How to Use Social Media Intentionally
Take back control from the algorithm.
This week, I shared a note about how, this year, I have been more intentional with my social media usage, which resulted in me reading fifteen books in January.
Before you are all super impressed, I have read significantly less this month. Mainly because for ten days of this month, I was struck down by the dreaded flu, and my brain could only do one thing at a time: breathing. Writing and reading went right out of the window.
It is not just the effect of social media on our mental health we should worry about but on our relationships and family as well, which is why I have used this strategy to reduce significantly the amount of time I spend on these sites as well as continuing to build a following.
The strange side effect of this usage has been that I now find social media extremely dull and would far rather pick up a book or write than doom-walk.
The first thing I would advise if you want to reduce your own time is to have a schedule. Every week, sit down and work out what you are going to post on what platforms and on what days. Then, batch-write all your posts. Yes, you can still include a witty, quick thought, but this way, at least you have a plan.
I am also very deliberate about the content I post on every site. I have niche topics for each platform related to a specific newsletter. For example, on [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@bookchroniclesuk), I share my book content and my history and crime articles on [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/samharnold.bsky.social).
Yes, I use the same content across multiple platforms; sometimes, I tweak it slightly to fit a specific audience. All of this is done during my planning stage. I have one central platform on which I concentrate all my effort, and for me, that is Notes; everything else is a second concern.
Then, I simply visit social media twice: once at the beginning of the day to post content and once towards the end of the day to interact, reply to comments and chat.
All my favourite content providers are in lists on my profiles, so I don't have to slog through all the irrelevant rubbish to find the people I like.
My last bonus tip is that if you spend time on social media, most of them have very little moderation; you will get your fair share of nutters - use the block button.
Try this and see if you can write more. Donna Tartt was once asked why she did not have any social media. She said that Becky Swift, Margaret Drabble’s daughter, was very emphatic: "You should never get social media, Donna Tartt; it’s a terrible idea for you; it’s noisy and shallow and distracting, and it will sneak into your reading and writing life in a thousand horrible ways and be a monstrous waste of your energy and time. She took her advice, maybe you should.
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Until next week stay safe
Sam 😊
It seems to me that, despite our rapid advancements and industrialisation as a society over the past century, our lives have become increasingly less human. Everything in our lives is coated in artificiality. - Brock Covington
Thank you for letting us know that Donna Tartt also chooses to eschew social media
Besides Substack and having email accounts, I have not participated in social media since a brief foray in the late 1990s, which I quickly abandoned. There’s something so wonderful about learning that one’s hero does things in a way similar to oneself.