#daily reminder that it's okay to miss hearing from your favourite celebs on social media but also... they don't actually owe us any posts!

[astrovian]

RE: Missing Richard. I know the feeling. The issue stems from the fact we do not know what he is doing next. We do not know whether he is going to be/ has been cast for a new project. We do not know whether he is going to write a 2nd book. AND...whether he likes it or not, some of his fans DO wonder about his private life. What he does when he has some time off. A recent trip he has been to. And, yes...his romantic life. I know it is annoying for me to bring this up, but some fans do care. 1/2

I know this is the 1st part of 2 (?), but I just really wanted to address it

It's not annoying to bring it up!! I 100% understand what you're saying. I would actually say that the vast majority of fans care about that sort of thing. I won't lie as well - from time to time, I've wondered about his private life. but I think if you are a fan of him, it is actually your moral responsibility to embrace the fact that we shouldn't know a lot about his private life. he's made it clear he doesn't want us looking either at or into it - and therefore it's up to each of us to respect his boundaries and stop those thoughts (and any possible actions stemming from them) in their tracks. I'm not saying we're always successful - just that we should at least try

but anyway, just a couple of things I think we all (including me) need to keep in mind when he disappears from social media...

One:

the thing that I think often gets lost in these sorts of conversations is that for people like Richard... his social media IS his job

and I often have to remind myself of this when I'm like, "aww man, he hasn't posted anything this month"!!

because it is easy to forget that, these days, his social media is just another part of his job. I'm not saying there aren't any actors who don't have social media... but they are rare

I'm also not saying he doesn't enjoy social media or that it's a big chore for him, but it's also not something he can really use without being very well aware of who his audience is

It's like how I'm a teacher - my actual job description is to teach & look after my students during the school day. I don't get paid for anything else beyond that part of my job

but... it's also an unavoidable aspect that my job also means that there are just certain things I can't do in public. It's actually written into my contract that my behaviour outside of the school & outside school hours (including on social media) will be "respectable". Because whether I like it or not, if a student or parent recognises me throwing up drunk & half-naked on the sidewalk at 2am, it reflects poorly on the school & their reputation. so while it's technically not my job, it is an aspect of my job that I have to be very aware of what I'm doing in public

posting content on social media is not directly Richard's job, but I would argue it is an aspect of his job nowadays that he needs to have some sort of presence there - and that he needs to ensure it's not particularly offensive or negative. he has to be very aware of what he's posting in public, which I'm sure can get really tiring & boring sometimes. I can imagine that being so aware of your public presence would be exhausting for someone so in the public eye like RA. sometimes it's just simply easier not to post than to double-check what you're putting out there

I think it's also easy to get carried away with 'yeah, he's just being himself posting whatever he wants' but like, no matter how you want to argue around it... his twitter & instagram & now tik tok is not the 100% authentic real him. it's his public-facing side. even if he's not promoting something in a post, he is well aware of who will be reading it & how it will come across - as well as the importance of simply having a presence online these days

so his social media is a very public aspect of his job. I'm not suggesting he doesn't enjoy using it - but we all need a break from our jobs & that public-facing side of life sometimes

Two:

another thing that needs to be remembered re: the fact that (you're right) this often does stem from the fact that we often have little idea what project he'll be in next & when:

confidentiality is a huge part of his job. I know you're saying "duh, obviously", but like... I would say a fair amount of the time he goes MIA is simply because he can't share where he is or what he's up to. which sucks for us (and maybe him as well), but it can't be helped. if he's preparing for a role (and often while filming a role) he tends to post less because:

a) he needs to concentrate on his job

b) sets & film/shows have very strict confidentiality rules. he simply can't give us even the tiniest clue or hint as to what he's up to until the project & his casting & other information has been publicly announced... which sometimes doesn't happen until after shooting is nearly finished - and shoots can take months

It's like with The Man From Rome - RA barely posted while shooting, while other crew members were giving us SO much content from set & production each day

it's okay to have missed him posting during that time - but (especially now that we've seen the actual call sheets from set) we know that the crew were legitimately breaking the confidentiality clause in their contracts by posting that stuff (lol - not that any of us would turn them in for that). if the production company had cared enough or noticed, they at the very least would have been given warnings about it & asked to take those posts down

RA avoids all that mess by basically going dark for a bit. I can imagine it's also hard to post things (especially pictures) during that time period without accidentally giving something away that you didn't mean to

Three:

a lack of posting is also just simply privacy: it's an unfortunate side-effect of his job that if you post your location & activities a lot, people tend to get a bit... stalker-y

I posted earlier today about all the times I had semi-near misses with him in London - when he posted indicating he had been somewhere nearby to where I also happened to have been at the same time. but tbh the fact that I even know that is... kinda really creepy to me. don't get me wrong, I would love to have had a run-in with him because holy fuck, but like... I also shouldn't know his recent locations. I don't want to actively seek the man out

and as much as we can go "well, not all fans are stalkers so he should have no problem posting stuff regularly"... the issue is we know people are awful, particularly on the internet, and we know it only takes one person out of all of his fans to recognise something in the background or some landmark near him & take things way too far and start actively seeking out where he is. so I would imagine much of what he posts about where/what he's up to is hours, if not days after he was actually there

and again, being super vigilant about that sort of thing and not letting anything slip out by accident isn't necessarily easy to do 24/7... so sometimes it's just better & easier not to post so frequently

It's perfectly fine to miss his presence on social media - heck, we all do, but I think we need to also be understanding that his social media is part of his work. and the man deserves a god-damn break from his work sometimes

and it's also uh... not actually our place to demand information about what he's up to in his career either currently or in the near future

but I do have good news for you, anon - he did confirm that he is writing (or will be writing) a second book 😉