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This Tavi Gevinson-Inspired System Makes Me Waste Less Time Online
In 2019, the writer and actress Tavi Gevinson confessed in New York mag that she was no longer using Instagram. Sure, her public-facing profile was still actively posting to the platform as was professionally required of her. But now, all that activity was being conducted by way of what Gevinson called “my secret Instagram system.”
“I asked a woman who had done personal-assistant work for me if she wanted a new gig,” Gevinson explained. “Since then, I’ve texted her my photos and captions, and she has posted them on my behalf.”
For Gevinson, this ‘system’ allowed her to pull the puppet strings on the version of herself she performed for her Instagram audience—without the trouble of actually going on Instagram, a platform purpose-built for sucking away our time in exchange for an inverse-proportionate surge of internalized inadequacy. (Gevinson’s system also required that the paid assistant fill a Google doc with copy-pasted comments that met certain criteria outlined by Gevinson herself, including constructive criticism and “anything from a verified account.”)
Unlike Gevinson, I don’t really feel like I have to maintain a brand or presence on social media in order to achieve what I want to professionally. I haven’t gotten much meaningful work as a result of my shenanigans on…
