weekly digs 1
TikTok vanished and I became a YouTube kid again
Revelations from the 14-hour TikTok black-out
“While TikTok was down, I [enter new hobby here]” is a sentence my therapist told me I was not her only client to utter on her couch.
It makes you think what could have become of this past month had the app stayed down in the US. As I ponder this question, I realize that I, and my therapist’s other astute clients, had this experience in a state (California) where most of the ban took place while we were asleep, yet we still managed to make a meaningful change in that brief stint of time away from the addictive algorithm.
Important to note here, I said, meaningful I did not mean worthwhile…
TikTok got banned and I became a YouTube kid again.
Sticking to the therapy theme, you could say that what I did with my time away from TikTok was some deep inner child work. As a young child, I was a YouTube kid, watching JuicyStar07 in my childhood bedroom and applying a purple smokey eye (to make my brown eyes pop ofc) for a Wednesday at middle school.
It’s funny that in my adult life, I own less makeup than I did as a 12-year-old child, so you can assume that my taste in YouTube videos changed…kinda.
The theme of this week’s weekly digs is YouTube.
D- doing
Watching a ton of YouTube videos. The one advantage YouTube has over TikTok is the length of the content. I can wash the dishes, cook breakfast, and pull a shot of espresso without having to try and scroll with my sudsy knuckle only to like, comment, and then block a creator’s TikTok video with the drips of water that fall from my clenched hand.
I-interested In
Interested in videos from Olivia Jade, and Claudia Sulewski.
I wasn’t engaging with her content in her pre-college scandal days. That era coincided with my YouTube hiatus, but my persistent love for pop culture meant she was no stranger to me.
I recently listened to her episode of Therapuss with Jake Shane, and I thought, wait a second, we could be friends. For me to follow an influencer, they need to have one of two things:
1.Incredible style
2.Fit into my delusion that we could one day become friends.
Olivia has both.
She actually reminds me a lot of my long-distance best friend, Jules, and for that reason, she has become a comfort creator for me.
I started watching Claudia on YouTube when her username was BeyondBeautyStar. Not only did I love the fabulous Claudia representation in the beauty influencer world, but we were so close in age that it really felt like she was my friend and we were growing up together.
We lost touch for a while, and her content seems to have gone through many phases, but when I logged on to YouTube on January 19th, 2025 I fell in love with her new monthly vlog format.
Her storytelling narration, the combination of confessional and vlog-style content was so enrapturing. If you’re looking for somewhere to start on your YouTube journey I would start there.
G-getting
This one is a stretch but hang in there with me.
I have been getting…back into coffee.
I was thinking about what these two YouTuber influencers have influenced me to get, and so far, I am pleased to report that neither has influenced me to pull the trigger on any physical products. (That has more to do with my lack of being able to be influenced and less to do with their efficacy in their careers).
One thing Olivia influenced me to do is fall back in love with making coffee at home. And let me tell you I am so in love with it.
I got an espresso machine for my 21st bday (cough 4.5 years ago cough), so I am not new to at-home coffee, but I had a long affair with matcha, and it has kept me away from my first-morning beverage love.
Recently I purchased beans from my favorite local roaster, and a dairy free creamer from Sprouts (creamer is a game changer when it comes to at-home coffee- trust me- I NEVER order creamer in coffee when I order it out, but making it at home it makes all the difference).
It’s a morning ritual for me now, and it is the highlight of my morning. Not revelatory, I know, but true nonetheless.
S-suggesting
So the obvious thing to do here would be to suggest that you start watching YouTube videos again. I, however, do not like taking the obvious option.
Instead, I suggest you take up a hobby you had as a child (yes, YouTube is a hobby). Especially if you need some comfort in your routine. Call it inner-child work, or call it giving your thumb rest from the constant need to scroll on TikTok, either way, I think you will like it.
Enjoyed yourself? Join us next week!