Hiya!
Welcome to my very first blog on this website! My name is Tara (go figure), and I, like most, have become disillusioned with the state of the modern internet and social media. I gave up TikTok in 2024 which I didn't find difficult, mostly because I still had Instagram (back when it was still kinda Instagram and not just knock-off TikTok), however Reels has obviously since become the main form of content to browse on Instagram and I find myself falling down a time-warped pit everytime I open up that app. I have found it hard to give it up though since I contact a lot of my friends through the Instagram message feature, and I enjoy making stories and posts. As of today, I have set up a scroll blocker on my phone to limit scrolling on Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts, in the hope that I will find extra hours in the day to do things I actually enjoy, rather than being crippled and paralysed by the doomscroll
I actually set up this website about a month ago, but I got a bit threatened by all the html and css stuff, so I almost deleted it, saying "oh, I won't ever be able to get good at coding, I'm not tech-brained, why bother?". But you have to start somewhere when you're learning. I do enjoy social media as a way to digitally scrapbook (I actually find it more enticing than physical scrapbooking), but I think if your scrapbook becomes a collaboration in ragebait, you're better off starting a new one. Also your brain is a muscle and the best way to strengthen it is by learning and practicing different skills.
I've been interested in digital minimalism and the old internet since about 2024, but it's been hard to know where to start with it all. Obviously, first I gave up TikTok, but since then it's been difficult to know where to go. As I said, I haven't given up Instagram due to the messaging feature and my affinity for posting stories. I've deleted it twice for about a month at a time, but nothing long term. I was (and still am) also really interested in getting a dumb phone, but currently that's not a wholly viable option for me, as I pay for and access public transport through my smartphone and I keep in touch with people on a variety of different platforms, like Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp, along with other little nuisances. Maybe once I have my drivers license and I don't find it so imperative to contact everyone on every platform all the time, I'll give it a bash. I have an old iPod and a couple of CDs, but shamefully I haven't taken the time to put a lot of the CDs onto it, and even if I did, I would probably still use Spotify more just because my desires for music generally change from day to day. I'd like to start making more of an effort to buy some songs and albums on iTunes so I don't have an excuse NOT to use the iPod. We'll see what happens. I also used to have a Spacehey account, though I stupidly deleted it recently, wanting a fresh start, without realising getting an account is now invitation only (T-T). I think that all mostly leads us to where we are now in terms of digital minimalism and my relationship with the web.
Generally speaking, I'm an old-school pen-and-paper kinda gal. As previously mentioned, I'm not massively tech-brained - I find it hard to even navigate the settings on my phone sometimes; I think that's why digital minimalism and old-school tech speaks to me. I've just finished the second year of my undergrad (Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Music and German), and I'm moving to Germany in September for the next school year to work as an English Language Assistant in a secondary school. I'm very excited.
Music is my other "thing"; my main instrument is violin/fiddle (classically trained but I play Irish trad too), but I can also bang away at a guitar and a mandolin. Music is currently how I make my income, but I'm hoping to be a secondary school teacher once I finish college.
My other hobbies include art (I love oil painting but I haven't done it in over a year because it's kinda messy), reading (currently reading Sally Rooney's Intermezzo, soooo good)(my favourite book is Cleopatra and Frankentstein by Coco Mellors), listening to music (I love Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell), cooking (I find it relaxing as long as I'm the ONLY ONE in the kitchen), playing in puzzle books (I have sudoku and a wordsearch book) and I run a Vinted account, so I have an interest in second hand fashion. Usually when I'm with friends we like to play boardgames, go for food/cook for each other, chat together and general floating about the place. I also have a cheeky and very handsome boyfriend who I met in college; we've been together just over a year and we usually either hang out together in Dublin or my hometown, two scenarios which always culminate in us finding our way to a restaurant (and him paying 95% of the time)(what a gentleman). And of course, maintaining this blog and website is a new one to add to the list!
As of right now, I couldn't say for certain what's going to become of this site. I don't even know if it's accessible to anyone at the minute, this could just be me talking into a vast abyss that is the internet. Regardless, I will keep posting and developing my html and css skills and see where it leads me. If for nothing else, at least I will have a cool digital scrapbook to look back at and not just a bland grid of an Instagram page. I'm looking forward to seeing it develop; I envision the homepage and future blog posts looking a bit nicer than this, but I'll always have this (and probably another number of near-future blogs) to look back on and to see how much I will have learned.
Sin é!