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For two weeks, a self-imposed strike
From clicking the button marked “Like.”
Now Schmutzie’s agreed
To speak of her feed
And chat with a queer and a dyke.

Schmutzie has been experimenting with not clicking the “Like” button on Facebook, and inspired by her, Kyeli and I have too. Here’s what we’ve noticed about our Facebook feeds, our connections, our illusions of connections, and vulnerability.

And Instagram, because why not.

Highlights:

• Schmutzie’s “don’t click Like” experiment
• How it affected her feed
• How it affected her connections
• nobody notices when you stop liking things
• “connection-flavored junk food”
• Facebook lists
• Instagram
• The “Love > Like” Facebook group
• ending conversations. “I hereby declare this conversation to be at a reasonable stopping point.”
• feeling guilty or rude
• liking pages
• my Pathfinding group
• authentic connections on the internet
• people think of online as a “fake place”
• “Vulnerability is my spiritual practice.” -Elan Morgan
• “The more vulnerable I get, the more awesome my life is.” -Kyeli
• commenting “like”, smileys, and hearts

Links:

• Elan Morgan’s TEDx talk, Self-Doubt and the Power of Personal Narrative
• how to get rid of the temptation of the Like button
• WCML 004: Living in an Instagrammed world (the one where we talk about running down the hall and clicking “Like” as fast as you can)
• programs that limit your time on social media
• Pace Explains why relationships don’t exist

You can find Schmutzie at schmutzie.com. You can find Elan Morgan at elanmorgan.com. They are the same person, so those links will both take you to the same place.

To subscribe or listen to past episodes of Wild Crazy Meaningful Life, visit WildCrazyMeaningful.com.