As a Millennial/Zilleenial I have been on the internet for as long as I can remember.

Playing computer games in pre-kindergarten, doing research for science projects in second grade, watching music videos for hours in middle school, finding Erowid.org, forums and Tumblr in high school.

The internet and later social media have always been a part of my life. Capitalism has done to social media what it does to everything it touches, it’s been ruined.

As a Millennial/Zilleenial I have been on the internet for as long as I can remember. Playing computer games in pre-kindergarten, doing research for science projects in second grade, watching music videos for hours in middle school, finding Erowid.org, forums and Tumblr in high school. The internet and later social media have always been a part of my life. Capitalism has done to social media what it does to everything it touches, it’s been ruined.

I remember being a senior at my performing arts High School when Instagram first started. Everyone asked if I had one and initially I said no and that I didn’t want one. It wasn’t until after a friend showed me their account and I realized it was a photo based social media platform that I changed my mind and created an account.

I thought it would be a great place to catalog all of my film photography and iPhone 3Gs photos.

In the early days of instagram it was all super close up photos of food and random items. Maybe a group photo here and there. There weren’t as many rules about what you could post, no DM’s, no “shop”, no links in bio, no meta, no AI and certainly no bots. It was the golden era of instagram.

I’ve become more disillusioned with social media over the years and one of the many reasons I’ve been hesitant to scrub my presence online is because I truly keep feeling as if one day it will just get better. In the past when enough people complained online about features and changes to social media sites, it was taken seriously. Sites actually cared about user experience and would adjust and re-calibrate to keep users online and engagement up. Now it’s abundantly clear that the only thing these sites care about is their bottom line, making profit for investors. So many people are addicted to social media that they will continue to use these sites even if they no longer align with their personal values or their ideal social media experience. Platforms know this and exploit it. It becomes a vicious cycle of disliking changes made by a platform, refusing to do anything or divest from a site, accepting said changes reluctantly, rinse and repeat. I’ve had enough and I’m ready to embody the changes I want to see more people embrace.

I don’t like what capitalism and colonialism have done to social media. Everything becomes categorized as “viral” or “flop”, so much information (and misinformation) gets spread, dumbed down, stripped of its meaning, its originators and its purpose. I don’t feel comfortable with my information on these sites or them having my data. I don’t get to interact with my friends and followers as much which is literally the entire point of using the sites. I don’t like the term “content” or “content creator” because I am a multi-disciplinary artist and a writer. I create art.

I don’t like the spiritual energetics of just anyone being able to stumble upon your content. I’m a firm believer in spiritual hygiene and I don’t want someone who doesn’t know me or isn’t interested in what I create and post to be able to leave hideous comments on my work. As long as I have lived on this earth in my current vessel (about 30 human years)I haven’t seen or felt the world like this. So much terror, anger, fascism and pain coursing through the fabric of humanity at this point in linear time and that overflows into how people show up in their lives and online. Not to mention the rampant antiintellectualism and collective brain damage from singular and repeated covid infections. Algorithms and incentivized posting leading people to rage bait by commenting nonsense and spreading propaganda. Being online is no longer an escape from reality like when I was 13 scrolling and reblogging for hours on Tumblr, it is a reflection of our current collective reality.

I miss photoblogs, I miss long form posts, I miss connecting, I miss online community. I miss the lack of censorship. I truly just don’t feel like any platform is right for me anymore and I have always wanted my own self-hosted blog and website where I can post whatever I want.

Enter LUNEDESOLEDAD.COM!

I have been planning and plotting to have this site since I was 10 and posting on blogspot. This little corner of the internet is quite literally 20 years in the making.

It’s truly a dream manifested! I built it with my own hands and I can’t wait for anyone who wants a glimpse into my life and mind to come and enjoy this journey with me. Thank you for being here, thank you for reading this.

Bright blessings to you!

XOXO, S A L E M - R A I N