In
January 2015, I published the first post on this blog commencing the Cascade
Sub's public life. Since then, I have continued to post here (albeit
increasingly sporadically) and have expanded my sharing to other outlets,
namely Facebook and YouTube. In recent years especially, I have grown a modest
following on both platforms (1.2k subscribers on YouTube and 1.1k followers on
Facebook) and posted a significant number of photos and video documenting the
life of the Cascade Sub. However, despite my consistent and growing use of
those sites, today marks a committed return to the original blog, a turning
back of the clock and a departure from “the shallows.”
I will readily acknowledge that social media
has, in theory, some incredible benefits. At no other time in history has
information and individuals been so accessible. Social media has enabled the
growth of many personal and group networks, hobbies like model railroading included.
It is not that far-fetched to argue that hobby-related social media engagement
has been a major driver in the “growth” of the hobby since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Certainly, my engagement with the
hobby via social media has increased since then, significantly expanding my network
of fellow model railroaders and their work. However, a critical question has
become apparent in recent months: does increased engagement also lead to
increased enjoyment of the hobby and personal fulfillment? The answer,
unfortunately, is no.
I
attribute my lack of enjoyment and fulfillment to two main issues with
increased hobby-related social media use. First, the amount of time to sift
through and consume the mountainous haystack of hobby-related information and
content greatly outweighs the benefit of finding the rare insightful needle.
Simply put, increased online engagement and content consumption means decreased
time actually participating in the hobby. New tips and sources of inspiration
are extremely valuable, and I welcome them, but when the search for them
inhibits time at the workbench and I am not engaging in the actions of the
hobby itself, my skills are declining alongside my satisfaction. Completing a
weathering project or participating in an operating session are ultimately much
more satisfying than watching someone on YouTube do the same.
Secondly,
social media is not a replacement for real-world interaction and communication.
Sure, I acknowledge the benefit of the ease of connection that the big
platforms enable. However, access to information and the ability to connect
with strangers through an online platform does not necessarily correlate
with the effective sharing of ideas or forming meaningful relationships. It is
possible, but usually not the norm.
For
example, on Facebook, I have gotten into the habit of informally posting
progress photos of current projects. The platform makes this process incredibly
convenient and in a matter of minutes I can share essentially “live” progress
with hundreds of people across the country and world. Initially, interest in the newly posted photos
is strong, however engagement quickly wanes after the first 24 hours of
posting. Ultimately, the photos are lost in the previously mentioned haystack
of online content, likely never to be seen again. Engagement on YouTube is
similar with most of the views, comments, and likes occurring in the first
hours in the life of the video. Simply put, posting on these platforms feeds
the quick and constant consumption model inherent to their use.
More importantly,
my use and engagement with these sites has developed into an unhealthy and
dissatisfying habit. After posting photos to Facebook or a new video to
YouTube, I compulsively monitor the public response, tracking the views,
reading comments, and counting likes. I crave the immediate affirmation of my
work and focus intently (consciously or not) on viewership and engagement
analytics. Rather quickly, as described above, engagement in a post or video wanes,
and the “high” of watching the public response subsides. And so, to feed this
craving, I must post again, and again, repeating the cycle with increasingly
hasty, non-curated content. Ultimately the high of receiving immediate
gratification became the primary motivation for posting and ultimately progress,
leading to a shallow experience of the hobby and burnout (a little dramatic, I
know!).
So, it is time for
a change. I am very motivated to share my work and contribute to the model
railroad community in a meaningful way, but I desperately need to drop my use
of the major social media platforms to achieve this purpose. Hence my return to
blogging.
Starting
today, my plan is to publish well-written, thoughtful blog posts each week on
Friday afternoons. In these posts I will cover a variety of topics related to
the hobby generally and also concentrate on specific projects I am working on.
Through this I hope to not only share my techniques and methods, but also my
sources of inspiration and guiding goals. Ultimately, I am seeking to add some depth to
the public life of the Cascade Sub, break free from the shallow sharing cycle,
and find genuine fulfillment in my engagement with model railroading. I hope
you come along for the ride!
See you here again next Friday. Until
then, happy modeling.
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