Hello! I’m Emily and I’m the Yorty that is hear to yap. On this podcast episode, I want to explore my thoughts on what I want out of social media, which was on my mind over the weekend while my husband and I were away camping. The weather in the mountains was high seventies and partly cloudy—an almost perfect combination for weather if you ask me, maybe a bit too warm, but with these heat waves it felt like a crisp autumn day—so we decided to go camping for a few days. I had just cast on my Elderflower Top by Sunshine Stitching Studio with Berroco Remix Light in Leaf, and perhaps you saw the picture of me trying to untangle the mass of yarn that my dog, Bean, got a hold of years ago, for the pair of self-drafted socks I am starting to work on again. These are the two knitting projects I brought to camp. I worked on the Elderflower Top on the drive down, still trying to make it to the length for the back panel. We got to camp in the evening and set up in time for a few s’mores before heading to bed (to hammock?). My husband and I hammock camp, as we both find it more comfortable and easier to set up and tear down than a tent. I fell asleep to the sounds of the forest, cozied up in my Rosie Sweater by LE KNIT, handmade wool socks, and my handspun bandana. It was so nice to be out in the woods away from everything. So why was I thinking about social media? Less about social media at first and more on trying to take pictures of our trip. This is two fold. Most of those pictures are for my personal journaling and our adventure book. Some though, I wanted specifically for my Substack post. This was new to me and it felt weird. Like I was weirdly connected to social media while actively trying to get away from the hustle and bustle for a few days. I felt even stranger asking my husband to take a few pictures of me knitting. Now I’m roping him into the mix, right? So we talked about it, and I am still gathering my thoughts here for us to talk about it. Posting a blog or a podcast felt different than posting on Facebook or Instagram. More thoughtful. And that is not to say there aren’t a lot of people who write thoughtful essays on Instagram, it’s more about how I find myself (and how I notice others) interacting with the content. Chances are if I am on short form media and I’m directed to go to the description to get information, I will just scroll because that hit of dopamine isn’t in the text, it’s in the intriguing image or the eye-catching short. I don’t open short form media to aesthetically doom scroll for hours, but my time blindness and the way the algorithm is designed make it hard to pull away from everything. The sound, the image, the longing for experience. I didn’t want to miss out of the camping experience by taking photos that I knew would never be perfect enough for Insta. But taking a few pictures from my journaling ones to show some context and vibes from out trip? Not so stressful. My husband didn’t mind taking the few I asked either, and we only took them at times when we weren’t losing the experience for the photo. In a video by Cozyorenda on Youtube, she said that she wants to create more than she consumes. That stuck with me. Not only do I want to create my crafts more than I consume content of others crafting, but I want to create more moments of my own than I watch iterations of other people living their lives. And the thing is? I have been creating. Look at how many of my finished object from my 2026 round-up were finished in July! I picked up this old pair of self-drafted socks again and came to the conclusion that I was going to write up my own knitting pattern. I used to think that was so far outside of my realm of possibility because just look at what everyone else was creating. I could never. Although I already started, didn’t I? I began my sock pattern when I was looking for something I couldn’t find. No pressure. It was just for me. I’ll share more information on them later as I am still finishing my first sample, but I’m doing it. It will take time but I want to share these little arch support socks with others. Though, I’m left with the question: Who do I share this with if I don’t have community? I have my family as community but they don’t knit. I know people in my community at work that knit but don’t make socks. As a knitter, I feel like I should have a bunch of friends that knit. I don’t. I am a homebody through and through, so my community outside of my family is very small. It’s not that always I don’t want to go places, but the stress and anxiety of it all can take the interaction from the intended cozy afternoon to an upset stomach and ringing ears. As an AuDHD adult maintaining friendships in person is hard for me. I know Pittsburgh has a big knitting community and knit nights galore. I’m just not in that season of my life right now, but I do hope to be some day. What is great though is that I live in a time where we can find like-minded individuals and groups online! All of the places I went to (Facebook groups, Instagram, TikTok) did not give me a sense of community. I felt entrapped in aesthetic, willingly forced to look at other content, isolated by inadequacy. I didn’t engage in commenting either due to getting lost in a sea of un-replied-to responses, or found myself coming in, in the midst of cruel, senseless arguments. This felt like the anthesis of community. I found myself enjoying the content on Youtube the most. Knitting podcast videos are a part of my morning routine at this point. I started commenting a little more on smaller creators’ video and enjoying my time more online, but I was still feeling a little alone. When I got on Substack and found how much crafting content was on here, I was so happy. I decided that Substack was where I would make my blog, podcast, online presence? I wasn’t sure which, and I am still learning how to use the platform and finding a cozy corner of community for myself. It’s been a week and I have had more back and forth communication than on all my other socials combined. Here is the perfect place to shout out to my six followers, almost all of whom I’ve had a connection with in the comments of their posts. If I haven’t had one yet, don’t worry I plan to! I’ve had some back-and-forth with other creators as well who I follow. I’m new and shy, and just peeking my head in to say hello with high hopes. I have the feeling that Substack has the opportunity I’ve been looking for to find genuine community. When I am feeling a bit braver, I do think I would like to try a Youtube channel, as I believe a big sense of the community on there is for creators of content and less for the lurkers. Heck, I am so proud of myself for recording a twenty minute podcast. When I say I’m shy, I mean, like, awkwardly quiet. Voted most likely to be the weird antisocial girlie in the corner at any gathering. Something I have always wanted people to know though, is that just because I am quiet doesn’t mean that I have nothing to say. Here I feel like I have found a space to let my voice out to explore—maybe flexing those muscles and growing my confidence in the mean time. Confidence. Not a word I would use to describe myself. However, I do feel a bit confident that I won’t be making a Yorty Yarn & Yap Insta or anything short-form. I watched a great video essay by From Carly B, that I’ll link at the end of the post, about the morality of short-form content. By no means am I on a moral high horse and neither is she. I’m here to slow down, experience my own life, and find community along the way. Those other platforms don’t fit that need anymore. I’ll still be looking at content on Insta with the Screen Zen App (not sponsored) doing a lot of heavy lifting getting my away from the content after fifteen minutes. The app has its flaws but it really has helped me back away from spending too much time online. I also participate in unplugging on Sundays when my husband and I have our one off-day together. So you won’t be hearing from me then! Getting away and pretending the fairies snatched me up for the weekend was great. I soaked my flared-up feet in the stream, made good progress on my sock sample, read a little of The Dorians by Nick Cutter, and had time to let my mind be bored and wander. I also touched a lot of moss. So, so much moss. Touching grass is fine, but moss is cooler. What has brought you to Substack? I know I am seeing a lot of similar musings about short-form content on here. Also, as always, what are you working on? Tell me all about your favorite project right now, or your most frustrating. Next time I’ll talk more about my adventures into pattern design and share some updates on my WIPs. I hope you all have a whimsical week, and I’ll see you on Wednesday. Here are the links for the videos: Cozyorenda: From Carly B: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yortyyarnandyap.substack.com
