Many elements of what people consider to be “living slowly” are connected back to pre-technology life, reflecting a collective yearning for offline simplicity. However — like other escapist trends (like cottagecore and coastal grandmother-core) that it has risen in conjunction with — it’s gone from being a helpful lifestyle change to an extremely online aesthetic.
This article really drives home to me how social media is so inauthentic that it can turn even a very personal, intentional, and counter-cultural movement like simple/slow living into an aesthetic, a performative hollow shell of its true meaning. I personally shudder at the idea of setting up a scene in my home for a photo to prove to others how “in the moment” I’m being — that feels inherently like not living in the moment.
I am very glad I do not use TikTok, Instagram, or any other media-focused website.
Yesterday I swung by someone’s house for something and she was out in the treehouse reading or writing something. No social media. Didn’t see a phone. Just enjoying the moment. Best quote from Secret Life of Walter Mitty, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention”. The moment when the world famous photographer sees the elusive snow leopard he’s been chasing and rather than take the photo he just sits there and breathes in that moment. Not even doing what he came to do just so he gets to fully experience it. That’s slow living. It’s inherently anti-social media