IS SOCIAL MEDIA STILL WORTH OUR TIME (& EFFORT)?!
How many hours do you spend on social media each week? Have you any idea? Occasionally my iPhone pops up with a notification in regards to how long I've spent on my phone over the past seven days and the result really can be quite shocking.
Whilst some of my time is admittedly spent replying to messages from loved ones, checking and responding to emails or even occasionally doing some online shopping, I'm well aware that the majority of my phone time is spent scrolling through social media. For me, this looks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
I used to adore Twitter. When I created my account many a moon ago, it was a sweet place where the professionals and creatives hung out. Where even with a relatively small following, I could share a tweet and receive numerous replies or even better, retweets. I'd pop a link to my latest blog post on the site and within minutes, people would click on it, read my words and even leave a comment on my blog. It was marvellous. Back in the day as a self employed freelancer, Twitter was an essential career lifeline, enabling me to showcase my work, share testimonials and the best bit? Make connections. Through Twitter, I made new friends, gained new clients and discovered the talents of many others. It used to be my absolute favourite online space to hang out. But now? Well now, I sadly hate it. Twitter has become a cess pit, where the loudest and most provocative voices seem to be the only ones that are ever heard. Where abusive responses and misogyny are now the norm. Hate has been allowed to fester and grow at an alarming rate.
No longer is it a safe, professional and creative place. No longer is it easy to engage with the people you follow. No longer, is it a good or worthwhile place to share. These days, most kind, interesting voices are simply hidden or ignored, swept along by a Tsunami of noise, hate and controversy. I've considered deleting my account numerous times over the past few years, but I cannot. Simply because that is how both of my children's schools share their updates. The mind boggles as to why they remain on there, but because they do, I - for the time being - must also remain. I miss the golden Twitter days. As for Facebook, well to be fair, for me, it mostly does what it needs to do. I do enjoy the fact I can stay in touch with old school and work friends and both of my Facebook business pages for writing and styling seem to do OK. Facebook engagement is nowhere like it used to be a few years ago (even if you pay for it!) so I do often feel like I'm shouting into a void and I really wish I could see more of my friends' feeds and less adverts! But, it works to an extent, even if it has lost much of it's connection and magic.
And finally, let's discuss Instagram. Out of my three main social media accounts, this is my favourite. Work wise, it's definitely my best platform in terms of attracting clients and opportunities and engagement for me is usually pretty steady. Again, like Facebook, the engagement is nowhere near the levels that it used to be (I used to gain around 200-350 likes per post, I'm now doing brilliantly if I get near 100!) but I chat to a lot of lovely people on there and on the whole I enjoy it.
It's good for connecting, it allows me to market my skills and it often inspires. The only bit I'm not keen on is the fakery.
The people who 'cheat' their way to Insta success by buying followers or engagement and the people who act a certain way when in reality they're nothing at all like their online persona. The instagrammers who talk about authenticity but then promote products and services that make women feel anything like their authentic best. I could go on.
As a relatively successful blogger from years past, it's pretty easy for me to see beyond the smoke and mirrors, but I do worry for those who don't understand how the online world functions. Who don't know about the (many!) fake friendships or the engagement circles and buying of numbers etc I worry that people forget that most Instagrammers only share their best bits, which are highly edited and crafted. I worry that women are sucked in by Instagrammers who live picture perfect lives (that don't really exist) and spend money they don't have trying to keep up with what they wear and buy. I worry that my 12 year old daughter will think a heavily filtered photo is normal or worse, real. I worry for all of us, in terms of what Instagram may be doing to our self esteem and mental health.
But most of all, as with the other social media platforms I've mentioned today, I worry that we are losing the beauty of connection, transparency and authenticity. Which surely, is what social media should really be all about?
I have often talked about the importance of women using their voices. I have presented and written about how - in this very moment in time - it has never been easier for a woman to write and use her voice and share it with the world. It is a powerful opportunity and one I still believe matters.
I just wish that social media was cleaner, kinder and more supportive of those voices who have something worth sharing, for both creators and consumers alike.
I wish it was more like the old days.
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