Congrats on breaking away from Twitter/X. I post links to Substack there (which are strongly de-boosted by Musk as he views Substack as competition, so it's a waste of my time), but basically nothing else. As you argue Twitter feeds on enticing reaction; ultimately it fosters an addiction to micro-dopamine hits. That's why I like Substack. The problems you state don't go away, but it fundamentally requires an element of patience and engagement for long-form reading that isn't needed for short-form content.
I would usually download the images that Substack generates for you when you first publish a post, then post those with a link as a comment or as alt text
Best way to avoid being twarted with links is to rather than making it like a thread, merely add the link as a comment and not refer to it as a link, either say L0nk or address.
Serendipitous for this to come today, I just deleted my Twitter two days ago for the exact same reason you did. You put it so well when you said you can think clearer but be less prone to speak. It really scrambles your brain. Just think about what someone’s life must be like if you see them tweet 20-30 times a day, always up on the latest topic, always watching the enemy, ready to say something clever to “own” them.
Very good piece. I took 4 years pretty much off the internet in college, and it was really good. You need that time away from the digital world to cultivate a proper perspective and keep yourself from getting caught up in the day to day catastrophes (that always end with nothing happening).
Hallelujah! I too dumped X and don't miss it. I'm trying hard to spend more time reading books, ink on paper, and nothing much published within the last 50 years. I feel saner.
That state you described, trapped in base reactions as the Algorithm treats you like a gerbil on the hamster wheel, is what I call Severed Conscience. You react, but you are not responding. It’s wrecking us.
AMEN! I'd just like to add my personal anecdotal evidence on this effect. Gone through 2-3 different cycles of deleting Twitter/ detaching from algorithm. And each round has helped me ground into reality and relinquish fear. In this mode - it's so easy to identify where people's emotions (on both sides) are getting yanked by their respective algorithmic influences. On the flip side, I spent the 2020 election cycle glued to Twitter for months on end. Not only was it a tremendous waste of time, but severely degraded my mental health. Last, to the extent that there are real issues today, most of us would make the biggest impact by tending to the visible problems in front of us in our local communities, families, etc. In real life, The supposed scary radical on the opposing side was probably the person you had a pleasant exchange with at the supermarket earlier. Anyways, couldn't agree more with your analysis here.
Completely agree. I ended a lot of subscriptions on Substack as the authors were just non-stop bitching and moaning about the impending apocalypse. I will keep the subscriptions of authors which have a positive or hopeful attitude (and the ones writing about my favourite authors like Ernst Jünger).
I am not convinced. Russia is not nearly as powerful as people think. Iran is very hesitant to even respond to Israel and their government is split between doing something and holding back. Zelensky is getting to the point of not wanting to fight anymore.
We are not going to go to war it is simply that the Jews want us to and they control the media, that is why alarms are blaring all day that we are on the brink of war. However (respectively), you chose a poor example comparing Ukraine aid to Afghanistan, bc the US was engaged in war with Afghanistan for almost 20 years, so of course we spent a considerable amount more than we spent on Ukraine thus far. But Ukraine is a war we are NOT actively engaged in, and it’s only been going on for 3 years. It’s an utter crime, it’s perpetrated by Jews (I have already proven this) who control our government, and it should be ended today
If we continued to spend what we have on Ukraine for the next 20 years, it'd be a little less than a third of what we spent on Afghanistan. Again I wanna point out I do not at all support the war and I would like to see it ended asap and tensions cooled.
Never underestimate how crazy the (((neo-cons))) are, or the tech Russia has like hypersonic missiles that can sink U.S. aircraft carriers, and nuclear bombs.
Iran is in a tough spot, but I guess I have enough religious faith to believe the Jews will be punished in the end for their crimes.
As far as the prospect of war concerned, if any war does occur, it will be because we provoke it, and not because Russia is somehow trying to invade Europe (an extremely idiotic Democratic belief)
I have friends, both with a PhD, who are concerned that their son, who is currently 10 years old, will have to fight against Russian invaders led by 80+ years old Putin in the future.
Congrats on breaking away from Twitter/X. I post links to Substack there (which are strongly de-boosted by Musk as he views Substack as competition, so it's a waste of my time), but basically nothing else. As you argue Twitter feeds on enticing reaction; ultimately it fosters an addiction to micro-dopamine hits. That's why I like Substack. The problems you state don't go away, but it fundamentally requires an element of patience and engagement for long-form reading that isn't needed for short-form content.
I would usually download the images that Substack generates for you when you first publish a post, then post those with a link as a comment or as alt text
Best way to avoid being twarted with links is to rather than making it like a thread, merely add the link as a comment and not refer to it as a link, either say L0nk or address.
Serendipitous for this to come today, I just deleted my Twitter two days ago for the exact same reason you did. You put it so well when you said you can think clearer but be less prone to speak. It really scrambles your brain. Just think about what someone’s life must be like if you see them tweet 20-30 times a day, always up on the latest topic, always watching the enemy, ready to say something clever to “own” them.
It is a sad existence
Very good piece. I took 4 years pretty much off the internet in college, and it was really good. You need that time away from the digital world to cultivate a proper perspective and keep yourself from getting caught up in the day to day catastrophes (that always end with nothing happening).
Hallelujah! I too dumped X and don't miss it. I'm trying hard to spend more time reading books, ink on paper, and nothing much published within the last 50 years. I feel saner.
Good post!
Amazing how persuasive an algorithmic feed can be.
That state you described, trapped in base reactions as the Algorithm treats you like a gerbil on the hamster wheel, is what I call Severed Conscience. You react, but you are not responding. It’s wrecking us.
AMEN! I'd just like to add my personal anecdotal evidence on this effect. Gone through 2-3 different cycles of deleting Twitter/ detaching from algorithm. And each round has helped me ground into reality and relinquish fear. In this mode - it's so easy to identify where people's emotions (on both sides) are getting yanked by their respective algorithmic influences. On the flip side, I spent the 2020 election cycle glued to Twitter for months on end. Not only was it a tremendous waste of time, but severely degraded my mental health. Last, to the extent that there are real issues today, most of us would make the biggest impact by tending to the visible problems in front of us in our local communities, families, etc. In real life, The supposed scary radical on the opposing side was probably the person you had a pleasant exchange with at the supermarket earlier. Anyways, couldn't agree more with your analysis here.
Thank you for the compliment Henry, and for sharing.
This may be what I finally needed to leave Twitter/X
Agreed 👍
Bingo. This should be required reading. I came to your same conclusion. It took a little longer than it should have.
Completely agree. I ended a lot of subscriptions on Substack as the authors were just non-stop bitching and moaning about the impending apocalypse. I will keep the subscriptions of authors which have a positive or hopeful attitude (and the ones writing about my favourite authors like Ernst Jünger).
Twitter is out for more than a month in Brazil, and this has done me a lot of good. I took back reading books and I even feel calmer during the day.
Thank you for this reminder Forest! Excellent piece, I always enjoy your writing. Cheers!
No Twitter here, nonetheless it would be naïve in the extreme to not realize the U.S. in on the brink of global war with Russia and Iran.
I am not convinced. Russia is not nearly as powerful as people think. Iran is very hesitant to even respond to Israel and their government is split between doing something and holding back. Zelensky is getting to the point of not wanting to fight anymore.
Whoever is running Biden just gave (((Zelensky))) another 8 billion dollars.
Yeah but 8 billion is childs play money to the fed. Plus, remember that Ukraine aid is a bipartisan issue.
We are not going to go to war it is simply that the Jews want us to and they control the media, that is why alarms are blaring all day that we are on the brink of war. However (respectively), you chose a poor example comparing Ukraine aid to Afghanistan, bc the US was engaged in war with Afghanistan for almost 20 years, so of course we spent a considerable amount more than we spent on Ukraine thus far. But Ukraine is a war we are NOT actively engaged in, and it’s only been going on for 3 years. It’s an utter crime, it’s perpetrated by Jews (I have already proven this) who control our government, and it should be ended today
If we continued to spend what we have on Ukraine for the next 20 years, it'd be a little less than a third of what we spent on Afghanistan. Again I wanna point out I do not at all support the war and I would like to see it ended asap and tensions cooled.
Fair point.
Never underestimate how crazy the (((neo-cons))) are, or the tech Russia has like hypersonic missiles that can sink U.S. aircraft carriers, and nuclear bombs.
Iran is in a tough spot, but I guess I have enough religious faith to believe the Jews will be punished in the end for their crimes.
As far as the prospect of war concerned, if any war does occur, it will be because we provoke it, and not because Russia is somehow trying to invade Europe (an extremely idiotic Democratic belief)
I have friends, both with a PhD, who are concerned that their son, who is currently 10 years old, will have to fight against Russian invaders led by 80+ years old Putin in the future.
Duh.