Monday May 26, 2025

Self Defense for Social Media with Nick Susi: How to Stay Authentic (and Sane)

How do we protect our creativity, mental health, and boundaries in an online world that demands constant visibility?

In this episode, cultural strategist Nick Susi joins Denise Love Hewett to explore the concept of self-defense for social media: practical and spiritual tools to help you stay grounded, authentic, and inspired while navigating the digital landscape. Nick and Denise dive into:

Why creators and entrepreneurs need digital boundaries

The link between social media and mental health

How to protect your energy and creativity from algorithmic pressure

Strategies for building an authentic online presence

The difference between visibility and vulnerability online

If you’ve ever felt drained by the digital grind, this episode is your permission slip to rethink how you show up online.

Nick Susi is a strategy executive, researcher and writer, exploring the forces - technological, societal and psychological - that shape our identity, perception and culture. He has led strategy for dotdotdash, Complex, The Fader and Jay Z’s former media brand Life+Times. His research and writing can be found in Business Of Fashion, Friends With Benefits, Water & Music, Matt Klein’s ZINE, Joshua Citarella’s Do Not Research, Future Commerce and Boys Club.

Resources mentioned in the show:

Magic, Online!

(On the relationship between technology and magical thinking)

https://nicksusi.substack.com/p/magic-online

Haunted Media: Electronic Presence From Telegraphy To Television, by Jeffrey Sconce

(On the relationship between technology and magical thinking)

https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Media-Electronic-Telegraphy-Console-ing/dp/0822325721

Hammer of the Witches, by Heinrich Kramer

(On the Gutenberg printing press leading to witch hunts)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum

The Medium Is The Massage, by Marshall McLuhan

(On how media affects the senses)