How Tik Tok Wrecked My Brain

​Hello friends, it’s been a while.

It’s not that I have completely forgotten about the blog – in fact I’ve furiously been writing blog posts in my 4-month absence. Those posts went through outlines, drafts, reviews, and edits. However, they simply fell flat. It’s as though by the time I was prepared for them to hit the runway, they simply had nothing left in them. Maybe I over-edited them, maybe I had nothing to say in the first place, maybe I’ve simply drained all my creativity, or maybe I’m out of practice.

You see, blogs and vlogs and YouTube videos are all “long-form” content. Technically “long-form” writing is over 1,000 words – but in the context of social media and the greater “creator” landscape, blogs are long-form content regardless the word count.
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And then you have “short-form” content. Instagram & Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat & Instagram Stories, and – of course – Tik Toks. 

Instagram

Tik Tok

Facebook

YouTube

This abrasive pivot to short-form video content is taking over the social media marketplace right now. With Tik Tok on the rise and Instagram looking more and more like Tik Tok everyday, my feed, my life, and my brain is dominated with short-form video content.

So, let’s come back to my four-month absence.

I have always been…how might I say this? A wordy bitch. I like my words. I like to use lots of words and lots of sentences. I like analogies and long-winded metaphors. Some of my favourite creative pieces exist on this blog. But unfortunately, that style of speaking and writing is not suited for short-term content. We’re looking for split second judgements with snappy opening lines.

Some of my favourite creative pieces exist on this blog 
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Do you remember in primary school, when you learned to write short stories and your teachers wanted you to open with an “engaging hook” – that’s all short-form content is: an engaging hook. A funny quip, and outlandish statement, something that catches your viewer within milliseconds.

And despite the fact that I sound 82, and act like I’m 47, I am actually 23. I’m technically “youthful” and I am also giving this whole musician thing a college-try. So, I turned to the popular platforms – Tik Tok and Instagram – while shifting focus off my blog. A platform that engages my parents and the occasional reader who accidentally clicks on my story link. The point being I made the correct business decision. As a musician, I dropped my focus on long-term, self-satisfying content, and focused on what’s popular.

Did you know that most social media experts recommend posting at least one Tik Tok a day? Bitch. I have a 9-5, where am I supposed to fit that sort of content creation into my day? Moreover, that quantity of content doesn’t breed quality. But on short-form platforms, you get short-term attention spans. And I have been catering to that attention span.

In doing so, I lost sight of this. My blog, creative writing, and what truly brought me joy. I did the opposite of what Marie Kondo taught me to do. Don’t get me wrong, I like Tik Tok. I get to work with facial expressions and tone of voice to express myself, whereas here I am limited. But I don’t get to think through thoughts fully. I feel like I am producing content for people rather than producing content for me. Which feels disingenuous.
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This is my joyride, and everyone is welcome to come along.

Baby-me from around my "The Blue Book Project" era

When I released The Blue Book Project five years ago (holy fuck that was a long time ago), I made that promise. I would only create content, and write music, and release everything as long as it was fun. But maybe I lost sight of all that over the course of this last year.

Maybe the stress of bigger projects, the stress of larger price tags, and the stress of chasing trends and growing my platform caught up with me. (It definitely did, I had tears for breakfast) I’m not going to sit around and act like I have had massive internet success in the last four months. I’m not so disconnected from reality that I think one mildly successful Tik Tok means anything, but what I am saying is I would rather haven 10 people read this and it mean something, than 50,000 people see a Tik Tok I threw together in 5 minutes.

I’m not abandoning short-form content. That’s a dumb business decision, and part of my life is a business. But I think it’s time to come back to the blog. To write about love and mental health and music (a lot has happened in these last couple months and where else would I share it).
So yes, I’m short of the 1,000 words that makes this an official long-form content piece, but there feels like no better time to say it:

From me, with love, to you,
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Victoria 

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