Why I’m Leaving Social Media as a Creative Writer
Weighing the pros and cons of Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok use.
There’s no discounting the opportunities social media brings people today.
In recent times social media has come under a lot of heat. With Frances Haugen’s evidence and testimony of Facebook’s adverse effect on democracy, international politics, and the youth, the unintended consequences of an interconnected online landscape are undeniable. Social media poses obvious threats to people, from human trafficking to altering the way our individual attention and perception of reality operate.
Like with anything, social media is neither all good nor all bad. Often, what the “algorithm feeds us” is in direct response to the content an individual user actively seeks out.
According to the Statista Research Department, 4.48 billion people worldwide use social media now. But even more surprising is the fact that all of these active users may not even be real.
As tech journalist Bill Bilton found in his documentary Fake Famous, you can buy a number of fake accounts (bots) and hacked users to follow, like, and comment on your Instagram page. This mean you can purchase your social media following and traffic, creating an inauthentic personal propaganda scheme for real world gain.
Having hundreds of thousands of followers can equate to real money through paid advertisements and endorsements. Having millions of followers is even more lucrative. It pays to be famous on social media.
If we can use filters, Photoshop, bot followers, and our inflated imaginations on social media, just how much of what we’re seeing online is real? Online, we can be anyone we want.
For a few years now people have been talking about their self-ejection from social media. Almost no one who has left, even if just temporarily, has anything bad to say about the aborting experience. In fact, many people claim that the quality of their lives improved.
Anyone who is anyone can be found online. It’s almost feels as if you need a substantial social media presence to get far in life.
As a creative writer, editor, and nascent artist, I placed the pros and cons of social network use before me. What I found was that, personally, the cons heavily outweighed the pros.
Cons
1. Social Media Alters the Way I Think
The day could be simple: blue skies, agreeable company, splendid health, a vibrant world. Yet, how many times have I found myself thinking of the perfect caption or tweet to post? How many times have I mentally staged the optimal photo for a status update?
How much of our daily life is spent crafting and thinking of what we’ll post on social media?
Tweets. Captions. Instagram posts. Stories. Likes.
These tools are not only a catalyst for entertainment, knowledge, and career advancement, but they are also a catalyst for self-absorption. I found myself in the middle of my life thinking about how I could make the moment most attractive for my followers.
When we update our stories on Instagram and Facebook, we are deliberately crafting a perception of ourselves — and our interests — in the best possible manner. Updating our stories is way to manipulate the way our followers view us.
Angles, light, scenes, quotes, it’s all carefully snapped and shared to make us seem more interesting to others. Updating our stories on Facebook and Instagram keeps us preoccupied with ourselves, how we look and how others view us. Even if we’re posting information outside of our immediate selves, the fact that we can see who’s watching our stories keeps up coming back to the app and taking note on who and how many people are tuning in to us.
The social media industry is a business industry. It’s meant to keep us interested and invested. As Sean Parker, founding member and former president of Facebook shared in an interview,
We need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while… more content… more likes and comments. It’s a social-validation feedback loop…
*research has shown that sharing memories online creates a stronger memory recall.
Social media, its features and users’ content, infiltrates the way we think and act online. How many people do you think would dance in front of their phones for thirty second videos if it wasn’t a worldwide trend? I am as guilty as anyone else of posting content for the mere objective of impressing others.
I already have the natural inclination to be self-centered, and social media seems to tug on my Narcissus tendencies and innate need to belong with my fellows.
I’ve found myself adopting the phrases of viral tweets or mimicking Instagram ‘mood boards’ and ‘photo dumps’. Essentially, I noticed that social media influences the way I think and how I present my thoughts online.
2. Social Media was Pigeonholing my use of the Internet
I was one of the active users who explored social media every single day.
Any break or moment for down-time was almost always supplanted by a visit to Instagram or Twitter.
When I had exhausted these options, I’d scour the internet for another site filled with frivolous pass time content.
Once I had realized this habit wasn’t enriching my life, resulting in a lack of enjoyment from this activity, I didn’t know where to go. I was lost amidst the endless possibilities waiting to be unearthed from the library of internet knowledge.
The internet is one of our greatest tools, and I was losing the ability to adequately use it.
3. My Attention Span Became Limited and Fragmented
There are BILLIONS of users online, real and fake, and the real ones can post intriguing, thought-provoking, genuinely heartfelt messages. But after a while of watching 30 second TikTok videos and Instagram reels, I found myself creating a high and narrow standard for content. I became incredibly selective with what I would watch and read online, while in the back of my head wondering if what I came across in the saturated online world was the best exchange for my undivided attention.
If something didn’t hook me within the first few seconds, I was flipping for the next.
I loosened my tie around structured, undivided attention. I began clicking on YouTube videos and, within the minute, started scrolling below to read comments as the video continued playing.
Social media is commodifying rapid, visual information, and it’s not based on a post’s intrinsic value, but rather what’s most enticing to most at first glance.
Why else would provocative dancing videos or funny spoofs become so popular? Why else would we see user repeated trends of Bella Poarch facial gestures or lip-syncing numbers?
It is easy to incite anger, lust, and giggles from people. It is much harder to get people to even want to understand long and complex topics. When given the choice, it’s obvious that many of us would turn to the easy emotions and the comic relief social media provides.
4. It was Altering the way I Communicate in Real Life
I was using social media as an excuse to avoid real life situations and networking. I’d contact someone online as opposed to having disastrous, awkward, or splendid conversations face-to-face.
By replacing conversations in reality for online messaging, my social skills were getting no better and only worse.
5. The Allure of Social Media Importance was Influencing my Content
In 2021 I created a separate Instagram and Twitter account for my creative writing aspirations. (If Rupi Kaur could find such success then SURELY I could too.)
In the endless slew of online content, it’s all too easy to adopt the approaches and voices of others. Guiltily, I found my work being influenced by what was trending. In the end, I started creating and sharing work for the likes and not for the love of the craft.
When I started promoting my creative endeavors, I found myself becoming overly concerned with numbers and exposure. I noticed when I lost followers. I noticed when posts didn’t do so well.
There is a plethora of poets and artists and photographers on social media. If I couldn’t take the time to study the good ones because my attention span was shot and I hated looking at my phone screen for hours, then how dare I ask someone else to spend their finite time on my little post?
6.) Social Media is Energy and Time Consuming
Anything worth doing is going to take time and effort. To grow on social media takes dedication and concentration. When it came to keeping up with online appearances, I just didn’t enjoy it.
The key is to use social media and not have it use you.
Gaining any kind of notoriety on social networks means adopting a certain mindset. It means becoming a compelling storyteller. You have to become comfortable in front of the camera, in your skin, and in your speech. You must be ready, phone in hand, to capture the golden snippets of life.
I enjoyed none of this.
But I also accepted the fact that I lack in a lot of areas.
I couldn’t stick to a social media schedule.
I failed to plan content ahead of time.
I’m not ultra secure in my face or body, so I hate editing videos and photos because that means having to look at myself for an excruciating amount of time.
And I hate studying social media trends.
This may be because I’m lazy. (It’s my most indulged in sin.) But maybe that will be my saving grace, because there is no way I can use social media methodically and for purely professional reasons without getting sucked in.
My short-term memory is already terrible. My ability to perform deep, concentrated and analytical work is subpar. I have trouble taking initiative in the real world. And I don’t feel very comfortable showing off my body online.
Despite all of the lucrative incentives, I just don’t hold the capacity to drive forth a growing social media following.
The Pros
Social media is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Social networks allow for every type of user to have a voice. Those with an interest in media, the limelight, and spreading information will find social media to be a worthwhile tool.
Lost connections can be found again.
No matter where you are, you can visually see and connect with your loved ones.
You can learn a little bit more about the outside world.
Jobs, dating, prospective clients, even holding surveys for research can all be conducted on these social sites.
Careers such as social media managers have erupted. Knowledge of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are now valuable skills employers seek.
Is Social Media Worth it?
The average Myspace user in 2008 probably wouldn’t have predicted the money and reach that can be made on social media today. Social networks have not only revolutionized the way people and information interact, but it has also changed the way we act individually. As enticing and lucrative as social media has become, it’s simply not for everyone, as user dissent shows.
You can still be successful in your field without a substantial social media presence. Anyone feeling overwhelmed by constant internet use can strategize their attention and access to online platforms. If you have no problem recording yourself, planning content, and studying online trends, then daily social network use can reap plenty of benefits.
As a creative writer coming from my own set of experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, the constant overload and flurry of information was too much to bear. Instagram and Twitter was taking up too much of my conscious mind. In the end, I felt as if I was allowing these platforms to control my perception of myself and the immediate world.
It’d be unwise to cite the successes of past societies and individuals with their non-existent use of online social networking. As technologies progress, so must people. But I am willing to take the risk of simplicity as opposed to barraging myself with the polished thoughts of the world. There is an entire online world, and social media is only one percentage of a fraction of it.
