After the initial excitement of joining Facebook back in around 2007, I've slowly come to pretty much hate social media in most forms. Although they all have their plus points, the negatives far outweigh those and you're probably wondering why it is i'm still on there, which is something I question myself quite regularly.
Firstly, sites like Facebook keep me in contact with people from school or past jobs that I love keeping in touch with but wouldn't feel comfortable calling (I don't like calling anyone!) and it's lovely to see them grow their own little families and see where they've ended up. I also like being able to share my photos, to feel like I have people to talk to when needed and to keep up with what's going on locally. I am part of some amazing groups and following some great pages that are packed with like minded people that are always on hand for advice when needed, whether it's work or personal, as well as pages that share positive stories, quotes and funny memes that genuinely keep me going some days. It is an unavoidable but pretty helpful tool at times, especially when it comes to finding a community that 'gets you', so for that I am thankful, but there are SO many more negatives it's unreal.
The main thing that drives me crazy at the moment is that some of the worst people I know that are so mean in real life like to share quotes about kindness and anti bullying, the irony is not lost on me. I am 'friends' with these people online not by choice, but because I can't face the drama that comes with deleting people, I just can't be arsed with the backlash so it's easier to unfollow the ones that bug me so I just don't see their posts. I also see a few regulars asking for money, wanting to palm their kids off for a day or talking about how crap their life is, yet doing absolutely nothing at all to improve it. Not from a mental health view, but purely because they are so self indulgent and lazy that they just want everyone to fix their problems, send them money and do things for them so they can sit doing nothing sharing posts to Facebook all day, I'm so sick of it.
Facebook for me is the worse, it's the one I find mentally draining to scroll through and try to avoid when I can. Twitter is much better, but so fast moving I don't feel like I can ever have any real conversations on there or engage in any kind of community, but it is really handy for sharing blog work and getting some page views here and there. Facebook on the other hand I rarely post on my work page because it's mostly people that live around me and I don't want to share my inner thoughts with them, silly I know posting to a public platform, but sometimes you just need the words to fall out your head and not necessarily get messages after asking if you're 'ok hun?'.
Instagram I actually really like, it's such a simple format, mainly picture based and stories (love the stories!) so you can scroll through quickly and it feels much easier to build a community there and engage with people that sites like Twitter. There's also so much inspiration for all aspects of life, especially art and home decor which for me is great. The only negative I find on Instagram is the constant messages from MLM people wanting to recruit me as one of their Minions, but it's simple to ignore the messages or send a no thank you to the polite ones, so not all bad. I'm also going to not worry about how many followers I have or if my feed is appealing to others, as it's a great way to store memories and although blog wise numbers and engagement are important to get work, life is too short to spend all day battling Instagram to be seen.
I've dabbled with Snapchat and Tiktok and I really feel too past it for those, but it's nice to have a gander at them from time to time and see what other people come up with.
The main thing in general I detest about social media is the way it makes me feel, which is really pretty shit, sad and even a little depressed. This isn't because I feel everyone makes their lives seem so much better than mine which is something I hear people say, but actually the constant moaning, the updating the stage of their cold ten times a day or shaming other people by sharing horrid pictures. I really hate the way people feel the need to post things that are purely there to fish for attention, half posts that give no details like 'well that didn't go well', knowing that everyone will have to ask 'what didn't?' and are they OK? (hun). If they want attention just bloody ask for it. As well as this, there's the people that post passive aggressive memes, these have to be my least favourite. So instead of actually talking to someone and saying what's bothering them, they find a meme that says it so it's less personal, but still very obvious what and who it's about. I wish people would just talk, argue, fight it out, anything but make the rest of us have to witness such nonsense on a daily basis.
I really hate how addictive social media is too, like it or loathe it, it pulls you in for needless scrolling and it's definitely a habit I'd like to break.
I really hate how addictive social media is too, like it or loathe it, it pulls you in for needless scrolling and it's definitely a habit I'd like to break.
So there we have it, rant over and a little of why I hate social media, though I guess mainly Facebook. This is not something that goes well with being a blogger as I don't enjoy posting updates or sharing my work, or pretty much seeing anyone elses for that matter, but I stick at it for the occasions I do need to share a post for a client, and for the very few positives I get from those pointless scrolls through the day.
Have you had it with social media or do you love it?
