Unfollowing the Algorithm
Hitting my five-year Bookstaversary six months after leaving Instagram, plus my Weekly What
This month marks five years since the launch of my Bookstagram account and 6 months since I quit Instagram.
Bookstagram is a book-centered community within Instagram. Populated by book people, it’s a pretty good little corner of the internet. August 2020 was a bleak time—I began listing the high low points to provide context, but it’s distressing even now. You don’t need a recap, you were there—having a creative space to connect with the online book community was especially appealing.
Instagram has never been a perfect platform for me, but you have to go where the people are to join the conversation and this was the place at the time. Despite concerns for how it may impact my reading life, something very important to me, I jumped in. I created a book specific Instagram account, and I had fun. I made connections, found my way to good reads, and even weaseled my way onto some influencer lists and into some free books—huzzah!
But over time the platform changed, becoming more short-form video based, more algorithmically driven, and more commercial. Standing between me and the community I desired was content being served in service of Meta’s interests. It became frustrating. Alongside the inherently problematic nature of algorithmically-driven infinite-scroll platforms (succinctly: corporations mining our attention, data, and societal cohesion for profit) the situation became untenable.
Early this year it was impossible not to recognize the cost-benefit balance as way off for me. Spending time on the app no longer felt good. I no longer felt an appropriate sense of control over my experience. I felt exploited rather than entertained. I realized I no longer benefited from being in that space.
One day in early February I became completely fed up and stopped opening Instagram. Though I didn’t have plans to do so, I took an extended hiatus. Once I experienced how much better I felt not interacting with the app I never went back. I log on here and there to get messages, but at this time I have no desire to create content for the platform or engage there as I did previously.
Leaving does come with downsides, most importantly no longer interacting with the community there and falling out of touch with book friends in that space. This is a real loss, and, I think, a real reason others find it challenging to leave these platforms many of us recognize we’re no longer enjoying as we once did. That there is real cost to opting out of this tech is chilling and not something we’ve begun to reckon with in any way.
The upside of all this is finding community on Substack. I launched my Substack in January 2024 as I have long had mixed feelings about Instagram and craved a quieter, more connected space. What began as a supplement to my Bookstagram has now become my primary content creation space. Yes, Substack is still social media, but social media takes many forms. Substack newsletters are an entirely different form of communication than that which happens on anything owned by Meta, TikTok, or the Cesspool Formerly Known As Twitter.
Today, instead of making a post honoring another year as part of the Bookstagram community as I have done in years past, I’m reflecting on the last 6 months; what I’ve gained being more intentional with my finite resources of time and attention, and what I’ve lost. On balance I feel good about my choices and leaving spaces which no longer serve me. Taking back attention in a noisy world run by algorithms feels like a small act of resistance and a bulwark against the chaos of present reality. My hope is more people will join me in consciously uncoupling from toxic tech.
ICYMI:
We Can’t Rewind We’ve Gone Too Far
Reading
My Friends by Fredrik Backman. A new adult and a middle-aged man, both recently experiencing the loss of the person closest to them, are brought together through a world-famous artist’s painting, which one of them now owns, and in which the other is featured. The story is largely concerned with telling of the painting’s origin: a summer 25 years in the past when a small group of young teen friends sat on a pier jutting into an expanse of sea, forever captured in this now famous piece of art. My Friends is about art, life, and relationships, but it’s very much about those fierce friendships forged during a special time in one’s life that can’t be fully replicated at others; it’s about the magic and nostalgia of childhood summers. I found the story lacked some momentum at times, but Backman’s writing style is a real treat to experience. He writes in an especially insightful and impactful way that cuts right to the heart of humanity.
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. This started as a family read aloud, but I ended up finishing on my own when both kids rejected the story around the 30% mark—they’re hard sells on fantasy, which they come by honestly as this is a real hit or miss genre for me too. Well, it’s their loss because Impossible Creatures was a hit for me! Reminiscent of great classic children’s literature with deep themes and developed world building Impossible Creatures is an epic adventure about friends from two different realms uniting on a quest to save a dying world. It’s a story about interconnectedness, environmental conservation, courage, and corruption. This is an upper middle grade novel aimed at readers in that tricky 10-14 age bracket, but as with all great children’s literature it will appeal to readers of many ages. The first book in a series with book 2 releasing in September.
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. I’ve enjoyed every Barbara Kingsolver book I’ve ever read so when
recommended Prodigal Summer as a long and leisurely summer backlist read I was sold! The novel is shaped by three interconnected stories set in a small, Appalachian Virginia farming town: a solitary forest ranger living in a cabin in the wilderness; a newlywed treated as an unwelcome outsider by her husband’s large, insular extended family; and two elderly neighbors feuding over tree farming practices. Kingsolver writes beautifully and tenderly about the natural world and humans’ place within its broader context. The story has a strong sense of place and season and as the story spans an entire summer it was late summer reading perfection!
Listening
The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains by Pria Anand. A neurologist combines memoir with science for a fascinating exploration of the inner workings of the human mind.
Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic. An examination of the ways social media and algorithms shape language and communication.
Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee. Fiction reminiscent of memoir about a woman whose husband leaves her for another woman just before she is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Watching
Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV+). Extremely watchable, if imperfect—wealthy people behaving badly is a tough trope to pull off notably well—starring Jon Hamm and created by novelist Jonathan Tropper.
Eating & Drinking
Teriyaki Turkey Burgers with sweet corn
This flavorful Tomato Pesto Pasta comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta thanks to fresh ingredients. I topped it with Crispy Zucchini, one of my favorite zucchini vehicles. Tomatoes, basil and zucchini all came from our garden!
These Bean Burritos are an oft repeated pantry staple for nights I need a quick, crowd-pleasing meal.
A batch of Banana Blueberry Muffins for snacks—I cut the sugar to 1/4 c. each of brown and granulated and use these non-stick muffin liners. I only add blueberries to half the batch to meet family preference, they’re good as plain banana as well!
Links + Loves
The Associated Press will no longer be publishing book reviews due to low readership and high cost to produce. (Lit Hub)
But they will still be covering “books as stories” like this, I suppose: Library book returned after 82 years. Note says, ‘Grandma won’t be able to pay for it anymore’. (AP)
63 Book-to-Screen Adaptations to Add to Your 2025 Reading List (Vulture)
A recently published study found a 40% decrease in pleasure reading over the last 20 years (NYT) with fewer than 20% of Americans now reading books, magazines, or newspapers in any format for pleasure. The researchers found this surprising, I do not.
Last week I shared my zucchini hopes and challenges. I am pleased to announce the harvest of my first zucchini in several growing seasons. May it be the first of many 🤞
What are you reading, listening to, eating, watching, liking, and/or linking this week? Let’s chat!
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Until next time!
I’m sad I didn’t get to Prodigal Summer this year but something to look forward to next summer I suppose. Impossible Creatures is on our read aloud list! And thanks for the crispy zucchini recipe— we made Two Peas and their Pod zucchini brownies and they are phenomenal!
To consciously uncoupling from toxic tech! You made your points beautifully well.