diff --git a/src/components/Explore.tsx b/src/components/Explore.tsx
index dc2aecd8..e8fe4a2f 100644
--- a/src/components/Explore.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Explore.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import React, { useState, useEffect, useMemo } from 'react'
 import { FontAwesomeIcon } from '@fortawesome/react-fontawesome'
-import { faNewspaper, faHighlighter, faUser, faUserGroup, faNetworkWired, faArrowsRotate } from '@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons'
+import { faNewspaper, faHighlighter, faUser, faUserGroup, faNetworkWired, faArrowsRotate, faSpinner } from '@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons'
 import IconButton from './IconButton'
 import { BlogPostSkeleton, HighlightSkeleton } from './Skeletons'
 import { Hooks } from 'applesauce-react'
@@ -320,8 +320,8 @@ const Explore: React.FC<ExploreProps> = ({ relayPool, eventStore, settings, acti
           )
         }
         return filteredBlogPosts.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ gridColumn: '1/-1', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)', padding: '2rem' }}>
-            <p>No blog posts yet. Pull to refresh!</p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ gridColumn: '1/-1', display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="explore-grid">
@@ -347,8 +347,8 @@ const Explore: React.FC<ExploreProps> = ({ relayPool, eventStore, settings, acti
           )
         }
         return classifiedHighlights.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ gridColumn: '1/-1', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)', padding: '2rem' }}>
-            <p>No highlights yet. Pull to refresh!</p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ gridColumn: '1/-1', display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="explore-grid">
diff --git a/src/components/Me.tsx b/src/components/Me.tsx
index 7ebda014..0d46c25e 100644
--- a/src/components/Me.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Me.tsx
@@ -197,12 +197,8 @@ const Me: React.FC<MeProps> = ({ relayPool, activeTab: propActiveTab, pubkey: pr
           )
         }
         return highlights.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ padding: '2rem', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
-            <p>
-              {isOwnProfile 
-                ? 'No highlights yet. Pull to refresh!'
-                : 'No highlights yet. Pull to refresh!'}
-            </p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="highlights-list me-highlights-list">
@@ -230,8 +226,8 @@ const Me: React.FC<MeProps> = ({ relayPool, activeTab: propActiveTab, pubkey: pr
           )
         }
         return allIndividualBookmarks.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ padding: '2rem', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
-            <p>No bookmarks yet. Pull to refresh!</p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="bookmarks-list">
@@ -295,8 +291,8 @@ const Me: React.FC<MeProps> = ({ relayPool, activeTab: propActiveTab, pubkey: pr
           )
         }
         return readArticles.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ padding: '2rem', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
-            <p>No read articles yet. Pull to refresh!</p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="explore-grid">
@@ -321,12 +317,8 @@ const Me: React.FC<MeProps> = ({ relayPool, activeTab: propActiveTab, pubkey: pr
           )
         }
         return writings.length === 0 ? (
-          <div className="explore-empty" style={{ padding: '2rem', textAlign: 'center', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
-            <p>
-              {isOwnProfile 
-                ? 'No articles written yet. Pull to refresh!'
-                : 'No articles written yet. Pull to refresh!'}
-            </p>
+          <div className="explore-loading" style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', padding: '4rem', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' }}>
+            <FontAwesomeIcon icon={faSpinner} spin size="2x" />
           </div>
         ) : (
           <div className="explore-grid">