The Sensory Relief of Tumblr I never liked YouTube as a viewer. My opinion changed slowly over the past few years and I thought I’d try to create a slow, diary-type channel, just fragments of daily life. Big mistake. Even as a quiet, back-street "slow channel" or an isolated Booktuber from the sticks, you are judged so much on neurotypical behavior. You’re judged on how your bedroom looks, whether someone likes your random 90s pop culture posters, how you speak, how you look, or how old you are. Nothing new in that. But on YouTube, it’s magnified to horrifying levels. The first thing you learn is that people expect you to host or entertain. They don’t understand the "I’m sharing something" vibe. To them, it’s just an act. A chosen image. But more than that: it’s the noise decibels. Everything screams long and loud. There’s no easy way to be "quiet" on YouTube. Even when you’re saying, "I am not performing for the algorithm," people think you’re being defensive, edgy, or moody. You’re a punk rocker stuck in a locked cupboard. You have to play by the rules to be let out. If you don’t hook people in the first five seconds, YouTube likely won’t push you. And when they don’t push you, it’s harder to be found by anyone. It’s a lonely place to find connection. And yes, some people do YouTube or any other social media platform to try and find their tribe. Meanwhile, I’d forgotten about Tumblr. I can become so hyper-focused on one thing that I didn’t even think Tumblr was a thing anymore. It seems it absolutely is. Now, I’m not saying that Tumblr doesn’t share social media issues or that everything is perfect and wonderful. But the contrast is so noticeable. There’s poetry here. There are quiet people who want to be quiet and are still part of things. Marginalized people have their posts appreciated and form communities. Some stay away from the social side of things but feel at home. And it’s one of the few places left on the internet where you aren’t boxed in by one subject. On Flickr, you post and comment about photos. On YouTube, it’s video or podcasts. On TikTok, it’s the power of the short. On Tumblr, you can go from a homemade doodle of a trans couple, to beautiful poetry, to lo-fi photography, to a kitten sleeping on a bed. Scrolling around feels more tactile, grounded, sensory, and safe. A four-second video clip of raindrops bouncing quietly on a cottage roof; the quiet, rhythmic clank of an old steam train; a monochrome image of interesting reflections or shadows. Writers, poets, dreamers, activists, outsiders, insiders, young, old, everybodyall mixed up in this timeless capsule of self-reflection and expression. Shame on me for forgetting it existed.
