Social Media Malaise

I want to use this month's blog post to talk about how challenging it is for me to manage my relationship to social media.

As my longer-term followers know, this topic has been tricky and big for me for quite a while, especially as a business owner. My truth with social media is that I don't really want to be here. This is not my preferred space to connect, communicate, or collaborate, for personal or professional ventures. When I'm on social media for more than a few minutes at a time, I tend to feel lost, confused, and defeated. There's even been some recent research to suggest we enter into a dissociative state while using social media, and that rings fairly true for me. I know I am prone to comparison and overwhelm while scrolling, and yet the persuasive design of these spaces tricks my brain to continue barraging myself with content even when it makes me feel like dirt.

Alas, there are wonderful people and opportunities attached to these spaces, so writing them off entirely has never felt like the best option for me (maybe someday, she says wistfully). Except for Facebook. I deleted that noise a couple of years ago and never looked back. I've been observing and tinkering with my social media use a lot of the last year, and even self-published a workbook about it to really think about what I could do to intentionally shape my relationship with it.

It's not lost on me that I will share this blog post via Instagram and LinkedIn, two major social media platforms, but I'm glad to share that my overall use/time sucks on these sites has gone down a lot, and I am better able to give my time to things I actually like doing (Reading! Collage! Walking!). I've had to hold some pretty tough boundaries with myself, and really connect more with mindfulness to stay present and resist the draw of the algorithm, but it's tough work that's worth doing for me.

I'd love to hear about how you're navigating social media these days, and what resources and supports would be helpful for you in the comments!

Take good care, and happy summer.