deleting tiktok off my phone was a good idea

plus, the signs as weekend plans

about a month or two ago i decided to delete tiktok off my phone. my account still exists, but i was using the app less anyway, i kept seeing that people were sending me videos there and i felt too nervous to check, so i just decided to get rid of the app and forget it exists. sure enough, that was a really good idea.

throughout 2022 and 2023 i had a bit of a problem with my tiktok usage, i was watching a lot on there, spending way too long, getting really angry over stupid shit and wasting a ton of time. i don’t think i ever gained anything from the content i watched on there, personally. there are a lot of pseudo-intellectuals telling lies, a lot of people who are not scientists talking about “science,” and just straight up insane people. it’s like the worst aspects of tumblr got concentrated and mainlined into our brains via a short video application. truly the worst online thing i’ve ever been addicted to.

and i really don’t miss it either. i don’t think about watching tiktoks, i don’t feel like i’m missing anything, and i have no interest in ever returning. it’s very liberating, especially considering the fact that when i first found out about the US considering banning tiktok, i actually felt anxious because that basically meant the app would die.

i do feel slightly less in the loop now, like i didn’t know what “demure” was about until way too late, because i found out about it through twitter. but i also didn’t really have any interest in finding out anyway. it’s like when i tell my parents about something happening on the internet and they have no clue what i’m talking about and don’t really care to find out. there’s no FOMO! can you believe it?

i do sometimes watch reels on instagram, which are basically the same, but my algorithm is vastly different. my reels are mostly things like beavers and capybaras and bizarre shit and balkan meme pages. it doesn’t really feel like it’s rotting my brain, it’s not addictive, i don’t feel any pull to look at reels on a daily basis.

so if you feel like you have an unhealthy relationship with tiktok, i highly recommend deleting the app. it might feel a bit bad at first if you’re in the trenches, but i promise you, you will stop caring. there is more fun to be had on or off your phone.

track of the week

i know everyone was shitting on the dare not long ago for this or that reason, but i really do love this album, and i’ve been listening to perfume a lot this week. it’s just such a silly song and it really is so reminiscent of LCD soundsystem, to the point that it’s basically a ripoff, but LCD soundsystem was a pastiche/ripoff of their influences so who the fuck cares? i’m just going to keep singing this to myself in my apartment while i do dishes.

the signs as weekend plans

aries - they don’t have a plan but end up staying up for 48 straight hours because they didn’t want to feel any FOMO thinking about their friends have fun without them

taurus - lighting a candle and making a nice big pot of soup, followed by sleeping for 16 hours

gemini - talking anyone’s ear off who will listen

cancer - nursing a hungover friend back to health

leo - making an appearance somewhere just to show off a good outfit

virgo - meticulously meal prepping for two days

libra - finding out where their most recent crush is and walking by “casually” to implant themself in their mind

scorpio - they are inexplicably in a theatre production they didn’t tell anyone about. nobody even knew they could act

sagittarius - weekend trip to a remote area a few hours away

capricorn - aries is dragging them somewhere and they begrudgingly agree and end up having a good time

aquarius - vanishing off the face of the earth and reappearing during the week with some strong new opinions

pisces - overbooking themselves, then cancelling everything and staying home