Stop Scrolling and Write Like it's 1776

The 2025 Attention Span, Alexander Hamilton, and Why I Want to Be Your First Subscriber

Like many of us, the frantic, dizzying world of video-centric social media has been taking up more and more of my attention.

I waste my time, and then what’s worse, I forget it all.

I’ve noticed some concerning effects, especially in reading and writing.

I’ve become less inclined to pick up a book, sit down, and read. And if I do, it’s harder to stay focused. buzz buzz.

When I open up my journal, my handwriting seems annoyingly slow after so much thumb typing.

F-r-i-d-a-y, J-a-n-u-a-r-y 2-4-t-h … G-o-o-d M-o-r-n-i-n-g …

Wow, that took forever. I’m tired.

What’s happening to me??

I think these practices, although much harder to accomplish than scrolling, will be pretty important for my life and who I become.

I needed some inspiration. You know who came to mind?

My Name is Alexander Hamilton

I first watched Hamilton in August of 2022. I was late to the party, and I had no idea how much I was missing out on.

The whole premise of the Broadway show is that Alexander Hamilton’s writing changed the very foundations of the United States. There are many scenes of him sitting at a desk with a quill, staying up late into the night, just... writing. It was his thing; his superpower.

Why writing?

Because through his words, Hamilton could influence and shape a better future.

I tried picturing myself at his desk, quill in hand.

What would make me stay up late, writing?

Sure, for work, or for school papers. But just for my own life?

Writing Papers for Your Friends

Well, a new season has started recently. Now I write for my friends.

Last year, my brother Jon told me, “You should start a Substack!” I had no idea what it was, so I looked it up. Turns out, it’s a platform dedicated to writing.

I signed up, and I tried writing something. I rambled on for a bit, surprised that I actually had things to say. And then it made me think of five other things I could write about… tea, community, Mexico, things I’m learning, stories of travel…

I sent out a post to my subscribers. Basically my brother and my friend Nathaniel. My audience of two.

Since I started, it opened a whole can of worm-opportunity and it turns out I had more to write about than I expected.

Part of what made it so easy to get started was Substack’s platform.

Here’s some stuff I like about Substack and why it made it so easy for me to start writing:

• Imagine if Wix and Mailchimp had a baby—before, to run a proper blog, you'd need to buy a domain and pay for a service like Mailchimp to send newsletters. Substack does both (free) and also functions as a social media for writers.

• A personal Substack easy to set up: you can create your own publication, give it a name, design the look, and start writing long-form posts. Plus, you can build a subscriber base, and they get your posts directly in their inboxes.

• And here’s what I love most: You’re mostly just writing for your friends. When I had five subscribers who actually wanted to read my writing, it somehow felt way more special than posting on facebook or instagram to the masses.

• Friends can comment, like, and share your posts, and over time, others discover your work.

And get ready for the kicker:

Now my friends are writing to me, too.

The Homies Are Jumping on Substack

I first told my friend Rhett about Substack, and shared a post of mine. He decided to hop on board, and started sharing stories of his travel mishaps, mixing in his film photography.

We pester each other passive-aggressively if it’s been too long. We’re normally just paralyzed by perfectionism.

A few months later, my friend Max read my post, Screw Perfectionism, created a Substack, and wrote a response about what he’d create if perfectionism didn’t hold him back.

Erica and I chatted about writing while washing dishes, when she visited us from Canada in December. She’s writing her drafts now.

After we met on a flight in 2023 and became Facebook friends, Jess started her own Substack about the effect of environments. She had seen my post on friendship and was inspired to start writing.

Rhett’s dad Kirk just joined recently after reading both of our writing, and is writing about the power of intentionally choosing others, and living a consequential, controversial life.

Brother Jon is writing about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and the growing need for community and real friendship. It’s called Letters from Jon.

Jon told Nathaniel to start, and Nathaniel’s writing is brilliant—deep and personal.

Jon also encouraged Ryan, who’s now writing about, well, Ryan thoughts—artistic and wild.

I love that we’re all writing papers for each other.

It feels like a fun switch from the fast-paced world of social media.

Perhaps the last time you wrote an essay, poem, or story like this was back in high school or college.

Take a moment to think,

What would you write about?

Not Down to Feed the Beast?

Now that I have subscribers to my own personal writing, it’s a challenge I’m locked in on for, which I really like. It’s a push to be creative, but not “feeding the beast” of social media in a way I don’t like. I don’t want to edit reels on Instagram or make selfie videos—it’s just never felt natural. But writing for my friends? I can do that.

I’d like to read and write a lot more, and create instead of just consuming random stuff.

Occasionally now, I stay up late, just like Hamilton did— but writing papers for my friends.

And now they write me papers, too. Want to join?

Come Along for the Journey

If you’re inspired to start your own Substack, just give it a go, even if its floppy and has a couple typos.

I’d be happy to be your first subscriber.

Go create stuff, not to go viral, but just for the fun of it.

Hey, let me know what you thought of this post!

If you’re up for the challenge…

As my writing journey continues, I want to focus on what matters most to me: relationship. It’s one of the most threatened aspects of life today, as technology continues to change us.

Community is more important than ever, and it mustn’t become a relic of the past. We can’t let it turn into the “good old days” when we used to hold eye contact, speak respectfully, and learn from each other in person.

If you’d like to join me on this journey, consider subscribing to my newsletter, You’ve Got a Friend. If you want to support my writing, you can join my paid-subscriber team that I also read my posts aloud to, in an audio clip.

-Josh Caliguire