<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Creating Joy at the End of the World]]></title><description><![CDATA[The world is burning, the oligarchy is here, and we're living in a late-stage capitalist hell. Let's prioritize our peace and find our joy together. 🫶🏽 Because sh*t is f*cked, y’all. ]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!deGE!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9d98e534-e9e2-4833-9765-3ef089fdae9a_1080x1080.png</url><title>Creating Joy at the End of the World</title><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 05:04:57 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[mariahgoolsby@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[mariahgoolsby@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[mariahgoolsby@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[mariahgoolsby@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[I Made a Career Out of Being Chronically Online. Lemme Save You the Burnout.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been a social media marketer for over a decade. Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;d do if I were starting a career in social today (and wanted to keep my humanity)&#8230;]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/i-made-a-career-out-of-being-chronically</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/i-made-a-career-out-of-being-chronically</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:57:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/87819ad4-7f5a-4694-ba4b-83e3f4630833_1206x1412.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I learned social media marketing like most of us did: by doing it. I started working in social my junior year of college. I was getting a BFA in Acting and a BA in Communications, and I absolutely loved the internet, so it just felt right.</p><p>It was always my means of stable income while I tried to convince Hollywood to let me in. In some jobs, I would even hide the fact that I knew how to manage social because I was resistant to it becoming my full-time career. I worried, like so many artists do, that if I had a &#8220;real&#8221; job outside of acting, it meant that I was giving up on my dreams.</p><p><em>(This is not on my list of advice below, but consider it a bonus tip: If you also think this&#8230;stop it right now. Having your needs met does not make you any less of an artist/creative).</em></p><p>I&#8217;ve now been a social media marketer for 13 years. My greatest achievement in this career &#8211; more than any dream client, bonus earned, KPl crushed, or even country I&#8217;ve gotten to travel to &#8211; has been learning how to do this intentionally, in a way that allows me to create the life I want.</p><p>Too much of the social media marketing industry is toxic as f*ck, and social media managers are getting the short end of an already tiny stick: 77% of folks who work in social report feeling burnt out (<a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-178103016">2025 Social Media Salary Report</a>, Link in Bio), we have an average <em>daily</em> screen time of about 7 hours (<a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/milkkarten/p/state-of-social-media-survey?r=2j3eda&amp;utm_medium=ios">Very Online Survey</a>, Link in Bio), and 2 in 5 of us say work negatively impacts our mental health (<a href="https://www.hootsuite.com/research/social-media-career-report/cashing-in-and-burning-out">Hootsuite</a>).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png" width="450" height="395.8333333333333" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:950,&quot;width&quot;:1080,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:450,&quot;bytes&quot;:2106929,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/i/183080289?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REmL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e50f9db-f6db-40fa-ad93-2dd1742a2966_1080x950.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>IT DOES </strong><em><strong>NOT</strong></em><strong> HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.</strong></p><p>A job is a job, there will always be downsides and hard times and days when you<em> just don&#8217;t wanna</em>, but those days do not have to define your entire career. You do not have to be chronically online or burnt tf out to be good at your job.</p><p>Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;d do if I was starting a career in social today, and I didn&#8217;t wanna lose my humanity&#8230;</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><strong>First, I would </strong><em><strong>find aligned brands</strong></em><strong> (the ones I actually want to work for and whose values and/or brand identity pair well with mine) and </strong><em><strong>create spec content for them</strong></em><strong>.</strong></p><p>I&#8217;d take a page from Hollywood&#8217;s book and treat this like an audition or spec script &#8212; an opportunity to share <em>my</em> interpretation of the work and paint the picture of what it would be like to work with me.</p><p>I&#8217;d look at 3 different types of brands:</p><ul><li><p>the brands I&#8217;m already a customer (and huge fan) of</p></li><li><p>aspirational brands (the ones that make you think: <em>I want to be her when I grow up </em>&#129321;)</p></li><li><p>and brands that are the epitome of my values</p></li></ul><p><em>(Note: these may overlap&#8211;even better if they do! That means you should definitely work there!)</em></p><p>I&#8217;d study their social media pages and get to know their audience on a real, human level. I&#8217;d learn their brand voice, not just on social but across their digital marketing, and I&#8217;d try to discern their POV (Point of View).</p><p>Then, I&#8217;d pretend like I&#8217;ve already been hired and make content for them! I&#8217;d make my expertise known with strong opinions on their work &#8211; not in an email, but through my creative choices. What would I add creatively and strategically to take the brand&#8217;s goals to the next level? What do I love about their content right now? What do I wish they&#8217;d include more of? All of this would be evident in my content. </p><p>I&#8217;ve intentionally never worked for a brand that I didn&#8217;t also believe in. <em>Now, don&#8217;t get me wrong</em>. I&#8217;ve worked for brands that I originally believed in who then disappointed me (hence why I no longer work there &#128517;), but I always felt aligned when I applied for the job! </p><p>This industry is toxic enough. I&#8217;m not adding the emotional rollercoaster of having to market something I don&#8217;t believe in to that pot.</p><p>Plus, when you work for a company that you&#8217;re sincerely a fan of, when you see and believe in the larger mission, and when you <em>want</em> to help that brand achieve its mission, you give your job greater meaning. There&#8217;s endless amounts of research that prove when you give yourself a larger purpose - with literally anything you do! - <em>that&#8217;s</em> when you achieve happiness.</p><p>Lastly <em>(and this is arguably the most powerful (and also hardest to learn!) bit of advice I&#8217;ll give you)</em>, I&#8217;d remember that if it doesn&#8217;t work out, and I&#8217;m never hired at one of these brands, it means absolutely ZERO about my work. Having this content for my portfolio and honing skills for my craft will make it easier for the <em>right</em> fit to find me. </p><p>In today&#8217;s job market, people with the skills to do the job and the visibility that makes them known to those hiring, will be the ones who get the job.</p><p><strong>Secondly, I&#8217;d take as many workshops, read as many books, follow as many thought leaders, and </strong><em><strong>learn as much as I can </strong></em><strong>about marketing, psychology, interpersonal communications, and creativity.</strong></p><p>Find what&#8217;s out there (be forewarned: there is a lot of BS to sift through), find someone you trust and want to learn from (the right teacher can change everything), and invest in your growth (make that mindset shift now - this is an investment, not a cost).</p><p>The first social media marketing workshop I took that actually taught me something I didn&#8217;t already know was <a href="https://strongbrandsocial.com/pages/f-the-algorithm-2-0-workshop">F* The Algorithm!</a>, and it literally changed my life.</p><p>It was the first social media workshop I&#8217;d ever taken that wasn&#8217;t a scam. No one was trying to &#8220;teach&#8221; me things I already knew and then sell me on some higher-priced offer that <em>actually</em> teaches the thing (supposedly). This was <em>3 hours</em> of value-packed teaching from the realest, most down to earth, and knowledgeable marketer I&#8217;d met in <em>years </em>(maybe ever?).</p><p>I immediately said, &#8220;I have to work there.&#8221; I followed them on all the social platforms, subscribed to their email list (and read it religiously), and I told myself that if they ever hired, I would apply immediately. Just months later, they were hiring for a social media manager.</p><p>Serendipitously, I am now the Creative Content Manager at Strong Brand Social (SBS), and I lead that workshop for literally thousands of people every year. While writing this, I tallied the number of attendees I taught inside of F* The Algorithm! in 2025: 3,393. Over <em>three thousand</em> purpose-driven and fed-up-with-the-system marketers and small business owners who now have a more sustainable system for growing their brands online. &#129394;</p><p><strong>&#8230;THIS IS MANIFESTING, Y&#8217;ALL!</strong></p><p>It&#8217;s diving into the deep end of your dreams, completely submerging yourself, because when you direct your energy that strongly towards something, the universe has no other choice but to listen. It&#8217;s about being 100% prepared for an opportunity when it comes. I knew and understood SBS as a brand on an intimate level. I was a <em>sincere</em> fan, and I&#8217;d been preparing myself for the task of making content for them for months before I got the opportunity to execute.</p><p>Treat your work as a craft that should be practiced. This is a creative field. You have to flex that muscle, just like you would with any creative skill. You have to hone your craft.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png" width="449" height="394.9537037037037" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:950,&quot;width&quot;:1080,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:449,&quot;bytes&quot;:1261846,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/i/183080289?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!68dL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca1bd388-e887-495f-aead-74c31afa7d6d_1080x950.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>Lastly, I would </strong><em><strong>set scrolling limits</strong></em><strong> for myself &#8212; maybe even get rid of my personal social media altogether (this has helped me tremendously this year!).</strong></p><p>I know so many other marketers would say that you need to be scrolling every. single. day. on social to know what&#8217;s working right now. I strongly disagree. For two reasons:</p><p>The A of it is&#8230;</p><p>This is a creative career. Let me say it again: <em>This is a creative career.</em> </p><p>The creative&#8217;s brain needs space to think for itself and to rest. If we fill it with constant noise, there&#8217;s no room for our own unique ideas.</p><p>The B of it is&#8230;</p><p>If you have real marketing education backing you up, you&#8217;re not creating based on what&#8217;s trendy at the moment. You&#8217;re creating based on proven strategy and a deep understanding of the humans you are speaking to. </p><p>I promise you: &#8220;what&#8217;s working right now&#8221; is less immediate and ever-changing than they&#8217;d have you to believe.</p><p>At the start of 2025, <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/mariahgoolsby/p/9-tips-for-more-intentional-social?r=2j3eda&amp;utm_medium=ios">I quit my personal use of social media</a>. I have brand social media accounts that I only use for work. From those brand pages, I only follow aligned accounts (ones speaking to marketing/social/tech/creatives). This way, I&#8217;m still tapped into the world of social, but I&#8217;m not losing hours of my life to a doomscroll disguised as inspo.</p><p>You are allowed to have boundaries.</p><p>You deserve stability <em>and</em> creative fulfillment.</p><p>You have the power to build this career in the way that best suits <em>your</em> needs and supports the kind of life <em>you</em> want to live. It can be sustainable, values-aligned, and even <em><strong>joyful</strong></em><strong>.</strong></p><p>I hope this helps you get there. &#129782;&#127997; </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Quit Social Media. Moved Across the Country. Touched Grass. Ate Cheese.]]></title><description><![CDATA[...and this is what I learned.]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/i-quit-social-media-moved-across</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/i-quit-social-media-moved-across</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2025 21:16:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d38cfc2e-1176-4dd2-8e4a-fae3fca58772_410x595.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The world is quite literally on fire. <br>The oligarchy is here. <br>We're living in a late-stage capitalist, apocalyptic hell.  </p><p>And you deserve to be happy. <br>You deserve to prioritize your peace. <br>You deserve to experience joy. <br>You deserve to live the life you want. <br>Now more than ever.</p><p>So I&#8217;m chasing my joy. Earlier this year, <a href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/goodbye-meta">I quit social media</a>, we moved across the country from Los Angeles, CA to Madison, WI, and I&#8217;m building a life that feels grounded and slow and <em>mine</em>.</p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;ddfbd8d1-3078-4066-b830-69b3c048a314&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h3><strong>2025 Woke Up and Chose Violence. </strong></h3><p>Just <em>some</em> of the clusterf*ck that has been The Year of Our Lord, 2025: </p><ul><li><p>January brought <em>Inauguration Day</em>, complete with not one, but two Nazi waves, and LA became something out of Octavia Butler's premonitions, with wildfires that destroyed over 57,000 acres. </p></li><li><p>February leaned even harder into an already exhausting news cycle that still hasn't let up, along with a mass bending of the knee from corporations giving in to the Trump administration&#8217;s attempted erasure of Black History Month and DEI programs.</p></li><li><p>March? Oh, you know, just the illegal kidnapping of students by the U.S. government. Oh! - and eggs that cost $1 <em>each</em>.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>So I decided to touch grass (and eat cheese). </strong></h3><p>All of that combined with rising rent costs, a crumbling job market, and debilitating burnout led us to the decision to pack up our lives and move from the shitty heaven of LA to a peaceful suburbia of Madison, Wisconsin.*</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png" width="1190" height="342" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:342,&quot;width&quot;:1190,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:73998,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/i/161754238?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RRIX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6655076-0cd1-420b-9bbd-89ba398e98d1_1190x342.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">*For anyone unaware of this spot-on internet joke</figcaption></figure></div><p>I feel like I learn so much about a person from their reaction to us moving to Wisconsin. Some people have looked at us like we're crazy - these are people who are under the illusion that Los Angeles, CA is the city of angels and dreams, where everyone should aspire to "make it" one day. People who know the reality of living in a major city on <em>either</em> coast react with a much calmer, "Oh, I hear Wisconsin is beautiful!" or "Ahh, love the Midwest!" </p><p>As someone who was born in Wisconsin, raised here and in Georgia, lived in LA for 18 years, and has traveled between them all more times than I can count, I've seen a lot of this country. If you haven't, I highly recommend you try it. See this country for yourself. When you do, you might gain a new perspective on this experiment that has been The United States of America. </p><h3><strong>And I'm not alone.</strong></h3><p>For the past few years, studies (ex: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/12/16/americans-are-less-likely-than-before-covid-19-to-want-to-live-in-cities-more-likely-to-prefer-suburbs/\">this one from Pew Research Center</a> and <a href="https://www.coopercenter.org/research/remote-work-persists-migration-continues-rural-america">this one from Lombard</a>) have shown that as our country continues to be increasingly harder to live in - as grocery prices rise, tariffs throw gasoline on the fire of inflation, making the cost of living even harder, and global warming threatens to bring more and more natural disasters our way - more and more of us will be moving from the big city to a slower-paced life.</p><p>Partially because these parts of the country are safer (<em>emphasis on the -er</em>) from natural disasters&#8230;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/10-safest-states-from-natural-disasters.html" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png" width="1426" height="1342" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1342,&quot;width&quot;:1426,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:760686,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.worldatlas.com/natural-disasters/10-safest-states-from-natural-disasters.html&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/i/161754238?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WSEo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19868e7d-8716-422f-abda-4cb6ae541f49_1426x1342.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>&#8230;and partially because they&#8217;re simply <em>better</em> for us:</p><p><strong>More time in and around nature helps control your body's stress response system. One of the ways it does that is simply giving us less sensory input.</strong> </p><p>I can't begin to tell you how sharp the difference has felt for me, having my morning coffee scored by the sounds of nature rather than my fighting neighbors, or the loud mufflers of dudes who think they're in Fast &amp; Furious 13: LA Drift, or the despair of an unhoused person having a bad trip that can be heard down the street. </p><p><strong>When you're living in chaos, your amygdala gets overstimulated, and your body can't tell the difference between real threats and not.</strong> </p><p>As an SA survivor who's always working through her PTSD, this one could not be more real for me. I need an environment where my body can stop confusing <em>disruptive annoyance</em> for <em>existential threat</em>. My nervous system needs the sounds of birds chirping and wind blowing through the trees instead of the occasional and seemingly indescribable blasts that you'll hear in LA - <em>seriously what was that sound?</em> </p><p><strong>And smaller, more tight-knit communities have a slew of benefits on our well-being. </strong></p><p>I believe we were meant for village living, not city living. We thrive on real <em>community</em>. It&#8217;s better for us. Scientifically. Somatically. Spiritually. </p><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.&#8221; </em></p><p><em>- bell hooks</em></p></blockquote><p>And I wonder if the silver lining of this migration will be less binary, less two-party division, more <em>actual </em>diversity, equity, and inclusion, rather than weak attempts by corporate shills whose values are flimsier than those micro-plastic-filled rainbow products they push every June and call it DEI. </p><h3>What I&#8217;ve Learned (or, am learning)&#8230;</h3><blockquote><p><em>"Joy is an act of resistance" </em></p><p><em>- Toi Derricotte</em> </p></blockquote><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling. In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change.&#8221;</em></p><p><em>- Audre Lorde</em></p></blockquote><p>Like so many Black women who have come before me, who guide me from this plane and the next, I&#8217;m done waiting for the world to be "okay" before I let myself feel good. Because the truth is, it might not be okay for a while. </p><p>What I won't be doing is fighting to survive in the meantime. </p><p>I believe the entire reason we&#8217;re here on Earth is to live. Not survive - <em>live. </em>We are spiritual beings having a human experience. And if the experience is the entire point, then make it a <em>full</em> one - even with given circumstances of being an American in The Year of Our Lord, 2025.</p><p>Contrary to what social media might lead you to believe, manifestation isn&#8217;t magic. It&#8217;s clarity. It&#8217;s focus. It&#8217;s alignment. It&#8217;s knowing what you want, and why you want it, so viscerally that the universe can't help but guide you toward it. Because it was only waiting for you to ask. </p><p>Yes, we are living through apocalypse (<a href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/lesson-on-surviving-apocalypse">from the Greek </a><em><a href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/lesson-on-surviving-apocalypse">apokaluptein</a></em><a href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/lesson-on-surviving-apocalypse">, which means to uncover or reveal</a>). And you still get to choose how you show up in it. You still get to create a fulfilling life. You still get to feel joy.</p><p>So here we are.<br>Chasing peace like our lives depend on it.<br>Because maybe they do.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[9 Tips for More Intentional Social Media Use ]]></title><description><![CDATA[from a Social Media Manager who's quitting social media.]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/9-tips-for-more-intentional-social</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/9-tips-for-more-intentional-social</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:29:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/166fde30-bd3c-42c9-9673-1bbef7d2ee76_724x1086.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Remember how tumultuous the summer of 2020 was? I remember how active I was on social media at that time, constantly consuming everyone&#8217;s thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the fucked up state of our world. I was also constantly creating content to communicate my own thoughts, feelings, and reactions. </p><p><strong>The current moment feels oh-so-similar, but </strong><em><strong>I&#8217;m</strong></em><strong> different now.</strong></p><p>Or at least my social media use is - I got rid of all my Meta accounts (Instagram, Facebook, Threads) and TikTok last month, and I&#8217;ve been surprised by how clear of a shift I&#8217;ve felt in my overall well-being. I can handle reading the news and processing the myriad of emotions it brings because I&#8217;m able to slow down and hear my own thoughts. I&#8217;m not taking in <em>everyone&#8217;s</em> pain, anger, hopelessness, hot takes, thoughtful insights, self-deprecating humor, etc. Instead, I&#8217;m being much more intentional about what I&#8217;m consuming and when I&#8217;m consuming it. </p><p><strong>Our brains weren&#8217;t meant to process the everything-everywhere-all-at-once of the internet.</strong> </p><p>That being said, I&#8217;m not writing this to tell you to delete your social media and throw your phone into the ocean (although if you did, I might call you a genius). I&#8217;m writing this to give you some tips on how to use social media more <em>intentionally</em>. </p><p>I&#8217;ve been a social media marketer for over a decade and a chronically online human for just as long, and these are some habits I&#8217;ve found helpful in maintaining my sanity - and my joy - during my scroll. I hope they help you do the same. &#129782;&#127997;</p><h3><strong>9 Tips for More Intentional Social Media Use:</strong></h3><ol><li><p>These apps are designed to keep you addicted. Don&#8217;t let them. That alone is a small act of rebellion. Learn what the algorithm is, how it works, and how it&#8217;s stealing your time and attention. A great book to read for this: <a href="https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/stand-out-of-our-light-freedom-and-resistance-in-the-attention-economy_james-williams/18875622/item/29897790/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=high_vol_midlist_standard_shopping_customer_acquisition_20381777654&amp;utm_adgroup=&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=666157863328&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAiOa9BhBqEiwABCdG87s2u1tXWa9gBOlhBVzCrq_Kc0frvUp7UjsXKESI0Ml4k6y61r98KBoC0cUQAvD_BwE#idiq=29897790&amp;edition=20112725">Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy</a> by James Williams, or if you&#8217;re more of a documentary person, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81254224">The Social Dilemma</a> on Netflix is a great one for this. I also recommend Googling &#8220;intermittent variable reinforcement and social media&#8221; <em>(bonus tip: add &#8220;-ai&#8221; to get rid of Google&#8217;s AI results - they&#8217;re full of misinformation half the time)</em>.</p></li><li><p>Curate the fuck outta your feed! If an account you follow is making you unhappy, notice that and unfollow it, or at least engage with it less so the algorithm will show you that content less frequently. </p></li><li><p>On a similar note, find a couple thought leaders and curator accounts that you trust to keep you in the know. This way, instead of scrolling and getting sucked into the algorithm, you have a couple places you can check that will get you caught up to speed quickly. In times like these, I use this tip for consuming news as well! I listen to <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510318/up-first">Up First</a> from NPR to get all the news highlights I need in a quick 10 minutes. </p></li><li><p>Set screen time limits and actually follow them. And/or nighttime settings! They aren&#8217;t just good for your eyes and brain but also stifling the scroll. My partner makes his phone go black and white in the evening, and I think that is just genius! No one wants to look at a screen in black and white. </p></li><li><p>If you're a social media manager and feel like you need to scroll for research/inspiration, I get it! Scroll on your brand accounts instead. This is what I&#8217;ve done since deleting my personal pages, and it's kinda nice! I don't sucked into content that's completely curated to me, which is part of how the algorithms keep you addicted.</p></li><li><p>Social listening is also big right now and so helpful for being more efficient with your time on these apps! <a href="https://www.plot.so/">Plot</a> is one I love, and <a href="https://www.hootsuite.com/platform/listening?srsltid=AfmBOoq0yYmuUW12QSwyJHRV0bxwWh2sDyg40Sl-fQ8_NmeKcYGVCVGb">Hootsuite</a> has a tool now as well, but I haven't used it personally.</p></li><li><p>When I&#8217;m doomscrolling - just seeing bad thing after bad thing and sending myself into a spiral - or if I&#8217;m just scrolling for entertainment, and it&#8217;s interrupted by something that makes me feel horrible dread, I stop and say out loud, <em>&#8220;WELL, time to put down the phone!&#8221;</em> Then I put it down and do something else. Highly recommend this method! </p></li><li><p>Touch grass. Touch so much grass. It&#8217;s good for you. That little rectangular block you&#8217;re addicted to is not. </p></li><li><p>Lastly (and what might be a hot take), I don't think we NEED to be as plugged in as we think we do. Whether you&#8217;re an SMM or just a regular social media user, I think we can all release a bit of that pressure to have our fingers on the pulse. Set boundaries with how much you're consuming. I am someone who's plugged in and always have been, and I'm realizing, with how hard the world is going to continue to be, I don&#8217;t need to know every piece of news as its breaking. Half the time, by the time you find something out, it&#8217;s already been blocked in a court or some other wilder story has already taken its place in the news cycle. <strong>This is part of their strategy - to keep you overwhelmed! Don&#8217;t let them win.</strong> </p></li></ol><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Creating Joy at the End of the World is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Lesson on Surviving Apocalypse]]></title><description><![CDATA[If you're feeling the overwhelm, the cognitive dissonance, the apathy, the exhaustion, etc., this is the best advice I can give you.]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/lesson-on-surviving-apocalypse</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/lesson-on-surviving-apocalypse</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:42:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8ea5064e-55fa-44d1-b41e-9ac802294ec6_1080x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>If it feels like you're living through the apocalypse, it's because you are.</strong> </p><p>Well...maybe not <em>the</em> apocalypse (that's still to be determined), but definitely <em>an</em> apocalypse. The word apocalypse comes from the Greek <em>apokaluptein</em>, which means to uncover or reveal.</p><p></p><blockquote><p><em>It&#8217;s the moment that reveals something about one individual&#8217;s life or about society in general... I think this is really a moment of big revelations, not revelations in terms of visions or prophecies, but revelations in the sense of seeing the truth of things.</em></p><p><em>- </em>Giovanni Bazzana, professor of New Testament at Harvard Divinity School, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/apocalypse-2020_n_5f8f824ac5b6b005f5f0a7c0">Huffpost</a> 2020</p></blockquote><p></p><p>We are experiencing a collective revelation. So many of us have seen "the truth of things" for what feels like ages, and we&#8217;ve been shouting it from the rooftops onto distracted and dissociated ears. But another many of us are only just waking up to it, and that can be a slow, painful process. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif" width="480" height="231.11111111111111" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:260,&quot;width&quot;:540,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:480,&quot;bytes&quot;:72250,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!meKh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b1d659-7a18-46cf-9022-9be9717fab65_540x260.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif" width="480" height="231.11111111111111" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/acfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:260,&quot;width&quot;:540,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:480,&quot;bytes&quot;:57193,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E0HA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facfbd55a-05f9-4ca0-a850-34f0151a48aa_540x260.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>But the "good" news? <em>(Let's just lean all the way into The Matrix reference...)</em> Just like Neo learns he isn't the first One and the simulation has annihilated Zion many times before, this isn't our first apocalypse. We've been here before, and we'll be here again. For some of us, surviving apocalypse is in our DNA.</p><p>Not only have we experienced collective apocalypses before, but an apocalypse can also happen to a group of people. European colonizers landing on American soil? The beginning of an apocalypse for the Native Americans. The invention of race and racism to justify the capitalist venture of kidnapping and selling human beings for free labor? The start of a 400-year apocalypse for Black people here in America and across the Diaspora.</p><p>I say this is "good" news because I hope it empowers you. We've done this before and made it through, and I think (or at least <em>hope</em>) that we can do it again. </p><p>Not just because it's in our DNA but because activists, organizers, poets, authors, researchers, philosophers, and all the curious, empathetic minds who understand the world we live in better than most, have been teaching us, for years, how to not only survive but create something better. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p><blockquote><p><em>I did not tell you that it would be okay, because I have never believed it would be okay. What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me: that this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.</em></p><p><em>- Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me</em></p></blockquote><p></p><p><strong>This feels like the lesson of 2025. A lesson on surviving apocalypse.</strong></p><p>Even amongst all the political chaos, global pandemics, natural disasters, genocides, and general fuckery that is the current state of the world, we still have to find a way to <em><strong>live</strong></em>. Not just survive, but live. </p><p>It&#8217;s a lesson I had reinforced for me last month when my work had a photoshoot planned in Joshua Tree the week that the fires broke out in LA. </p><p>Our team is global and completely remote, so meeting in person for a shoot like this takes lots of planning, lots of travel, lots of resources. While our founder was in the air, on her way to LA from France, it became clear that the fires that had just started were going to be more dangerous than we thought. We decided to head to the desert immediately and scrambled to cancel hotels, book rental cars, change flights, etc. </p><p>As we packed the car, we could see the Hollywood Hills on fire from my apartment. </p><p></p><blockquote><p><em>1/10/25</em></p><p><em>In Joshua Tree. LA is on fire. Very surreal to be alive these days...</em></p><p><em>&#8230; </em></p><p><em>I wondered what I was going to write when I sat down to journal, and I guess this was the point. Just to document these times, this moment in life. Just one human of so many, living through the end times. </em></p><p><em>- </em>me, my journal</p></blockquote><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png" width="728" height="485.7125" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/eb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:854,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:728,&quot;bytes&quot;:2545314,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i-2e!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb9aef69-a77e-4fbb-b89b-63635f20f3a1_1280x854.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The creative direction for the shoot was <em><strong>purpose-driven and human-centered marketing at the edge of the apocalypse</strong></em>. The irony couldn't have been thicker, and reality couldn't have been more surreal. </p><p>Although I was not stuck with the forced "business as usual" that so many of my friends were - one was forced to go into a restaurant/bar job while the Hollywood Hills burned within sight, and all I could think was: have we learned nothing? - it was still a struggle to find the will to continue on with a photoshoot amidst the sheer <em><strong>intensity</strong></em> of things.</p><p>My partner and two of our best friends escaped to the desert that week as well, but they had to head back into the city a couple days before me. The day before they left we grabbed lunch at the Joshua Tree Saloon, and I felt a visceral need to cling as tightly to them as I could.</p><p>Our friends pulled into the gravel parking lot a few minutes behind us to see my partner and I standing next to our car, his arms wrapped around me while I clung back. <em>"Aww, how sweet,"</em> they thought. </p><p>As they pulled closer, they saw the complete picture: him brushing his teeth (it was a chaotic time, idk) while I simultaneously sobbed and laughed at myself sobbing, with the desert behind us, a cloud of gravel dust surrounding us, and an unexpected live cover band waiting for us inside. I wish I had a video of it. </p><p>In that moment, a photoshoot was the last thing I wanted to do... But I'm so glad we did.</p><p>The key to <em>living</em> through an apocalypse without losing your hope, your humanity, or your joy? <strong>Purpose</strong>. </p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2023/03/19/purpose-may-be-the-key-to-happiness-3-reasons-why/">Studies show</a> that when people feel a sense of purpose, they experience more contentment, joy, and overall satisfaction with life. They also feel less anxious, apathetic, and angry. Purpose can guide us, empower us, ground us, uplift us, focus us, and make us feel more <em><strong>connected</strong></em> to the people and the world around us. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png" width="1456" height="878" 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https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RQ--!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5af77f2-6f0a-4e83-9113-4f80a7aa074d_2106x1270.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/apocalypse-2020_n_5f8f824ac5b6b005f5f0a7c0">2020 Feels Like An Apocalypse Because It Is One</a>, Carol Kuruvilla, Huffpost</figcaption></figure></div><p><strong>There is nothing like shared Purpose and the act of creating meaningful work to get you through hard times.</strong> </p><p>Once we started creating, that thick irony and surrealism that felt so haunting days before, now became the reason to keep going. </p><p>And as I've returned to work and continued to encourage and guide purpose-driven brands and marketers to reclaim their time and resources from the billionaire tech bros of the oligarchy, it has absolutely allowed me to "regain a sense of control over what seems like an impossible situation." </p><p>Before the fires were even contained, we had a new slew of apocalyptic headlines in the social media world, as TikTok left and came back (with a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-goes-dark-us-users-trump-says-save-tiktok-2025-01-19/">message thanking Trump</a>) and Zuckerberg descended into &#8220;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lawmaker-meta-copyright-cases/">neo-Nazi madness</a>.&#8221;</p><p>In response, many are looking for ways to leave Meta and TikTok entirely, so we've been <a href="https://strongbrandsocial.com/blogs/index/apocalypse-proof-social">hard at work</a> guiding folks on how to do that. We're also donating a percentage of our profits this year to relief and rebuilding efforts from the fires, especially the Eaton fire that burned down so much of Altadena, where 75% of the Black community were homeowners (almost double the national rate). </p><p>I started at <a href="https://strongbrandsocial.com/">Strong Brand Social</a> a year ago. Since then, I've gone from creating content on a freelance basis to social media manager to leading the largest workshop cohort we've ever had, creating a content strategy for a client who is an absolute hero of mine, collaborating on creative direction for this dope as f*ck shoot, creating a podcast with our founder, and a new title as of this month: Creative Content Manager. </p><p>Many of us feel a sort of cognitive dissonance when we experience joy while the world literally burns around us, and I'm no exception. But I have to say, I couldn't be more grateful to be working with a brand and a team that not only understands that we all have a role to play in "being the change we wish to see" but that uses that purpose as a North Star in everything we do.</p><p><strong>It makes living at the edge of the apocalypse feel possible.</strong></p><p>If you're feeling the overwhelm, the cognitive dissonance, the apathy, the exhaustion, etc. etc. etc... the best advice I can give you is to find your Purpose. Find the places where the change you wish to see intersects with your community and the things you can control, and then lean hard into that! Let it carry you through. &#128154;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg" width="486" height="728.6662087912088" 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https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Vf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa463deae-df65-40eb-936d-42bc7858b729_5464x8192.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Creating Joy at the End of the World is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Goodbye, Meta ✌🏽]]></title><description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s wild to be alive for the beginning and the end of something as big as social media.]]></description><link>https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/goodbye-meta</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/p/goodbye-meta</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mariah Goolsby]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2025 22:52:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8ba1e78e-5be2-4c44-891b-4bddd0b8db10_6000x4000.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s wild to be alive for the beginning and the end of something as big as social media. <em>I know we&#8217;re not at the end, but it sure does feel like the beginning of the end.</em></p><p><strong>I&#8217;ve always been a big fan of the internet.</strong> The connectivity it can bring, the communities outside of our own that we can learn from, and the FUN we have... <em>the jokes on the internet the day the Queen died and the day we thought Trump was going to die should be chronicled in history books.</em></p><p>But it&#8217;s changed now. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losers" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg" width="1080" height="513" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:513,&quot;width&quot;:1080,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:90222,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losers&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kLA8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc01229bd-103c-4df6-ac31-6c59d67d82ae_1080x513.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I feel like the grandparent who sits in the corner chair yelling, &#8220;they don&#8217;t make things like they used to!&#8221; to no one in particular.</p><p><em>In my day, we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow&#8230;</em>and we had to dial into the internet, and we made embarrassing screen names on AIM, and we posted moody poems and cringey fanfic on Tumblr, and we shared pictures of our dinner with heavy filters over them and our friends actually saw them and commented dumb things under them that are embarrassing to read now.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1210429,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OusH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4df0351c-b3ea-4edd-b761-5034c0407d4f_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>And there weren&#8217;t ads. <br>And there weren&#8217;t foreign governments spreading misinformation. <br>And there weren&#8217;t people dying en masse from the latest crisis right next to that cute dog video right next to that reminder to take a breath and unclench your jaw.</p><p>For those of us who value humanity over profits, <br>who want to see our governments and systems focus on collective well-being more than political distractions,<br>and those of us who want to see the world better off than we found it,</p><p>There is what feels like a universal call to reimagine our world in our own image. There&#8217;s a collective call for us to:</p><p>DIVE BACK INTO OUR HUMANITY AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER - BECAUSE THE SYSTEMS AND THOSE WHOSE POWER IS DEPENDENT UPON THEM CLEARLY DON&#8217;T GIVE A F*CK.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/misterjesseduquette/?hl=en" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg" width="1125" height="1438" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1438,&quot;width&quot;:1125,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1030161,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.instagram.com/misterjesseduquette/?hl=en&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TI0H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40570098-0e6e-4789-ab50-87c4586b69a8_1125x1438.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>If 2020/1/2/3/4/5 have taught me anything, it&#8217;s that it&#8217;s time we all start living by our values. <br>Don&#8217;t just talk about it, be about it. <br>If you&#8217;re not down for the oligarchy, it&#8217;s time to quit the Amazon hauls. <br>If you&#8217;re not down for Nazi salutes on Inauguration Day, it&#8217;s time to stop buying Teslas.</p><p>Mark Zuckerberg&#8217;s <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lawmaker-meta-copyright-cases/">&#8220;descent into neo-Nazi madness&#8221;</a> is not aligned with my values, so it&#8217;s time to quit Meta.</p><p>Because frankly, <strong>Meta and Mark Zuckerberg don&#8217;t deserve my time and attention.</strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.threads.net/@sineadbovell" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg" width="1125" height="476" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:476,&quot;width&quot;:1125,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:135775,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.threads.net/@sineadbovell&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gns3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63dff83d-72bc-4ef4-bbc6-d83f4e5e9a01_1125x476.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>And that&#8217;s a sad truth because <strong>Instagram has been my online diary. A history of me&#8230;</strong></p><p>And I don&#8217;t want to lose that: seeing how I&#8217;ve expressed myself during all the phases of life I&#8217;ve lived thus far, during some of the most pivotal years of my life and seeing how I&#8217;ve responded to the shifts in culture, the different ways I&#8217;ve expressed my need to make this world a better place than it has been.</p><h3><em><strong>So I&#8217;m being intentional about leaving these platforms, just as I&#8217;ve been intentional about using them.</strong></em> </h3><p>I'm taking the time to download my content to a hard drive, something physical, something I own.</p><p>Then I&#8217;m deleting my personal profiles on: Instagram, Threads, and TikTok (idk what&#8217;s going on over there, but it&#8217;s sketch and I&#8217;m just gonna preemptively peace out). <br><br>Facebook has proven to be slightly trickier. My original plan was to keep my profile, but wipe it of all its contents. But after trying and researching for a while, I gave up on trying to figure out how to do that. I searched for too long (don't get me started on how Google is also cooked).<br><br>What I'm doing instead is creating a new profile that's completely blank and getting reconnected to my business accounts with that profile. Once that's done, I'll delete my entire previous Facebook account.</p><p>And then I&#8217;m peace-ing the f* out, and here&#8217;s where you can find me post-Meta:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.threads.net/@mriinvisibleman" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg" width="1125" height="336" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:336,&quot;width&quot;:1125,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:101607,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.threads.net/@mriinvisibleman&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Xz_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c4d3260-be9a-4e68-8d83-2d80abd1bb2c_1125x336.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/grasiemercedes/?hl=en" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg" width="968" height="1210" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1210,&quot;width&quot;:968,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:349742,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.instagram.com/grasiemercedes/?hl=en&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4kAX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a6ed339-9b64-4258-af1b-7eec54453919_968x1210.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Let&#8217;s bring back blogging.<br>More reading.<br>More long-form content.<br>Let&#8217;s take back our attention spans.</p><p></p><p><strong>Where to find me:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Here!</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MariahGoolsby">YouTube</a> <em>(Don&#8217;t get it twisted; Google is still a corporation run by a billionaire, but YouTube is far more pro-creator, and they haven&#8217;t gone full Neo-Nazi so we&#8217;re doing our best with what we&#8217;ve got)</em></p></li><li><p><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-goolsby">Linkedin</a></p></li><li><p>Pinterest - the safe place; when all you really want out of scrolling is to look at pictures of things you like, without all the bad stuff</p></li><li><p>HOBBIES - think of all the things you did before social media became the first thing you looked at when you woke up in the morning&#8230; NOW DO MORE OF THAT.</p></li><li><p>TOUCHING GRASS &#9996;&#127997;</p></li></ul><p></p><p><strong>And lastly, some advice: </strong></p><p>Thankfully, my team at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/strongbrandsocial/">Strong Brand Social</a> is also having internal discussions about leaving Meta, but I know not everyone feels like this is possible for them. If you and/or a brand you manage feel like it's impossible, I wanna reassure you that it's not. </p><p>But you do need to do it strategically! Here's some advice via SBS:</p><h4><em><strong>Marketing is a math equation.</strong></em> </h4><p>You CAN take Meta (or TikTok or whatever platform it may be - because we really can&#8217;t trust any of them) out of your equation, it just means you need to replace it with something else that is going to bring you the same answer. You need to balance the equation.<br><br>I know social feels like a real sh*show right now, and I know you (and your community) might feel panicked about what you&#8217;re supposed to do. Let this give you sigh of clarity. <br><br>And if you're a social media marketer who feels compelled to bring this to your team or founder or marketing leader, you can remind them of this and get strategic about how to do it. <br><br>Hope this helps! &#129782;&#127997; If you&#8217;re looking for more advice on how to still beat your goals while divesting from platforms that aren&#8217;t aligned with your values, SBS is hosting a free event next week called <a href="https://strongbrandsocial.com/blogs/index/apocalypse-proof-social">APOCALYPSE-PROOF SOCIAL</a>! </p><p></p><p>love you &#129782;&#127997;,<br>Mariah</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://mariahgoolsby.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div 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