I know a big reason that deleting social media is scary is the risk of losing touch with friends who you don’t see IRL very often but this is a perfect reason to begin a written correspondence!!! writing a letter and mailing it every week or two is often even better to foster connection than sending memes or reels or story likes every day.
the next logical question is “what do I write about” but honestly when you’re writing a handwritten letter to someone who lives far away, it’s very easy to get into a sort of flow state and just describe your day, talk about whats new, things that have reminded you of them, and ask plenty of questions. this is a huge advantage of this more longform correspondence, because unlike a DM or text, its inevitable that you’ll give your partner plenty of things to talk about or respond to. its also just so much fun to decorate a letter or decide what to include or what sort of stationery this person would find pretty. you can mail little things like coins or other small ephemera that has a little meaning or a lot of meaning. words in handwriting are always more intimate and it’s honestly just so much fun to have a penpal. really you’re only limited by your own imagination.
reach out to the people you want to keep in touch with before you delete your socials, and just ask if they’d like to keep in touch by mail and ask for their address!! I wouldn’t be surprised if writing back and forth brings you even closer as friends than if you’d kept social media.
Feb 24, 2025
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(idk if this applies but!) i've found that with long distance friends reaching out once again via letter is much, much easier than in via texting or social media or facetiming or whatever (phone calls can go either way). *
letters lend themselves to introspection, asking too many questions (in the best way) and offering random anecdotes/basic information all in one place rather fluidly.
+ it shows very clearly the value you find in y'all's friendship through how you make the thing! What card or kind of paper did you use, what's your handwriting look like, did you pick out a cute sticker or 2? etc. all these things from the get-go show that you want to put effort into reconnecting!
*you may need to use these methods first to pop the awkward question of "dude what's your address? (,,¬﹏¬,,) "
another caveat: people will want to put time and energy into their letters!! this has the adverse effect that sometimes it'll take awhile to get a response (˘•‿•)
Jan 28, 2025
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In a digital world it has become a rare treat to see your own handwriting, not to mention the handwriting of your friends and family. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, maybe not. Think about new friends you’ve made and whether or not you know that about them- what their handwriting looks like.
I feel like anxiety might be on the rise because so many people are in their heads while they’re on their phones. Handwriting (also journaling by hand) helps you slow down and get back into your body and in touch with the tactile tangible world around us.
If you don’t particularly enjoy your handwriting, you could try to take it slow and practice. “Progress, not perfection“. You could get some sweet stationery and write a cute little note to yourself or someone else.
If you love to text and want to get the point across immediately- I recommend writing a little note, taking a photo of it, and then texting it to someone. You could ask them if they want to send a note back to you in their handwriting, and then instead of bubbles with the same fonts you’re sending each other photos of instant unique handwritten notes.
Feb 17, 2024
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If I haven't spoken to my friend in at least three months, I start to ask if they want to send letters. If you don't communicate for months or years, you might as well send letters: they're practically just as fast but with depth and physicality! Who doesn't love some paper treasures! Plus, it provides a Victorian-drama level of yearning in waiting to continue a conversation. There is nothing I have savored more than checking for a reply after sending a letter. I open my mailbox every Sunday. I am aware of this error in logic, but I love it every time I do it. I am a child again, and I am joyfully impatient. Not only is it mail, but it's mail from a friend: the best kind.
Jan 26, 2024
Top Recs from @bisonspider
oh golly oh gee... I’m honored that anyone here on PI.FYI even recognizes me!! how sweet to be thought of. uhhhh as for who I am and what I’m about: my name is Ethyn, I’m 22, I’m American (flyover state), cultural Catholic, my favorite color is purple, of a forgiving disposition
I’ve been using this app basically since launch (?) bc a tiktok mutual was clued in on the ground floor and I got the invite lol. I consider myself a very curious and open-minded person and something I love about this place is how committed it is to sincerity, such that I can no longer stand the casual cruelty and close-mindedness of almost all other social media. so PI.FYI is the only social media I’m active on anymore. I suppose the reason I’m more of a lurker is because I love getting to read recs from others (and I’m pretty liberal with the like button) but I feel strange reccing something if I’m not like 100% behind it lol. like there’s gonna be a test. I’ll also go two days or so without logging on and then I’ll catch up on all the recs I missed so it results in a spam for my mutuals <3
As far as interests, I generally consider myself to be an ooky and kooky type of person. I love art in all mediums, but especially films, books, paintings, and poetry. I’ve rec’d PLENTY of all four if you care to take a look :) I’ll make the occasional lifestyle rec but most of the stuff I talk about on here is art. Lol since the earliest days of this site I’ve kinda harped on the function of story as the thing that makes us human, and myth as manifestations of the collective unconscious. This is one of my most foundational beliefs and lenses for the world.
Another common theme you’ll see in my recs is my love for the classics. Classic movies, classic books, all of it!! I think if something is classic there’s almost always a reason, and I think it’s important to understand foundations of influence for art that comes after. Everything is in context!!!! Everything is interdependent!!!!
some of my favorite films: The Wicker Man (1973), Goodfellas (1990), Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), Viy (1967), Nosferatu (1922), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
some of my favorite literature: All of Edgar Allan Poe, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, the work of William S. Burroughs, the work of Yasunari Kawabata, and all world myth categorically.
I want to affirm becoming!!!! I want to exist in service of the liberation of the full breadth of human potential!!! I want to be ripped screaming and bloody from the womb!!!! I will incarnate just to touch the wound ten thousand more times!!!!
Mar 13, 2025
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study the folklore and myth of your actual local region. live your daily life under the logic of fairytales. communicate as heavily as possible in proverbs and riddles. humans are a storytelling creature and there is a reason these archetypes and motifs appear to humans across times/cultures/places
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Substack that emails you the entirety of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in real time. since the novel is composed of diary entries, it sends you the diary entries day by day so you can read it on the same timeline in which it takes place. it started earlier this month but it’s not too late to catch up!! or you could wait until next may. classics can be intimidating but this gives you the opportunity to read it in daily segments in your email and follow along in an immersive way :)
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