The labor of self-promotion is uncomfortable; it is by no means guaranteed to be effective; and it is inescapable unless you are very, very lucky. – Vox
Pro: If I share more of my life on the internet, people might engage with my content, which would make me feel good about myself.
Con: If I share more of my life on the internet, people might not engage to a level that's acceptable to my ego, prompting intense shame and embarrassment that makes me never want to post again.
Pro: Posting content that doesn't drive strong engagement can teach me what doesn't work, allowing me to optimize my strategy.
Con: The idea that I have to have a strategy for sharing content on the internet feels inauthentic and dehumanizing.
Pro: It's actually very authentic and pro-human—countless creators have built powerful brands off their unique ideas.
Con: Their "unique ideas" are all designed to appease an algorithm controlled by a technology corporation that only cares about increasing watch time so it can sell ads.
Pro: These technology corporations provide everyone the opportunity to broadcast their message far and wide and connect with like-minded people, which is good for society.
Con: There's a lot of data that shows the exact thing you're describing has been terrible for society.
Pro: Yes but everybody you know has already opted in, so by not building your brand online you're only hurting yourself.
Con: It seems like people who are focused on building their brand online are also hurting themselves. Many influencers say the pressure to constantly post has led to anxiety and depression.
Pro: Nobody is asking you to be an influencer. But if you hope to attract employers or build an audience for your writing, it helps to have an online presence.
Con: The idea that you have to yell into the digital void to be relevant is a toxic narrative told to us by social media companies to keep us addicted and increase their earnings.
Pro: Yes but everybody you know has already opted in, so by not building your brand online you're only hurting yourself.
Con: You said that already.
Pro: I know.
Con: ...
Pro: ...
Con: I fucking hate self-promotion.
Pro: Ah, the truth comes out.
Con: It feels uncomfortable to Millennials like me who grew up before social media dominated culture.
Pro: Now you know how older generations felt when Millennials ushered in the social media age.
Con: So you’re saying this is my fault?
Pro: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. And the internet doesn't care that you feel awkward about posting. Maybe your issue is that you care too much about what other people think.
Con: Everybody cares what other people think because we're social animals. Social media apps are designed to put us in continuous loops of validation-seeking. It's exploitative.
Pro: Or maybe you’re just wrestling with imposter syndrome. If you get the engagement you desire, you feel understood and validated. But if you don’t, it’s because social media is pernicious and poisoning our culture.
Con: I’d argue both are true at the same time. And that’s why social media is so effective.
Pro: Ok so don’t post.
Con: Maybe I won’t.
Pro: Ok cool.
Con: I’m also going to delete all my social media apps off my phone.
Pro: Fine by me.
Con: Cool I deleted them.
Pro: Great.
Con: Awesome.
Pro: …
Con: …
Pro: …
Con: Fuck I just posted.
Pro: Knew it.
Con: It’s so addicting
Pro: Might as well give in.
Con: I might as well.
Pro: If you keep posting, maybe you’ll go viral
Con: Yeah, maybe I’ll go viral.
Pro: And then you’ll become rich and famous.
Con: And then I’ll become rich and famous.
Pro: And you’ll produce more grist for the algorithm in a never-ending effort to grow your audience.
Con: And I’ll produce more grist for the algorithm in a never-ending effort to grow my audience.
Pro: Until your whole life is filtered through the prism of social media. Everything you do and everywhere you go will be based on optimizing your brand to drive the engagement you so eagerly desire.
Con: Until my whole life is filtered through the prism of social media. Everything I do and everywhere I go will be based on optimizing my brand to drive the engagement I so eagerly desire.
Pro: Wouldn’t that be a happy and fulfilling existence?
Con: That would be a happy and fulfilling existence.
Pro: Now, when I count to three, you’re going to wake up.
Con: When you count to three, I’m going to wake up.
Pro: You’re going to re-download all your social media apps.
Con: I’m going to re-download all my social media apps.
Pro: You’re not going to question the merits of internet brand-building. Or how one can find the time to produce great work while also continuously marketing themselves. Or whether “great work” even matters anymore when it’s being drowned out by mountains of AI-generated slop. Or the instability and impermanence of most social media platforms. Or whether social media companies are conducting one giant social experiment on the entire populace with dire consequences that will become increasingly apparent as we plunge headlong into a post-truth, post-reality future in which everyone reads AI-generated rage-bait posted to the most popular state-run social media psyop through their Apple Vision Pros as they walk aimlessly across the charred remains of our dead planet.
Con: I’m not going to question … any of that.
Pro: Good. THREE…
Con: …
Pro: TWO…
Con: …
Pro: ONE! Wake up.