HI! This is the first time I’ve added an audio version of a post, feedback is welcome!
I don't love that a new Meta product has inspired my first essay in nearly a year, especially since my last one was also about a Meta product, but here we are.
Have you heard of Threads? If you’re reading a Substack then I think it’s safe to assume you’ve at least heard of Threads. I have strong feelings about it! I hate it and I love it. As a friend recently told me, sorrowfully, “it’s 2009 all over again and we’re all on Facebook, I’m so sorry”.
I left Facebook in late 2020. I downloaded fifteen years worth of data and deleted my account forever. It felt so liberating, I wrote about it a little in my plea for Instagram to be better (whoops, it won’t!). I had no regrets. I didn’t miss any part of it. I had inner peace. That’s generous; I had less inner turmoil.
During my first Hollywood Fringe Festival experience this June, someone mentioned in passing that the Facebook groups are helpful with last minute ticket sales and I sort of scoffed, assuming they were joking because I haven’t given Facebook a single thought in three years! Her smile faded as she looked into my eyes and said, “I’m so sorry”. A second, third, and fourth person confirmed, each one apologetic as they told me that it’s true, at this time, Facebook is a necessary tool for the theater community.
Learning I had to return to this platform that I happily broke up with three years ago was genuinely devastating, and led to an actual literal emotional breakdown that took me by surprise. How was I having such a strong reaction to Facebook? How embarrassing! Are my “principles” really so important that I need to cry because I have to join a social media platform in which I want no part?
After some reflection and discussing with a trusted friend and creative coach, I realized it wasn’t the lost principle that was affecting me. Starting a new Facebook profile from scratch felt like going back in time. Suddenly I was about to turn 18 and a few weeks from moving 500 miles away from home to go to college, searching for potential new friends and trying to stay connected to as many childhood friends as possible. Back then, it was a pivotal moment of change, as well as an opportunity to declare publicly who I was.
Now, even though I knew better, even though I was declaring this was simply a tool for me to use to achieve my creative goals, my focus quickly shifted hard to how I would look to others.
Maybe I should view my profile as someone else to make sure that I’m being seen in a way that’s, like, as cool as possible? I should hide that, it’s actually totally cringe. Oh god, is being on Facebook at all cringe? Am I cringe? Isn’t this exercise completely counter-intuitive to my mission to let go of how I’m perceived?
I have ADHD, and I’ve always been so grateful and felt genuinely lucky that I don’t have any damaging addictions. JK! I’m addicted to sugar and probably cannabis if that’s possible and for sure 100% social media. The only way I can survive on Facebook is to set a schedule and not care. No notifications, minimal check ins, little to no time spent on the feed getting caught up in things that were of no concern to me mere moments ago. I haven’t figured out my set schedule yet, so for now I’m ignoring the platform save a once a week friend outreach based on who the algorithm thinks I know. It’s not perfect, but I have not had an emotional breakdown since implementing this strategy (“quiet joining”? no.).
But approximately five minutes after I worked through my strong Facebook Feelings (tm), Marky Z introduced us to Threads.
I first heard about Threads through Tiktok, NOT Instagram, MARK. I saw a Tiktok by a creator whose name I forget I’m so sorry! But they effectively said “join it because you automatically follow your Instagram following and I got a bunch of likes in the first few minutes, the dopamine hit was amazing, it’s actually a good app you guys!!”
I was genuinely shocked at how explicit they were in their positive review because they’re describing any product that’s designed to be addictive, which of course all social media is. Feeling immediately affirmed and validated isn’t the mark of an exceptionally good app, it’s the mark of one that’s well-designed to serve its purpose. Seeing others so quickly lulled to try this new taste was all the more reason I would abstain. No Threads for me, thank you very much!
Quick side note: obviously there is the drama of the Twitter of it all, but I don’t want to get into it, sorry. There are so many others who are doing it. We’re going to focus on Meta, here (you’re welcome MARK).
But then, my favorite astrologer Chani Nicholas shared a birth chart for Threads, and I saw myself reflected. We share the same Scorpio Ascendant, Aquarius Moon, and Leo Mars chart ruler, you see. Those parallels inspired me to see if perhaps I can use Threads as an opportunity to truly not care. I can post whatever I want without worrying about judgment.
That’s the goal, right? That feels like the key to a happy life, one free of fear of judgment (as long as no one is getting hurt in the process). But, surprise! It’s very hard to do in practice.
So I’m using Threads as selfishly as I possibly can. As far as I’m concerned, Threads exists for me to spill my dumb little thoughts, and there are some rules.
1. no editing.
If I catch a typo as I am typing, I am allowed to correct it, but I may not re-read the post or even a sentence within the post.
2. no re-reading.
I break that rule a lot. It’s a recovering perfectionist impulse to go back and re-read and edit in the moment. It’s valuable for important communications, but not necessary for Threads!
3. no deleting.
I’ve already broken this rule but TO BE FAIR I hadn’t set it yet. Mars has just moved into Virgo, we’re getting SERIOUS about routines now.
4. this is a place for silliness and goofiness and play.
This isn’t a place for doom for me. It’s also not a place for toxic positivity, either. It’s a place for imagination and general cheerful and well-meaning fun.
Tiktok is supposed to be my silly place, but honestly videos are a lot of work. Text is easy. I never really got into Twitter (I certainly won’t now!), and there were times in which I regretted staying away.
But now I am among the first 48 million users of the the latest Meta spawn that I know in my heart of hearts is only good now because it’s new and unsullied by advertisers, and I know that’s temporary.
We all must know that, right? Is that why it feels so good? Because we know it’s fleeting? We have to enjoy it while we can, because its shift to a list of shopping recommendations and affiliate links (don’t talk to me about Prime Day) in between the musings of friends is inevitable. So let’s enjoy it.
I hereby declare (to myself, for myself) that Threads is a place of silliness and goofiness, let the record show! It’s a place for me to let go. Join me, won’t you?