There’s no doubt that our generation is obsessed with social media, and as bloggers, there’s even more pressure for us to grow our presence across the various platforms. We’re constantly trying to up our social media game, figuring out what to post, how to post, when to post – it’s exhausting.
All the stress reached a boiling point last Friday when I read this ridiculous post by Instagram and literally imploded. Since then I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection, and I realized 5 things:
Numbers don’t define your success
It’s hard not to obsess over numbers, but just like people can cheat on tests to get a perfect 100, they can cheat or use questionable tactics to fake their follower count.
If we’ve tried our best and done things the right way, at least we can sleep well at night knowing we’re not living a lie. Not to mention followers gained using these hacks are hardly genuine. Literally, a lot of these are probably bots!
Nasty people are everywhere, but we can choose how to respond to them
We have no control over these people and their despicable actions – whether they’re stealing our work or just being plain rude – but we can choose to not let them get to us.
The last thing we need is for them drag us further into their circus and ruin our day. We’re better than this!
Stay positive, there’s a silver lining in every situation
Despite the bleak circumstances and how discouraged I felt, I forced myself to think positively.
No nasty people or ridiculous algorithm can take away the wonderful friends I’ve made and the support they’ve always shown me. Seriously, every time I see a real comment from a real person (none of that “amazing!! *heart emojis* ” bot bs), it brightens my day.
Stop comparing yourself to others
For every person out there that’s “better” than us, there will be another person who is in a less fortunate situation.
If we choose to only look at what we don’t have, we’ll never be satisfied with what abundance we already have. If you really want to compare, compare yourself to the you from yesterday.
Not gonna lie, choose gratitude, especially in the face of adversity, takes effort. But I choose gratefulness anyways
In the end, none of this will matter
Not to sound morbid, but when we’re on our deathbeds, I don’t think anyone is going to regret not spending more time on social media.
There are much more important things in life, and we should prioritize accordingly. Spend time with your loved ones or on your hobbies. Don’t give the people and things that drain you anymore of your precious time and energy!
Before realizing these things, I wanted to shut down my social media accounts and my blog, because it was just too stressful. But once I started to see the bigger picture and figure out what my priorities were, all that self-induced stress started to disappear. I don’t have to let social media consume me, nor should I let it determine my happiness.
Maybe this social media example isn’t applicable to you, but what about your job? Or relationships? Or just life in general ?
The principles are the same, and if you’re going through any kind of rut right now, I hope that these 5 reminders will change your perspective for the better like they did for me. Have a beautiful week everyone!
Claire
Wednesday 15th of March 2017
I agree with everything that you said ! people show what they want us to see in social media. most of the times, what we see is not true and it does not reflect real life.
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Jenny
Wednesday 15th of March 2017
Exactly! It's easy to get caught up in all the pretty photos and forget that those are only a small reflection of those people's lives!
Naya // The Party Parrot Blog
Monday 13th of March 2017
Oh Jenny, I couldn't agree more with everything you have mentioned in this post. I did a similar (ranty..) post some weeks ago and was surprised to realize just how many fellow bloggers felt the same way that I did. Sadly fake followers, likes and comments are so common in our Middle East region, it is so sad. Brands still "buy" it and I only hope for the day when they can identify real work from bot shit as you have called it haha. I even had one of the bloggers I know send me hateful comments through her fake accounts, tagging brands telling them to stop working with me. I think you just have to block them and move on. Your blog is amazing, don't quit! Always here to support you xx
Jenny
Tuesday 14th of March 2017
Aww, thank you so much for your sweet comment Naya! I was surprised by the positive feedback on this post as well (might be my most commented on post ever!), and it's comforting to know that I'm not alone in my struggles :) Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry that you had to deal with someone so awful! That is definitely the definition of shitty people >_< Glad you were able to move on from that negativity!
Tara
Saturday 11th of March 2017
I can see why some people would take social media to the extreme if they are blogging for profit. For me, I don't blog for profit, so while I do share my posts on Twitter and such, I am not going to obsess with every number. I do check my Statcounter, but it's the analyst in me.
Shitty people will definitely be everywhere, and it's all how we handle it. Out of those shitty people, there are the awesome folks we meet, and I am thankful to everyone one of those people, too ^^
Being grateful and not comparing myself is one thing I have to constantly remember. I like how you wrote we should compare ourselves to our past selves! That's a good advice. All five advice you typed make a lot of sense, and it's good to remember them.
Jenny
Tuesday 14th of March 2017
Yep, I agree, it's definitely not as stressful if blogging is purely a hobby and not for profit. However, even if we blog for profit, we can definitely adjust our mindset and realize that money isn't everything :) Gratefulness is something I'm continuously working on as well, it definitely helps when I try to count the small blessings every day!
Bernadette
Saturday 11th of March 2017
All 5 of these lessons are very true and something i've learned. People can get caught up with numbers and likes and this need to post their entire life on social media and make it 'appear' a certain way. There's more to life then social media, there are many out there who seem to have it all on social media but that doesn't necessarily reflect how their lives actually are. Lovely post!
www.themakeupaficionado.com
Jenny
Saturday 11th of March 2017
Thank you for reading Bernadette! I totally agree with you, it's really dangerous to assume that what you see in social media is a complete reflection of someone's life!
Mija
Friday 10th of March 2017
The layout looks awesome!!
Social Media - wanting to delete accounts is so familiar! Thats for the tips, definitely helpful!
Jenny
Saturday 11th of March 2017
Thank you Mija, glad you found the tips helpful :)