Social media anxiety and how to beat it.

You know you’re having true first world problems when social media is the main stress in your life. I know, it seems pathetic but I just don’t get it. Or more to the fact, it doesn’t get me, well, anymore anyway. Blogging and social media have always gone hand in hand and sharing and creating content used to be my ultimate jam. It was something I naturally kicked ass at, something I managed to carve a career from, something I thanked my lucky peak digital age stars for. So why all of a sudden has it sent me into a downward social spiral?

The internet is jam packed full of awesome things; from Netflix to GIF’s, Podcasts to Pinterest, really, used correctly there’s no better self-help or how to guide out there. The world wide web is officially your doctor, your teacher and general oyster, unless, like me, you go all Gone Girl on yourself. Competitive, vain,  jealous and low self-esteem, are just some of the feels that can be conjured up from an unhealthy Instagram cocktail. You know, until that one pic counteracts all those feels for a few hours all in the power of a double tap. Then the anxiety kicks in all over again. Fun right? But it never used to be this way.

So what do you do when you have this insta-existential crisis? I mean, social media is a huge part of my job so I can’t quit, nor can I give in to these feels of low self-worth. So apart from therapeutically writing this post, I did what anyone else would do: talked it out. Instagram gave the gift of connecting me with a worldwide social media support network that now I call friends.  Those who maybe work in similar industries and rely on the success of their social media accounts for their livelihood. They get that this first world problem is in fact, a problem! So what did I find after venting? I am not alone, that’s what.

Yes, as it seems this nonproblem is in fact, a problem for many. After some lengthy rants with me and my bests, I noticed it affects us all in so many different ways. Whether you are a designer, stylist, editor, photographer or creator, no one is safe and the social media struggle is real. So what do we do?  Like most cases of depression or anxiety, it’s time to get active.

You probably noticed within your recent social media demise that your engagement with others has also dropped off a cliff. So step back from the new statistics tool and jump onto your favourite profiles. It’s true since our beloved chronological order was taken away from us, the algorithm will be more prone to  pick up on you if your audience is engaged. So, the more we are liking and commenting the content we love and the feeds we follow, the higher and better their overall engagement will be. Sure, with the dreaded aforementioned algorithm in full flow now, new followers will take time but that’s for another battle. Just now, it’s about telling the people you follow they are doing great. You have no idea how much they may have needed it that day or even how long it took them to capture that perfectly lit flat lay, and if you did, you would for sure be commenting on how awesome it looks. Am i right?

Basically, the moral of the story is if you like peoples feeds, that picture or what they are saying in the caption, double tap or better yet TELL THEM! We have all learned that lifting each other up is the best way for us all to get farther, so if we all destroy the silence we are all one step closer to falling back in love with social media again. Are you with me?!

How do you help your social media anxiety?