When it comes to bookish content, I just stick with TH-cam as that's how I found most of the content. Organically on Twitter (been on it since 2009), I had followed a lot of book companies, authors, and fellow reviewers (like a decade ago when blogs were the most prominent way to view content), but never in such a way that booktube is nowadays. I never got into TikTok, so I prefer TH-cam Shorts, haha. I am hoping to get more active in Blusky with book community along with my main industry, TTRPGs, but we'll see. We're barely half way through Jan and I'm already tired, haha. But yeah, appreciate your reasonings for engaging and disengaging with social media.
OMG He Said She Said was a cultural reset!! Ms. Tiz ate with that one, it still holds up. Truly iconic to have that be the first youtube video you ever saw. Also you being a little monster in your teenage years -- SAME teehee. Completely agree with you on social media. I stopped using instagram and deleted tiktok and am feeling so much better, happier, and have a recovering attention span. My reading is up too! Glad it's working for you, friend! ☎
We're so on the same wavelength, I love it! And yes, I've noticed that I'm reading more as well! The wonders that staying off of instagram and twitter does!
I agree with so much of what you are saying. So many of these social media apps are very scary. I have been through some bullying and kept having to quit, delete and escape these apps looking for a safe place. But so far being part of booktube has been a comforting experience for me. I am glad you are not leaving booktube. I only discovered you a few months ago and I think you are a a booktube gem. 📚🧡
Ooo I enjoyed the social apps as classrooms analogy 📲 great insights and reflections as usual ! Social media is definitely anxiety inducing for me, so I’ve been off of everything besides TH-cam (consuming content, not creating it) since 2022
i'm on a Meta products break right now and it is great... I didn't even think I had a real problem with social media but this cleanse is worthwhile. Yes TH-cam is different than other social medias... hopefully it stays that way!
as a fellow content creator (but different, im a designer), keeping present in social media drains my soul actually lol, what you said about Instagram is so true, and it's so tiring that in order to keep having an audience you have to stay in at least 2-3 platforms, sighh
I fully agree! I will quite often delete instagram for periods at a time just for my own mental health. It's also one of the reasons that I just never downloaded TikToc because I know it would have just consumed me with mindless scrolling.
v glad you're staying!! i also rly liked your classroom analogy - i haven't been active on insta or tiktok so it's interesting to hear what that's like as a creator. def prefer longform & like to think it's not as bad for my brain lol
I don’t really comment much as I watch BookTube as a sort of podcast (mostly listening but with my phone propped up near me so I can watch as well) while doing things around the household or before sleeping - which is kinda funny because I don’t ever listen to actual podcasts for some reason. I regularly watch/listen to and enjoy your videos, so I’m glad you’re not quitting TH-cam 😊📱
So glad you're staying on TH-cam! Every day I feel more and more the same about social media. I actually put your video in the background while I was saving pictures from Facebook (yes, we still use it over here), hopefully I'll delete the account for good by the end of the month. Instagram is going to be harder because there are so many artists, activists and on-the ground reporters I can only follow there. If I had to rely on mainstream media, I wouldn't know 1% of what's happening in Pal estine
That's the tricky thing about quitting social media. While the apps are certainly toxic, they've done wonders for penetrating mainstream media bias and giving voice to people on the ground. I am trying to focus on watching news from less mainstream sources. Democracy Now is pretty good, I've found. Also, UK based Novara Media - they're more podcast-y, but really good. Once you subscribe to those channels, the YT algorithm will do the rest and recommend more. Just beware of tankies.
You get me- i do love TikTok (despite it not being the best for my mental health lol) but for the life of me I can’t make short form content😭 my intro to the book internet was booktube so i think I’ll always gravitate here I appreciate discourse, but I think what has become exhausting about the internet in general over time is the constant search for virality and the need to have a hot take about everything, especially when like you said, these topics are rehashed year after year. But perhaps I’m just overexposed to it and need to take a break from social media haha
I think you're 100% right about the search for virality and the rehashing of topics. Atp, I kinda don't care to discuss something trendy unless I have something unique or different to add to the conversation. I love your content and hope you stick around on booktube!
@@booksaremysociallife thank you! 🥹 And same to you, I was so worried you were announcing that you were quitting TH-cam haha. Glad to know you’re staying!!
Same! I've heard about bluesky and was tempted, but I think I'll stay away for now. Threads was also something I participated in for a while, but something about it seems a bit... fake? Idk.
I love your school analogies for social media. Twitter is def the hallways where everyone gossips and bullies. I also had a thought when you mentioned how Booktok is mirroring Booktube discussions from years ago. I am not really on Booktok so correct me if I'm wrong, but I have seen a shift in Booktube content in the last 2-3 years. Where previously monthly book wrapups and reviews were the bread and butter of people's channels, now Booktubers usually do video essays about bookish trends, or genres, or books they've read that follow a certain theme. I wonder if there's a sense that for the wrapup type content, people are going to Tiktok anyway, so on TH-cam they need to do something Tiktokers can't do? Either way, I do really enjoy the new types of videos. TH-cam has lasted way longer than most other social media sites and I think it's because it can kind of be anything the user wants.
I also noticed the same thing, but I'm not on tiktok enough to know if wrap-up content is the norm. I think what's happening on BookTube is indicative of the wider current TH-cam culture of video essays, snarky reviews, "I did xyz so you don't have to" type content. I suspect, though, that BookTube may return to its glory days as there's only so many discussions we can keep having until it gets repetitive. I also agree that TH-cam can be whatever you want it to be, and as much as Tiktok and IG are always changing, longform content on YT will always remain there, even as the app tries to introduce new features.
I don't have the wherewithal to care about planning how I use apps. I just... use them if I want, when I want. The only schedule I have is my weekly videos, because that consistency works for me.
I really don't seem to be able to engage with short form content, I think I'm just always waiting for more, I even get disappointed when creators I watch post TH-cam videos that are less than 15mins 😂 Insta is really the only social media platform I post on regularly but it's very casual for me so I don't think too much about engagement or any of that. I've tried Threads but I honestly have no idea what I supposed to post on there 🙃 I think I prefer the visual aspects of TH-cam and insta.
Yes, I feel so much of this! I've done tiktok a bit too and I'll go in spurts making some but havent in a while. At the end of the day, I get *so* stressed making it and I don't feel that good about what it ends up being. It's faster to make than a youtube video and reaches more people but it's still time-consuming and less fun. I do watch a lot of tiktok though and while I've found a lot from it, I've gotten even more scrolling brain rot and I'm not so sure it's worth it. I feel way better after watching a 30 minute TH-cam video than I do scrolling for 30 minutes on any app. I personally do enjoy making IG content, my frustration in making stuff mostly comes from my book setup being in-progress so pretty pictures are hard and I'm not good at the whole Canva thing to do posts that way (and even if my setup was done, I would not be making reels bc the layout is even more frustrating than tiktok. I've only learned it a little bit for work). Being on there to see posts and trying to navigate is increasingly frustrating bc of the ads and added posts -- and the reels. I totally agree with you that it's the picture app. I very much like the separation. I don't even watch TH-cam shorts bc this is the long video app -- so I'm certainly not scrolling through reels on the picture app. So when it starts showing me mostly reels, I close it. I've been trying to get more into crafts and journaling to get away from the scrolling more in general.
Omg, exactly what you said about Tiktok reflects my relatio ship to it, every word. It's quicker, and you get more views, but it's so much more draining and less rewarding. The same applies to being a consumer of the content. It's easy to scroll through, and there's some good stuff on there, but it doesn't hit in the same way proper long form content does.
Honestly, yes to the second part of your comment as well! IG and TH-cam (and also FB though I avoid that, like the plague) are all trying to become tiktok with reels and shorts. It's like, please, be yourself 😂. I don't like what short form content is doing to the world - I feel grateful to not have grown up on that, but I fear for current and future generations. I hope whatever negative impact it has is seen and felt enough that we eventually do something about it.
I am going to deactive my twitter account as well. I just don't want anything to do with that platform anymore which is such a shame as it is one of my oldest platforms! I also really do not like creating short form content (and yet... I still do... because of algorithms :( deep sigh. Maybe someday I might like it). But I still much prefer youtube and how much more depth I can get into with youtube videos. And the comments are so much more welcoming. Like a limit on comment word count?? No thanks! I love instagram and other than youtube it is my fave platform. I really looooove stories and they are my favourite thing. I do miss when it was just photos >.> And I will still post photos regardless of how much they are trying to make it a reel platform. And yes!! It's my last written platform (I used to be a blogger). As someone who has been here for 10+ years as well, I am seeing all the recycled discussions.
Snap!!!! I cancelled my bird app early December so I no longer have any social media but I feel freeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I refuse to support Musty in any way
I always appreciate your TH-cam content, and will watch as long as you continue to make videos!
That makes me so happy to hear. Thank you, and please stick around!! 💓
You gave me such a scare! 😅 So happy that you'll stay on youtube! ❤
I ain't going nowhere iA 😂
When it comes to bookish content, I just stick with TH-cam as that's how I found most of the content. Organically on Twitter (been on it since 2009), I had followed a lot of book companies, authors, and fellow reviewers (like a decade ago when blogs were the most prominent way to view content), but never in such a way that booktube is nowadays. I never got into TikTok, so I prefer TH-cam Shorts, haha. I am hoping to get more active in Blusky with book community along with my main industry, TTRPGs, but we'll see. We're barely half way through Jan and I'm already tired, haha.
But yeah, appreciate your reasonings for engaging and disengaging with social media.
ur so right abt the different priorities & vibes of different social media!! i also am a lover of youtube tbh!!
OMG He Said She Said was a cultural reset!! Ms. Tiz ate with that one, it still holds up. Truly iconic to have that be the first youtube video you ever saw. Also you being a little monster in your teenage years -- SAME teehee. Completely agree with you on social media. I stopped using instagram and deleted tiktok and am feeling so much better, happier, and have a recovering attention span. My reading is up too! Glad it's working for you, friend! ☎
We're so on the same wavelength, I love it! And yes, I've noticed that I'm reading more as well! The wonders that staying off of instagram and twitter does!
ok i was contemplating deleting twitter but was feeling sentimental for no reason LOLL thank you needed this push
Do it! I worked past my sentimentality.
I really enjoyed this. The youtube origin story was so fun lol.
I agree with so much of what you are saying. So many of these social media apps are very scary. I have been through some bullying and kept having to quit, delete and escape these apps looking for a safe place. But so far being part of booktube has been a comforting experience for me. I am glad you are not leaving booktube. I only discovered you a few months ago and I think you are a a booktube gem. 📚🧡
I'm happy you found a safe place here om booktube!
Love that you're protecting your energy ❤
Ooo I enjoyed the social apps as classrooms analogy 📲 great insights and reflections as usual !
Social media is definitely anxiety inducing for me, so I’ve been off of everything besides TH-cam (consuming content, not creating it) since 2022
I hope that's been great for you! I'm hoping to get to the same point (except I'll probably continue to make content on here).
Instagram really doesn’t know what it is! It used to be my favorite when it was one photo at a time and no videos and no stories. So long ago.
IG has always had an identity crisis
i'm on a Meta products break right now and it is great... I didn't even think I had a real problem with social media but this cleanse is worthwhile. Yes TH-cam is different than other social medias... hopefully it stays that way!
Meta breaks are the best
as a fellow content creator (but different, im a designer), keeping present in social media drains my soul actually lol, what you said about Instagram is so true, and it's so tiring that in order to keep having an audience you have to stay in at least 2-3 platforms, sighh
It's truly designed to keep up glued to screens while our mental health slowly dissolves.
I fully agree! I will quite often delete instagram for periods at a time just for my own mental health. It's also one of the reasons that I just never downloaded TikToc because I know it would have just consumed me with mindless scrolling.
Honestly, if you haven't fallen into the tiktok trap as yet, that's great! Please stay where you are, you're not missing much either.
v glad you're staying!! i also rly liked your classroom analogy - i haven't been active on insta or tiktok so it's interesting to hear what that's like as a creator. def prefer longform & like to think it's not as bad for my brain lol
Don't quit, please.
I don’t really comment much as I watch BookTube as a sort of podcast (mostly listening but with my phone propped up near me so I can watch as well) while doing things around the household or before sleeping - which is kinda funny because I don’t ever listen to actual podcasts for some reason.
I regularly watch/listen to and enjoy your videos, so I’m glad you’re not quitting TH-cam 😊📱
Thank you 💓💓💓 so happy you're here and that you decided to comment
So glad you're staying on TH-cam! Every day I feel more and more the same about social media. I actually put your video in the background while I was saving pictures from Facebook (yes, we still use it over here), hopefully I'll delete the account for good by the end of the month.
Instagram is going to be harder because there are so many artists, activists and on-the ground reporters I can only follow there. If I had to rely on mainstream media, I wouldn't know 1% of what's happening in Pal estine
That's the tricky thing about quitting social media. While the apps are certainly toxic, they've done wonders for penetrating mainstream media bias and giving voice to people on the ground. I am trying to focus on watching news from less mainstream sources. Democracy Now is pretty good, I've found. Also, UK based Novara Media - they're more podcast-y, but really good. Once you subscribe to those channels, the YT algorithm will do the rest and recommend more. Just beware of tankies.
You get me- i do love TikTok (despite it not being the best for my mental health lol) but for the life of me I can’t make short form content😭 my intro to the book internet was booktube so i think I’ll always gravitate here
I appreciate discourse, but I think what has become exhausting about the internet in general over time is the constant search for virality and the need to have a hot take about everything, especially when like you said, these topics are rehashed year after year. But perhaps I’m just overexposed to it and need to take a break from social media haha
I think you're 100% right about the search for virality and the rehashing of topics. Atp, I kinda don't care to discuss something trendy unless I have something unique or different to add to the conversation. I love your content and hope you stick around on booktube!
@@booksaremysociallife thank you! 🥹 And same to you, I was so worried you were announcing that you were quitting TH-cam haha. Glad to know you’re staying!!
Felt this. Sometimes I think about joining blusky then remember how bad twitter was for me.
Same! I've heard about bluesky and was tempted, but I think I'll stay away for now. Threads was also something I participated in for a while, but something about it seems a bit... fake? Idk.
I love your school analogies for social media. Twitter is def the hallways where everyone gossips and bullies. I also had a thought when you mentioned how Booktok is mirroring Booktube discussions from years ago. I am not really on Booktok so correct me if I'm wrong, but I have seen a shift in Booktube content in the last 2-3 years. Where previously monthly book wrapups and reviews were the bread and butter of people's channels, now Booktubers usually do video essays about bookish trends, or genres, or books they've read that follow a certain theme. I wonder if there's a sense that for the wrapup type content, people are going to Tiktok anyway, so on TH-cam they need to do something Tiktokers can't do? Either way, I do really enjoy the new types of videos. TH-cam has lasted way longer than most other social media sites and I think it's because it can kind of be anything the user wants.
I also noticed the same thing, but I'm not on tiktok enough to know if wrap-up content is the norm. I think what's happening on BookTube is indicative of the wider current TH-cam culture of video essays, snarky reviews, "I did xyz so you don't have to" type content. I suspect, though, that BookTube may return to its glory days as there's only so many discussions we can keep having until it gets repetitive. I also agree that TH-cam can be whatever you want it to be, and as much as Tiktok and IG are always changing, longform content on YT will always remain there, even as the app tries to introduce new features.
I don't have the wherewithal to care about planning how I use apps. I just... use them if I want, when I want. The only schedule I have is my weekly videos, because that consistency works for me.
That's the best way to approach it!
Twitter and Tiktok feel way too wild for me. I only lurk when I'm on those apps.
i really appreciate your content!
I really don't seem to be able to engage with short form content, I think I'm just always waiting for more, I even get disappointed when creators I watch post TH-cam videos that are less than 15mins 😂 Insta is really the only social media platform I post on regularly but it's very casual for me so I don't think too much about engagement or any of that. I've tried Threads but I honestly have no idea what I supposed to post on there 🙃 I think I prefer the visual aspects of TH-cam and insta.
I feel this! And yeah, I'm still not sure what threads were or what we were supposed to be doing on there. It just felt like Twitter Lite lol
watching on my💻🥳
Yes, I feel so much of this! I've done tiktok a bit too and I'll go in spurts making some but havent in a while. At the end of the day, I get *so* stressed making it and I don't feel that good about what it ends up being. It's faster to make than a youtube video and reaches more people but it's still time-consuming and less fun. I do watch a lot of tiktok though and while I've found a lot from it, I've gotten even more scrolling brain rot and I'm not so sure it's worth it. I feel way better after watching a 30 minute TH-cam video than I do scrolling for 30 minutes on any app.
I personally do enjoy making IG content, my frustration in making stuff mostly comes from my book setup being in-progress so pretty pictures are hard and I'm not good at the whole Canva thing to do posts that way (and even if my setup was done, I would not be making reels bc the layout is even more frustrating than tiktok. I've only learned it a little bit for work). Being on there to see posts and trying to navigate is increasingly frustrating bc of the ads and added posts -- and the reels. I totally agree with you that it's the picture app. I very much like the separation. I don't even watch TH-cam shorts bc this is the long video app -- so I'm certainly not scrolling through reels on the picture app. So when it starts showing me mostly reels, I close it. I've been trying to get more into crafts and journaling to get away from the scrolling more in general.
Omg, exactly what you said about Tiktok reflects my relatio ship to it, every word. It's quicker, and you get more views, but it's so much more draining and less rewarding. The same applies to being a consumer of the content. It's easy to scroll through, and there's some good stuff on there, but it doesn't hit in the same way proper long form content does.
Honestly, yes to the second part of your comment as well! IG and TH-cam (and also FB though I avoid that, like the plague) are all trying to become tiktok with reels and shorts. It's like, please, be yourself 😂. I don't like what short form content is doing to the world - I feel grateful to not have grown up on that, but I fear for current and future generations. I hope whatever negative impact it has is seen and felt enough that we eventually do something about it.
I'm contemplating deleting my booktok account because I don't post much content on there but I keep hesitating for mysterious reasons
It's always some mysterious reason 😭 I think, for me, it's FMO.
I totally get it booktube has gone THRU IT GURL😭🤣🤣
Can we go back to posting unapologetically our opinions ABOUT BOOKS🥰🤣
Let's do that in 2025!
So glad you are not quitting YT.
I have left most of them behind as well. I have no regrets.
I am going to deactive my twitter account as well. I just don't want anything to do with that platform anymore which is such a shame as it is one of my oldest platforms! I also really do not like creating short form content (and yet... I still do... because of algorithms :( deep sigh. Maybe someday I might like it). But I still much prefer youtube and how much more depth I can get into with youtube videos. And the comments are so much more welcoming. Like a limit on comment word count?? No thanks! I love instagram and other than youtube it is my fave platform. I really looooove stories and they are my favourite thing. I do miss when it was just photos >.> And I will still post photos regardless of how much they are trying to make it a reel platform. And yes!! It's my last written platform (I used to be a blogger). As someone who has been here for 10+ years as well, I am seeing all the recycled discussions.
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Well spoken. ❤
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Snap!!!! I cancelled my bird app early December so I no longer have any social media but I feel freeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I refuse to support Musty in any way
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You've grown from Gaga to books, and I've grown from books to Gaga! 😜
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Nice touch with the rotary phone!
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lol i put off watching the video thinking it was another thinking booktuber leaving
Everyone seems to think that was the case oop 🤭
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