The Circus Isn’t the Problem
It’s that we forgot we’re not clowns
There’s a new exodus happening online.
Every day, I’m seeing at least one essay or post or video about the growing disillusionment with platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram (Instascam?), and Facebook (which I abandoned several years ago because… really?), where everybody’s supposedly “being real” while simultaneously posturing harder than ever for brand deals, algorithm favors, or just the illusion of momentum.
Some are saying:
“Burn it all down.”
“Flee the circus.”
“Let’s go back to blogs.”
(…until, of course, they redirect you to their latest offer.)
But when we go beyond sticky cotton candy fingers and dig below the red and white striped surface, it’s not the circus that’s the real issue.
It’s that most of us don’t realize we were trained to perform in it like seals without ever giving explicit consent.
I certainly didn’t wake up one day and say, “Yes, I’d like my value as a human to be tied to engagement stats.”
I bet you didn’t, either.
We drifted there. Ushered along a continuum we didn’t design by likes, incentivized by metrics, herded toward relevance by the unspoken fear of being invisible.
Now, a few are waking up and shouting, “I’m done!”
Fair. Understandable.
But when the exit becomes a show of its own, we’re still trapped in the same loop, just wearing a different costume.
Here’s where I stand:
You don’t have to torch your presence online. I recognize it’s where people hang out. I hang out online, like here on Substack. I also understand the need for online presence when you’re in business of any kind. Listen, the internet can be an incredible arm of commerce when you learn how to leverage it effectively. We all have to earn a living. Creatives like me depend on the reach and visibility the online scene can give us.
That said, this shift also means you can choose to recalibrate. To make your voice a home again. To speak without checking for applause. Or selling out to the latest funnel system that serves only the tech bro who built it.
That’s what matters to me. That’s what I’m exploring in my new book, It’s Not You, It’s the Algorithm.
It’s not a teardown of technology.
It’s a call to pay attention.
To slow the scroll.
To stop outsourcing your life to machines you didn’t ask to trust.
To build what’s next.
After all, the goal isn’t to leave the circus in a cloud of glitter and rage. Unless you want to. Because wow, that in itself would be something. I’d buy a ticket to that show.
No, the goal is to stop mistaking the tent for the world.