Social Media Icons from Rawpixel.com
I've been thinking about writing this blog post for a very long time. And I need to say from the get-go that I haven't deleted my Instagram account because I still I love to see photos of my granddaughter on there. But I don't post anywhere anymore... and here are my reasons why not.
(Just a little warning here... This is gonna be loooong!)
Back before the 2020 election here in the US, I was using Facebook regularly and was involved with several art-related groups there. I really did enjoy the feeling of "hanging out" with other artists online. As an introvert, it was easier for me to find and make friends with other creatives online than it was for me to do that in real life. But at the time, I was also aware of the amount of time my Facebook involvement was taking from my creative life... and from my day-to-day life. And it just wasn't sitting well with me. Still, I stayed involved because honestly... FOMO! I was so used to having all the input all the time that it felt really hard to back away from it all. What if I was missing out? (Heaven forbid!) Plus, everybody else was doing it (and when has THAT ever been a good reason to keep doing something?).
Then came the pre-2020 election ramp up with all its divisiveness and unrest and argumentativeness. Facebook just didn't feel like a safe place to me anymore. It felt like a platform that encouraged hatefulness and schisms, both in the US and around the world. The anger there was palpable and it seemed to me there was no end in sight. The atmosphere there was anxiety producing for me. So, after much deliberation, I "abandoned ship" and deleted my Facebook account. It was a hard decision... and I experienced a sense of loss after doing that. But as time went on, I felt lighter and happier, freer and more alive. And I haven't looked back since then.
When I joined Instagram (sometime quite a bit after I joined Facebook), I carefully curated the people
and businesses that I followed. I followed artists I admired and creative businesses that peaked my interest. I enjoyed posting about everyday things in my life, as well as art I was creating for my Etsy shop. I can't say that I was much of a marketer, but I did think (in the back of my mind) that Instagram was a way to "get my work out there" for other people to see. And that was OK for a while...
But eventually, I realized that I was very susceptible to comparing myself and what I created with what other artists posted on Instagram. Sometimes I was inspired by what I saw there... but other times I could feel an ugly competitiveness rising up within me, or the feeling of "I'll never be THAT good" that led to discouragement and inertia. And I also found myself feeling like I was scrolling, scrolling, scrolling my life away, rather than being rooted and grounded in my real life here and now.
So, a couple of years ago, I abruptly stopped posting on Instagram. No more show & tell, no more thinking, "That would be a good Instagram post." I still lurked (though less and less over time)... and I found that I was relieved not to feel the pressure to post or learn how to make reels or keep up with the latest Instagram algorithm or the newest platform changes. I felt more focused and centered and engaged with what's going on in my one and only life.
Today, I still enjoy seeing all the cute things my granddaughter is doing on Instagram. It's a way I can keep up with her as a long distance grandma. And truthfully, I still struggle with scrolling... though I try to be aware of it and cut myself short when I realize what I'm doing. It's addictive and I'm certainly susceptible to the mindlessness.
All this is to say... This has been my experience with social media. And these are the conclusions and the actions I have taken. I am certainly not condemning other people who choose differently than I have chosen. We all need to make our own decisions... and I am comfortable with the place I have landed regarding social media in this ever-increasing online world that we live in.
