You say Threads, and I think Nuclear Apocalypse

Social Media has to be the most useful and useless thing possible.

Useful, because when you have interests different from the rest of your family, cultural/counter-cultural ideas or simply live in isolated areas with nobody near by to talk to, having a world at your finger tips to talk hygge, crochet, faith, food or fun with is a great thing. There’s even people awake in the middle of the night who post and participate in discussions. For insomniacs, that must be a blessing.

Useless because it does take up so much time that we know we should be using elsewhere. We could have a perfect house, have that WIP completed or talk the language we’ve wanted to learn since sixth form if only we weaned ourselves away from the doomscrolling, inane posting or celebrity stalking we’ve got so used to. And on days like today when a whole new platform is released, the uselessness is even more apparent. With Threads released today and (apparently) 10 million subscribers already, the battle of the short and snappy posters is on.

Yes, I have a profile on Threads. I’m there as Jo Kneale or British Hygge Jem. Linking between Instagram and Threads was painless. I haven’t posted anything yet: I’m just lurking, getting the feel of the place. I can’t see how to access it on a laptop yet: perhaps that might stop me using it instead of working (but I doubt it)

Mark Zuckerberg says he wants the platform to be ‘friendly’. It will be interesting to see how he intends to do that. Twitter, which I’ve found useless in the past as regards posting, reading or curating to keep it happy content, seems inevitably to slide to the most confrontational style of being. I don’t know whether it’s the short posts, the people who spend most of their time there (politico, journalistic, heavily theoristic people) or the fact it’s words not pictures but Twitter is often a cesspit of controversy and opinions where insults fly and people retire bruised. It’s hard to see how Threads won’t slide that way without heavy censorship, tight rules on politeness and allowed speech and a lot of Ordinary Nice people diluting the technical elite.

For me, though, the problem is the name. Every time someone mentions Threads I can’t help but think of the 1984 apocalyptic nuclear war film, set in Sheffield. It seems to get repeated every 20 years, so we’re probably due a re-broadcast soon. If you can’t wait, and live in the North West of England, you could always visit Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker. It’s fascinating, but scary, to think that the threat of imminent destruction was so close that bunkers like this were necessary. I hope we never go back to those days. I hope Zuckerberg’s Threads manages to keep the peace. I have my doubts about both. Human nature doesn’t change that quickly and I dislike the idea of one Meta-wide company having so much information about so many people.

In the meantime, though, I’ll keep posting my happy Insta posts, sharing my happy family Facebook and writing long-winded posts like this. Twitter? That’s a place to keep an eye on the world at large, while Threads… well, is it the beginning of the end of peace for all or the final nail in the coffin for Twitter? We’ll see.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

How to Hygge Your Summer is my book about making the most of summertime. Hygge is so often seen as a winter pastime, and yet the principles of hygge (good food, good friends, time to be) are just as applicable to days when you can gather in a park or garden as when you gather round the fireplace. This book only scrapes the surface of what you can do, but hopefully sends you off with inspiration to make your own summer hygge.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer/autumn/winter.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Arno Smit on Unsplash. I wish I had a garden shed like this one! I chose it because I love the colours of the windowframes, the tantalisingly inviting open door and the comgy chair within. Perfect spot for a cup of tea and a good book. And the header today is by