This movie made it feel okay to have online friends while still seeking out meaningful IRL connections. I saw it for the first time in Kansas City in a room full of friends I’d met through the blogging site Xanga.
My only tattoo is ))<>(( and I sent a photo of it to Miranda July during lockdown. There’s a whole little group of us around the world with the matching tattoo, which is everything to me.
1d ago
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one of my favorite activities
When I was 13 I started making friends on Xanga - some of who have become my closest long term friends IRL. I think it’s neat that something as simple as a shared love for a band can spawn such deep long lasting friendships that take you who knows where.
Dec 15, 2023
i saw three of my closest friends again today and just. god i love them so much.
the worst part of adulthood is seeing your friends less - though hopefully when people have graduated and everyone's in the same city again it'll be better, it sucks knowing i'll never see them as often as i used to back in high school. dogpiling onto the common room couch to watch anime and lying in the sun during break and eating lunch together everyday and everything just being less high stakes? high school had its problems, don't get me wrong, but i think a part of me will always yearn for how much less lonely it was.
so it was a delight as ever to get to hang out today, i found myself taking as many photos as i used to and there's something close friends will always manage to squeeze in your heart when you see them.
love y'all so so much!!! we might not have another group hangout til next winter but i'll be counting the days <333333 ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝˚₊♡₊˚⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝
Jan 21, 2025
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It’s one of my top 5 used apps and it’s changed my life having all my friends on there.
My friends and I have gotten in the habit of stopping by each other if we’re close and it’s made New York feel so Small in the best way.
Jan 29, 2024
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i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and it’s enshittification), i realized i wasn’t even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like.
breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! i’m borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isn’t being tracked by Spotify and i own what’s in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when i’m out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.
Jan 16, 2025
i’ve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and there’s genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i haven’t felt online in at least a decade.
but i think what’s undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i don’t feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs i’ve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things).
all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
Feb 7, 2025
hear me out—this one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after.
i did some serious reflection and realized i’d become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing i’d have it within a day. that’s not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases.
i’m aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i don’t have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything.
in contrast, i’m becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we don’t need to own it all, we have each other.
interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
Jan 22, 2025