Connection is vital to the human experience.
If I had a goal with this blog, I would say it’d be to foster connection. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of connection lately. When I was first introduced to the internet as a kid in the 90s, it opened up a whole new world to me. I was 12 when I discovered Yahoo chat rooms. Now idk what all the other 12 year olds were doing, but I was in those chat rooms cutting up and having a time. I was pretending to be a 19 year old Latina and those suckers ate it right on up. Nev and Max would be appalled, truly. Catfishing and trolling aside, whenever I found a favorite place on the internet, people were always central to that. Whether it was AIM, MSN Messenger, Live Journal, Myspace, Reddit, or Tumblr, I enjoyed myself the most when I was connecting with other people.
I don’t know how I would’ve made it through my angsty teen years without being able to complain about life with strangers all over the world. It was my virtual playground. I found all the cute boys who weren’t in my school by scoping out the Top 8 scenery on Myspace. That’s why I’m such an expert at scoping out the scenery now. If there’s a low-key, out of the way cutie to be found, I’ll spot them. The internet helped me dramatize my life as a teenager. It was a wonderful place. It still can be at times, but it’s different now. It’s more censored, more restricted, more surveilled and less free. It’s also littered with bots and AI garbage. More often than not, you’re interacting with chat bots instead of real people. Even when you do come across real people, they’re often masking their true self, while “influencing” you to buy something. There’s less genuine connection; Everything feels artificial. I hate that.
I had taken a really long break from social media (and people in general, tbh) after I became disgusted with the artificialness of it all. I simply declined to participate. I cocooned myself for a time and experienced true solace. I spent time on my spiritual development, personal development and prioritized my mental health. I started therapy. I did the work, as they say. I’m still doing the work. The work is never ending, but I’m making excellent progress. One of the things I’ve been working on in therapy is my tendency to self-isolate. Isolation is my go to coping mechanism. It makes me feel safe. Anyway, I’ve been working on not hiding myself, or whatever. My way of doing that was dipping my toe in social media again. So I started with Tik Tok. It was cute, but I kept it demure. I didn’t do too much, just enough. I pop in and out as needed. I like TikTok more as a viewer than as a creator, but I did make some unforgettable connections there.
I was introduced to Bluesky on TikTok in October of 2024 and I took to it immediately. Blacksky was the obvious selling point. The first few months on there were absolutely magical. You had to be there. I discovered some amazing people on there, beautiful souls. I adore them already. I liked being able to connect with people just by being authentic with my words. It was a fun challenge to express the things I needed to say within limited characters. I enjoyed reaching people who shared similar humor or had an added perspective. Eventually though, all honeymoons must end. The harsh reality of stupid people on the internet ruined the whimsy, but Blacksky is still a favorite of mine.
Now that I’ve gotten more comfortable with the idea of being perceived online, I’m willing to put even more of myself out there. I believe that people should be their authentic selves online. I’d like more people speak candidly about their experiences from their unique perspective. It’s such a meaningful way to pass on knowledge. So consider this my first contribution to what I hope will become a conduit for connection. I want to connect with people. If this blog can stop just one person from turning to AI for kinship I’ll be pleased.
Make connection human again.