As I grow older, I try to be more and more intentional with my social media usage. Most days, I unplug with purpose and try to keep it that way by taking precautions like, concentrating on the number of apps I use, removing them from my phone, contemplating if something is even worth posting and starting a timer of 5 minutes before I log in, browse/post, log out. However, I recently installed the WordPress app on my phone and now and then, I browse through the Reader tab to read new posts from bloggers. Does this fall under social media? And since I have been so vocal about my intentional use of social media sites, this question means a lot to me.
For me, the answer is a soft but solid “no.” WordPress feels like a cosy cafe in a city full of clubs — gentler and quieter. Here’s why:
📚 Content-First Not Ego-First
Most social media platforms run on personality-driven content. You post a selfie, your lunch, new shoes, the places you are travelling, and then wait for the dopamine hits that come with likes and comments. It’s almost like we are participants in some unspoken contest called “Who’s more interesting today?”
WordPress Reader is different from that. It is not trying to seduce you with reels or filters. It’s about the posts. The writing, the thoughts, the stories. We do not come here to react. We come here to read. And honestly? That’s refreshing.
🧘♀️ Slower and More Intentional Vibe
On social media sites like Instagram and Twitter, content moves fast. With the blink of an eye, your feed is replaced with 30 different things. The carousel never stops. I am old enough to remember when I created my first Facebook account, and the feed was chronological, filled with only the posts from people you are friends with. And when you reach the bottom of the feed, it reminds you that you have seen all the posts. Nowadays? That’s not the case. You scroll and scroll and scroll, and also get posts from people you don’t even follow. Somewhere along the way, your For You page merged with your feed/timeline.
WordPress Reader does not pressure you to keep up. No FOMO is waiting to hit you. You can post whenever you want and read whatever you want. It’s like a library have all the stock of articles waiting for you to be discovered but no pressure on you to discover them right away.
🧵 Depth Over Scrollability
The “it factor” of social media is its bite-sized content. If it cannot be consumed in 5 seconds, it’s probably skipped. However, WordPress posts are longer, thought-out articles, and are deeply personal. You get essays, guides, rants and revelations. They are real voices, not just sound bites. This is not like other social media platforms, and I love the intentionality behind it.
🙅♀️ No Algorithmic Frenzy
Okay, this is not entirely true. WordPress Reader also has a Discover tab. However, the main difference is how much you can control it. On sites like Instagram, the For You page is embedded into your feed. You always have to change the options, as the For You page is the default.
However, with WordPress Reader, you can set the Discover tab to Following. You have the control here. Not the other way around. You follow blogs. You read them. That’s it.
It feels honest… and a little boring. And that feels perfect!
Final Take
So, the final verdict? I don’t count WordPress Reader as social media. At least, not in the conventional sense. It’s a quiet corner on the internet where people still read and write. And for someone wanting to use the internet mindfully, this is exactly the place where I want to be.
Even if I don’t check it every day. 😉
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Anwesha RC 