i’ve gone two whole weeks without instagram.

how do i feel about that, you ask?

mostly, i don’t love it.*

the short of it: i miss my people!

i’m used to commenting on author friends’ great book news and being in the know about new releases and announcements about books and pre*order campaigns and all the bookish things.
i miss sharing all the ridiculous joys i find throughout my week.
i miss the ease of sharing my weekly reading book review videos. (june’s episodes are available on my youtube & my halthegal.art blog)

the pros?

um… i’m spending less money?

well, maybe just a little less.

there are fewer (new) books i’m ogling, so i’m finally making dents in (although minor in comparison the actual size of) my TBR cabinet/stacks/& piles, anyway.

that last week of may, and probably what incited my “need” to take a break off of insta was my impulse shopping. two ads got me. and while i won’t regret The Things when they get here, shopping via insta ad & apple pay made it WAY too easy to rationally think through whether or not i actually had the disposable income to spend on stickers and a NERD HQ sweatshirt**… ;D

oops, but also, yay (?), and let’s put in some extra babysitting hours to cover THAT online shopping spree??

anyhow:

i feel rawther disconnected from a LOT of people with whom instagram is the ONLY way i keep in touch.

sure, i still have a substack newsletter. and a blog (here you are!) and a youtube where i’ve been posting my weekly reading book reviews every monday morning (and my “ambassador” videos for ferris wheel press*** inks). but there’s not as many comments or interactions, of course.

BUT:

i miss sharing the good news of others.

i miss finding new-to-me authors to cyber-friend & fangirl over.

i miss entering publisher & book club giveaways; i miss the ease of checking store & restaurant hours.

i miss seeing new launches, publishing announcements, and coffee house summer specials.

(i also miss that the book covers on my weekly reading book reviews are backwards when i record directly from vimeo; so i guess i need to add the extra step back in of recording to my phone and then uploading…?)

i miss sharing things that make me happy or that made me giggle. (those temporary stories make that so easy, yeah? the first few days of my insta “fast” was particularly odd, realizing i no longer had to/got to document my life.)

i really do miss encouraging people with a long string of emojis when things are good or getting there.
but i don’t miss seeing all the stuff the internet makes me WANT that i don’t NEED, however.

and i definitely don’t miss when i pick up my phone to check the date/time/weather/email/reply to a text and getting lost in insta notifications and scrolling and scrolling and getting distracted to the point of not remembering why i picked up my phone in the first place.

can i make it through the end of june?

yeah. fer sure.

will i probably be setting a LIMIT on daily instagram**** check-ins come july?

yeah.

so far i think that’s gonna be the best idea. :)

i wanna be back in the loop.

i wanna talk to all the people i’m used to talking to.

i wanna be in the know.

but maybe spend less money this next plugged-in round. :)

have you ever taken a social media break?

how did you feel coming back?

i know authors do it on deadline.

i know moms who have done it for summer.

and me?

i’ve done it for 15 days.

here’s to 15 more.

with lots more i wish to share,

xo,

*hallie :)

*who me? yeah, i’m a wee bit paranoid that if i’ve been hacked, or someone’s posted something awful while i’m away i’d have no way of knowing. my insta is @halthegal_storyart if anybody wants to check and make sure for me. : | cool. thanks. :)

** if you know how to say no to buying a soft grey hoodie that supports mental health access when zachary levi’s beautiful face is talking to you, please let me know. :)

*** they send me shiny inks i use for illustrating and writing, and i’m all about free art supplies, tbh. 15% off with coupon code: JA-HTG at ferriswheelpress.com if you need any, but no pressure. :)

**** i know social media platforms come and go, but i’ve come to like insta (more or less) over the years. with a MajOR exception of the fact that the last time i was on there, the usa didn’t have the same AI-training opt-out protections that were available to other countries. anybody know if that’s been remedied?? can we opt-out now???? that may be a deal-breaker for my continued presence there… sigh. :(

2 weeks without the insta. {so far.}