My Thoughts on Social Media

Let's be honest. It seems that everyone's been talking about Essena leaving social media. I've watched her videos, watched response videos, and read so many articles about this entire instance. I'm not making any assumptions, but I wanted to take some time to talk about my thoughts on social media.

If you follow me online, you know I'm always so blatantly honest. Sometimes to a fault where I sound like an asshole. I like to give people a piece of my mind, whether they like my views or not. While I was watching Essena's videos, I started to feel kind of funny inside and I didn't really understand what I was feeling until I spent a good thirty minutes thinking about it. I've had a few nightmares the past few nights and I wake up in a panic because I'm not working (daytime job duties, blogging, YouTubing, Instagramming, etc.) Legit anxiety about not doing enough. Am I going to be successful? Will I be able to afford the life I want to have in five years? How can I make my pictures better? Did I email that person back? My mind is constantly running and hearing some of the things Essena said hit close to home because social media is one of the many things that stresses me out. I care about the likes, the follows, the engagement SURE. But I don't base my existence on this earth by it. My source of anxiety comes from having to juggle so many things at once.

I think social media is fun, and I love Instagram. I pride myself in my images, the angles I'm using, the editing tools I use and so forth. It's my favorite way to be creative and share with others what I love. I also enjoy just looking through all of the pretty pictures on the platform. Instagram is known for beautiful imagery and therefore, quality imagery is going to perform better. However, life is not defined by the number of followers you have. It's cool to have people dig your work, but it's most important to like your work yourself. I, for one, have never been happier with my blog than I am today and at this moment. I honestly (truthfully) would be happy with my blog even if no one ever commented on it. I'm just proud of myself from going where I was in 2013 with a blog that barely functioned to a full fledged blog that is colorful, clean and unique. As long as I like it, that's all that matters and that's all that should matter at the end of the day. If I'm sharing cool shit and you like it, then fantastic. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with yourself and what you're doing and if not having a million followers is making you depressed then perhaps social media isn't for you. Extremely strong coffee gives me anxiety, so naturally I stay away from it. Same thing goes for any sort of confrontation, so I avoid making and being in situations that could be confrontational. Similarly, if social media is giving you anxiety, it may be best to shut down for a while and see how you're feeling.


I really think social media is not the culprit because it does bring so much joy into our lives. It updates us instantly and makes us more knowledgeable about the world we live in. It allows us to interact with family and friends we don't see all the time. It also allows us to connect with like-minded people all over the world, and that is such a beautiful thing. We live in a digital world, and if we were to lose that or be criticized for being on social media it would be such a shame. I really believe this is a mindset. We need to change our thinking and ensure we don't define ourselves by numbers. I know I don't.
What about you? What are your thoughts on social media and all the articles surrounding social media being fake? Let's chat down in the comments.