askchapo

they're just people i know IRL that, post-deletion of my social media accounts, i made the effort to stay in touch with and establish some avenue of communication. some i met in school, other places i worked, or through other people i knew. we're scattered mostly now across the country, so some i see IRL rarely.

also, now that i'm not on social media to update people, when i made a big move across country, i made it a point after i got a little settled, to email a bunch of people individually to update them on my situation in a personalized communication and see what's new with them. maybe like another 10 people outside of my typical chat groups. i dunno what i expected, i just felt compelled to tell people i made a big change and how to reach me. i was surprised that i had long responses from everyone, giving me the low down on their last year or so, and a digest of all the gossip, support/reflections on my changes, and lots of positivity for reaching out and checking in.

lately, i think we tend to over value social media as a communication tool. people have been keeping up lasting relationships and distant friendships with correspondence since literacy became a thing. scrolling feeds of highlights interspersed with ads is such a bunk way to check in with people, because it feels like it's just different types of brand management jockeying for attention and compulsive react emojis for the dopamine and dollars of engagement. neither of which facilitate actual connections.