121. Cutting back on social media has done me good

6 July 2025

I.

In the game Death Stranding 2, you can have the main character read Moby Dick or Frankenstein. This yields a few reflections or facts about these literary classics. It’s little things like this that make Hideo Kojima’s games so brilliant. At that moment, I thought: let me share my enthusiasm on Bluesky.

But there, the talk was all about Douwe Bob and Dilan Yeşilgöz. It’s been all about Douwe Bob and Dilan Yeşilgöz for days. And when it isn’t about them, it’s about other flashpoints in the world that nobody is putting out, but which are being stoked from all sides. Suddenly, I just couldn’t be bothered anymore. I closed the app and deleted it from my phone.

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After my month without social media, something has definitely changed, that much is clear. The biggest change is that I find myself seeking out The Beautiful Web more often, rather than sinking into yet another Twitter-like quagmire of opinions. It doesn’t even matter who’s right on Bluesky, because on Bluesky everyone is right. And everyone is powerless.

On Instagram, people already feel more inclined to share things they’re passionate about. But I’ve been spending far less time there since May too. I only look at the stories from accounts that interest me and no longer feel the need to tick them all off. As long as I don’t go to the Reels tab, I’m out of there in a few minutes.

I prefer reading blogs and newsletters. No one needs to score points on their own niche blog. It’s most enjoyable to read pieces by people who are enthusiastic about something. In the real world, too, I’d rather be inspired than do things that drain my energy. There needs to be room for both, but from now on I’m allowing myself a bit more breathing space online.

II.

Oasis are back.

I never thought I’d write that again, but Liam and Noel shared the stage in Cardiff, so it’s really true. After the first concert of the reunion tour, I looked up everything I could find and watched it all. The build-up, the setlist — 23 nostalgic bangers, the videos from people who were there, the reviews (it was raining five-star ratings).

On Friday I also watched an older Oasis performance at the Manchester stadium. It must have been in 2005. Everything goes wrong in the first few minutes. Total chaos. Fences have been breached and, to prevent a stampede, that has to be sorted out first. In the crowd, you can see a few mobile phones filming here and there. Clamshell phones with rubbish cameras. A lovely snapshot of the times. The world has completely changed since Oasis split up.

In three weeks’ time I’ll be seeing the Gallaghers at Wembley, though it still depends on all sorts of factors. We’re right up against the roof of the stadium, at the edge of the stage. If just one speaker is positioned wrongly, I won’t even be able to see the tiny figures on stage. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: for two hours, we’ll be singing along at the top of our lungs (and with our beer-lubricated throats) to those endless hits.

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PS.

It was barely mentioned in the Dutch media, but Mark Snow has died. He came up with one of the most recognisable intros in TV history, namely that of The X-Files. The eerie intro even became a hit in the 1990s. “Nothing particularly special actually happens in the track,” he once said of it himself. “It stays in A minor, there’s no singing, there are no drums or guitars, and yet it became a massive hit. That’s quite bizarre.”

Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary. The space film is based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, whose book The Martian was also made into a film. It is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie).

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I’m reading Tat Tvan Asi, the collection of very short stories by A.L. Snijders. I’m really enjoying it – read A.L. Snijders! The following is from Boosheid en verdriet (Anger and Sorrow), a lesson in putting things into perspective.

“When I got home, there was a message about a dead cat that had passed away peacefully after a long life. Its owner had come to terms with it, but was sometimes overcome by brief moments of intense grief. Could I find some words of comfort for that? I wrote: ‘The cat is dead, you are sad, the birds are relieved.’”

What to do if you don’t know what to wear based on the weather: hang a camera on your house and see what other people are wearing. That’s exactly what Riley Walz does. He has AI watch the street and then calculates how many people are wearing long trousers and coats and whether they have an umbrella with them.

Illustrator Christoph Niemann takes a critical look at the rise of artificial intelligence. “Many artists (myself included) can spend days, weeks and even months chasing a concept,” he writes. “Only to realise, after the final version, that there was a flaw in the plan, rendering the result worthless. Is that an indispensable part of the artistic journey? Or a foolish form of masochism that AI could render obsolete?”

You have just read blog no. 121, written during the week of 30 June to 6 July 2025. Subscribe to my free newsletter to receive this blog in your inbox every Sunday.