I’ve had many people ask me to get back on social meeting during the pandemic.
“You could do live streams or make Tik Toks or entertain on Instagram!”
I’ve felt the pull, too. I won’t lie to you. Everyone is isolated, lonely, anxious, and bored, so my entertainment could be an entertaining, albeit brief distraction from everything that’s going on. I totally get it.
To be honest with you, I’m enjoying my time at home. I’m not bored and I’m not lonely. I have plenty of things I can do to fill the time and I’m not going to go back on my word and rejoin social media just to promote myself during a pandemic.
I’m still doing shows (probably a dozen online programs for clients over the next four weeks), I’m still writing, and I’m still focused on what comes after this. But I would feel weird about being tone-deaf during this situation or to seem like I was forcing something.
Seeing articles like this really bum me out. I don’t want to be on my screen any more than I have to, pandemic or not. Some days it gets away from us and we watch a couple movies or something, but my favorite quarantine moments with my wife have been going on jogs, playing cards, reading, and working on any creative project I can think of.
One of the few things I’ve been watching are classic NBA games on YouTube. I was watching a game from the ‘90s and noticed something incredible: no one was on their phones because they hadn’t been invented yet. Every single fan was just invested in the game. There was no posting to show off where they were, no tweeting, no live-streaming. The fans were just hooping and hollering and having the time of their lives.
I was so jealous of those fans during that game. Everyone was completely in the moment. There’s no way going to a game now is as much fun as it was back then. When you have a phone in one hand and you can’t resist the impulse to check it every second, it’s impossible to fully appreciate everything that’s going on around you. (I completely understand why Dave Chappelle locks phones up at his shows.)
I’m not convinced phones have made our lives better. And I definitely don’t think social media has. I care way too much about my privacy and mental health to re-join social media now in hopes of expanding my reach or entertaining others right now. (If you’re in need of some solid entertainment watch Ozark Season 3. I’m too much of an animal lover to recommend that other popular show.)
I’m happy to have virtual programs on the calendar and be able to support myself during these trying times. I’m not complaining about that. I will continue to embrace the moment and do what I can to create a positive experience for my clients. But I do miss that feeling of connecting with others during a live show. No matter how great your zoom meeting or facetime call becomes, it will never match the feeling of a personal, in-person connection.
One of the last things we did before the shelter-in-place order was issued for Illinois was to attend a showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at a nearby theater. It was part of a film festival and shown on 70mm. If you’ve never seen a movie on film then you’re really missing out. It’s magical!
Before the film, the festival director said something that I can’t stop thinking about. She said, “We’re so glad to have you here today because you shouldn’t be watching this movie on a small device or home viewing screen. You should be watching it like this - on film - because that’s how it was meant to be seen.”
I love that sentiment so much, and that’s how I feel about my virtual programs. I’m doing them out of necessity - like everything else I’ve always done to support us over the years. But, what I do deserves to be seen live.
It deserves an audience - off their phones - ready for a mind-blowing ride unlike anything else they’ve ever experienced. It shouldn’t just be another tab open in your browser that you can watch absentmindedly as you scroll Netflix for something to watch next. It should be like that NBA game where you know you’re part of something special but you have to wait until later to tell your friends because you’re too caught up in the moment to care about your text messages or how many likes you got on Instagram.
That's why you won't see me getting on social media over the next few weeks (months?). Instead, I’m going to be hard at work on my live show, waiting for the opportunity to perform again. And when we all get back to our normal lives - whatever that means - I can’t wait to have you in the audience so you can see my show how it’s meant to be seen.
Other Thoughts:
I started a new blog series earlier this week called “Mark My Words”. Check this blog every Monday for useful tips, tricks, reviews, tutorials, and more.
If you’re also self-employed there are some options for getting financial relief during the pandemic. Start with the Small Business Administration and Artist Relief.