cycle, and it strained my relationship with technology, which should have only been a tool to help me with my endeavors in the first place. It is now my enemy. But how do you just “stop” using it as a creative professional? it is almost industry-standard now to share your thoughts, work, and process on social media. Doing so helps to portray you as human in the age of AI, skilled in the age of Canva, and individual in the age of streamlined aesthetics.

It’s not simple, but my aim is to use this blog to fill those needs, without putting myself at risk for the effects of late-stage social media. My hope is that this is more stable, more genuine, and more freeing.

Thanks for following along!