Letting Go Of Our “Likes” (& Shaking Off the Twitch) —

So … let’s get down to it. The last time you posted something to Facebook, be honest: How long did you wait before going back to check to see if anyone had “Liked” it or left you a positive comment?

(Or did you maybe just sit there refreshing the page a few times, to see if someone might “Like” it right away?)

And be honest: How often did you go back to check it? (And did you leave your own comment or “Like” it yourself, just to bump it back up to the top?)

Don’t be too hard on yourself if any of this rings true.

This kind of behavior is unfortunately all too common, and I fear it’s become part and parcel with our digital age. A vaguely icky habit we need to break.

Because here’s the thing:

In the same way we continually want to pull out our cell phones to check our text messages or email (the “dopamine twitch,” I call it); and in the same way we feel compelled to “chimp” at the backs of our cameras with every click of the shutter … I think we also feel an irresistible urge nowadays to check (and check, and check, and check again) our Facebook posts.

And we do this, obviously, to see if the world has approved of our offerings.

“You must be prepared to work always without applause.”
– Ernest Hemingway

But just as I’m going to suggest you shut your phone off and leave it in a drawer or in the glove compartment of your car now and then . . .

And just as I’m going to suggest you turn off the preview feature on your camera (or even go back to film for a few months) . . .

I’m also going to suggest you try a completely bizarre Facebook experiment:
Next time you post something — just post it and close Facebook entirely.
Log out. Close the tab. Close out the browser even.

And now go DO something. Go work on some more art. Go capture some photos. Heck, go read a book.

Forget about Facebook.

Stop hovering over your posts like a crazy person. Just put them out there and let them go.

Unless you’re a stage actor, you don’t need an audience to create art. You don’t need applause.

If you’re curious what has been said or if any comments have been left, go ahead and check in on it later. (It will be there. Trust me. It’s not going to disappear on you.) Read through them, leave a reply here and there if you like, but then get back to work. Get back to creating something.

Trust me on this. All of your best work — all of the work that is going to really matter — is going to evolve when you are off on your own creating for no one else in the world but yourself.

When the notions of applause and Facebook “Likes” are the furthest things from your mind.

So make it your mantra: “Twitch no more.”

Simply create. Share if you like. Or not. Then get back to work.

– Sebastian

PS: And just to be really clear here — I am not saying sharing your work on Facebook is bad, and I am not saying that it is wrong to check back in later and see what others think of your work. That’s all fine. The important thing is to not obsess over it. The important thing is to make creating art your priority (art that means something to you; art that excites you), and not worry so much about what others think of it.