Sweater//Sweaty Betty Jeans//Mother
Handbag//Chloe (pre-loved here) Sunglasses//Lulu’s
Necklace//Amazon (dupe for an expensive Chloe necklace) Watch//Skagen
I never thought I would be one to take a social media detox. When I heard those words it always sounded so severe and I would think social media put that much stress on you? But truthfully, it did.
As a content creator, especially one with a smaller following, you hear time and time again that in order to truly grow you NEED to post continuously, which makes sense.
In simple terms, your job is to create continuous high-quality content and your audience wouldn’t want to follow someone who posts once a day for a week and then nothing for a month. It makes it difficult to foster a relationship and connect with an influencer which is what makes us different to traditional advertising methods.
We’re real people recommending real products.
However, I started to slowly realize that I had developed an unhealthy relationship with social media, and I can pinpoint down to the exact moment when I made the connection. I was walking on the Katy Trail (all of my Dallas girls will know) and listening to an episode of A Drink With James, THE podcast for influencers created by an industry insider.
He was discussing that panicked feeling of having nothing to post on Instagram and how we often worry that if we don’t post everyday or whatever your norm is that our audience will move on.
He said if this is the way you feel then you NEED to reevaluate your relationship with social media.
Alarm bells went off as I knew this feeling all too well. Finding some random photo from months ago that has no relevance but posting just to have a photo up. Sadly, social media was losing its appeal and I was worried my audience could tell that I wasn’t having fun with it anymore. That I was losing my creativity and the joy I felt connecting with like-minded women. Instead, it was becoming a chore.
So what did I do? I took a step back from social media.
I stopped posting EVERY single day and checking my Instagram account 20 times a day for the fear that if I wasn’t constantly posting and interacting that I would lose my following I’ve worked so hard to keep. When I stop posting as often I found that the fear was all in my head and surprisingly, nothing much changed with my audience.
I didn’t lose followers by the hundreds as I thought.
People didn’t stop commenting or interacting with my content, and my follower count fluctuated as normal. Maybe I won’t grow as quickly as some but maintaining a healthy relationship with social media and ensuring that my moods aren’t affected by the number of likes a photo gets is much more important to me.
I truly believe your audience can feel when you love what you do and are having fun with your content.
I love blogging and sharing my passion with others. Helping someone find new brands that they will love or giving someone the confidence to try something new with fashion is the whole reason I started my blog. I always want to keep that in mind and try not to become too consumed with numbers or the pressure that people will move on if I’m not available 24/7.
My new approach is to find that balance between working hard and having fun with it, and I hope you will be able to see that in the coming months. Thank you for sticking with me and if you understand this feeling then maybe consider taking a social media detox too. It can do a world of good for the soul.
Have you taken a social media detox before? If so, how did it go? What did you learn? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below?
I absolutely think your followers can tell when you’re posting what you love! It’s taking me SO long to grow my following, but I refuse to post when I don’t feel like I need to. Great read!
#SCsister
chelseyshoalmire.com
Author
So happy you feel the same way! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment on my post 🙂
A social media detox is such a good idea. It’s a good way to reevaluate relationships with social media. Crazy how much we depend on social media and when we step away, it’s a whole new outlook!
Thank you for sharing! Just may have to do a detox soon as well.
Caitlin
Author
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! I never thought I would rely on social media as much as I did, but I fell into the trap too. So happy I’ve been able to re-evaluate my relationship with social media 🙂
Super important to remember! thank you, I seriously need a detox!
Briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/
Author
Thank you so much for that comment! I was a bit worried to post about this topic but happy that I did. The detox was hard at first but really refreshing 🙂
Such an honest true topic you’ve touched on! We’ve all been here as we’re trying to grow our following so I appreciate your detox truth about social media!
Author
Thank you so much for that comment. I was a bit worried about posting this but I’m happy I did 🙂
Loved this post and a great reminder!
Author
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate that 🙂
I can totally identify with this, especially since my full-time job oftentimes takes over my life leaving me little to no time to create content. I worry about failing my followers, but I have to realize these challenges are actually the beauty of being an influencer. We’re real people facing the same real-life issues as anybody else. It’s something that people can identify with and lean into. Nobody is perfect and influencers shouldn’t feel compelled to be either (we’re not walking advertisements!). As real, authentic influencers, we should go at our own pace so that we still enjoy it and be our best creative selves. It’s best for us and best for our followers!
xo, Ajda
https://www.leapintolovely.com
Author
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment. I truly appreciate it. You hit the nail on the head and I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Such a good topic! Today is actually my 7th day of ”YouTube detox”. I used to watch youtube videos for at least 2 hours every day and breaking that habit was life-changing. Social media detox is so helpful for re-evaluating our reasons behind why we spend so much time on it. I’m glad you also discovered some benefits while doing it 🙂
Author
Thank you so much for sharing! Congrats on doing your own detox. It’s crazy to think how much these things become a part of our lives 🙂
I’ve never actually done a social media detox, but probably should. There are days when I don’t post anything. I usualy don’t feel guilty about it until I’m reminded by an article that you should be posting every day. I feel more guilty when I don’t post content on the blog on schedule. Life gets so busy and social media can take up endless amounts of time especially if you are on multiple channels. Self promotion is stressful enough that we should only do it when we are excited about what we are posting. Thanks for sharing.
Author
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Everything I’ve heard or read says to truly grow you have to post continuously, but I’m curious to see how this new approach works. I feel like thoughtful and purposeful content is really important too 🙂
Super valuable read! As I get more into my own blog I am trying to remember there are people outside the screens. It can be hard when your building your business. Thank you for the reminder.
Author
Thanks for the comment, Amber! I totally understand how you feel. It’s that weird combination of working super hard but also trying to remind yourself that you are a real person 🙂
I’m struggling with this too, thanks for sharing your story!
Author
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! It can be comforting to know that other people are dealing with the same issues 🙂
Super important! I don’t think I feel the need to post everyday but can understand that feeling of if I don’t post people are going to leave. Unfortunately a lot of the people that leave really didn’t want to be there. I feel so good when I do a couple of days when I am not constantly going for my phone. Thanks for the reminder!
Author
Thanks for the comment, Monica! That is so true that the followers who left didn’t want to be there in the first place. It’s hard to think about your numbers dropping, but it is so much more important to have real followers 🙂
It wasn’t until I tried to detox did I realise how ADDICTED I am to social media. The worst part is I don’t even post every day, but you can bet I am there scrolling away. Great post and really makes me evaluate my choices.
Author
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! It’s crazy how much we don’t realize social media is in our lives 🙂
Thanks for posting – finding a healthy relationship with social media can be a balancing act for sure – I love the idea of doing a social media detox 🙂
Author
Thank you so much for your comment! I found even not checking my social media as often throughout the day was already helpful 🙂
I recently did this as well! I took time off Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for a month and it was exactly what I needed. I had that panic feeling and was super anxious all the time about likes and followers and my content- now I feel much better!
Author
That is awesome Erin! Congrats on doing a whole month. It really does wonders for your mental state 🙂
It’s really impressive that you managed to do this, wow!
Author
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comment xoxo
This is a great post and sooooo true! I often feel overwhelmed by posting at certain times and making sure I am always active because I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t. Its a lot of pressure. I’m glad you shared your experience. xo Jana | http://www.janastyleblog.com
Author
Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I’m finding that a lot of other people felt the same way and I had no idea 🙂
I did this a while ago as well. I also think it really helped me understand that there should be balance between blogging for fun and for work or because I feel obligated to. Thanks for sharing!
Author
That is exactly my thoughts! Thank you for sharing too. Finding that balance can be difficult but it is so necessary. I want blogging to be fun and not a chore 🙂
I fear the world of blogging is doing nothing but feed an addiction that wasn’t really there before x
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I can definitely see what you mean! It’s a difficult balance that I think we are all learning 🙂