I’m withdrawing from social media
It’s not like it was a conscious decision.
It sort of just happened. One day I woke up and no longer wanted to participate. It’s almost as if my being has a more important magnificent obsession to take care of.
I am achieving so much as a result.
Instagram has completely dropped off my radar. Every time I go to upload a photo, my soul denies it, “You know I don’t really want to. I don’t care for it.”
My body and soul are taking control and speaking for me.
Twitter, I’m in and out of, but not committing too much. Couldn’t be bothered.
And Facebook, I’m still trying to make sense of. Part of me wants to be there but the other says, Nah. So Again I am in and out half-hardheartedly.
I’m trying to figure out what it means.
I know that social media is a big part of blogging and I am torn to let go of this need to feel connected and let everyone know what I am doing in case I slip under the radar.
I love the people I’ve met through social media and interact with; I love the conversations we have; I love how I am inspired by others.
Yet, I can’t shake this total lack of motivation to participate and this desire to claim my life back. I don’t know what to do about it because I know I want my life to be about blogging and making a difference. I love this vocation and social media is a big part of it. I’m just not sure of the point anymore and I find it hard to commit unless I know what the meaning is behind it all. I’m searching for the meaning now.
This past year I have learned to trust what my body and soul are telling me to do. So I am lying low. I don’t know for how long. I’m just going with the spirit. I’ll still pop in and out all the channels, but for for now I think I have to focus on whatever it is the Universe wants me to focus more on. I hope that it means I’m going to be walking down a path that means I’ll be giving more.
I’m not turning my back on you. I’ll be sharing on the blog, but not worrying as much as to whether I am being heard, or shared, or if I am making a difference. I think I have to trust that somehow I am, and focus on growing that more.
I’m sure it is a momentary pause while I gather and I’ll see you again to hang out on the channels.
Do you get tired of social media? How do you manage it?
Comments
Caroline
Sometimes I do. I got completely fed up earlier in the year and closed my twitter account for 4 months. Lost all contacts. I don’t remember much about that time. Then I broke my foot and started blogging. I opened my twitter account again. Started from scratch.
Incredible things have happened as a result. Whether it’s been from social media or just opening myself up to people, I’m not sure.
Am feeling like a break again, but it won’t be as extreme as last time x
P.s. I will miss seeing you in my timeline x
Caz Makepeace
I’ll miss you too lovely! I’ll be popping in and out of twitter and facebook, but very little. I’m not sure when I’ll return to instagram, just not feeling the urge at the moment. I hope you have a lovely Chrissy! Can’t wait to see what the New Year brings for you!!
Vanessa
You know, I was flicking through twitter last night and thought I hadn’t seen many tweets from you in a while!
I think it’s always best to listen to your gut. It might just be burnout, it might be you making space for something new that is about to come into your life.
Or maybe you should outsource it for a month or two, free up your time but still get things shared to your communities?
Caz Makepeace
Yeah, I’ve been very sporadic. I do have Craig helping out with some of the MM tweets etc which is why there might be some coming through and we outsource a smidgen of the social media, the stuff that doesn’t really require our voice. I think I might see if I can delegate more. I’m enjoying just being without having to instagram my moments. I think the instagram is the one I have most shut down from. I’ve had maybe three photos up in three weeks where it used to be about that much a day. It’s so time consuming and intrusive. The other ones I can manage during my work hours, but that one is more play hours. Kinda hope it does crash and burn 😉
Jeremy Branham
Amen!!! Take it from someone who has been there many times – I’ve gotten burned out with travel writing due to the burnout from social media. I love the connections but you need a break to connect with real people.
Enjoy the holidays with the family and focus. Real connections, both in life and travel, are what make us successful, happy, and healthy human beings.
Caz Makepeace
Spot on Jeremy!! I’ve got my sis coming in this weekend for Christmas so I am super excited to disconnect and spend time with her for a few days. It’s all family and friends for the next week.
Joy
You are very established so it seems like not as much social media is needed. I’m not established and I’m burned out. Even my personal Facebook account hasn’t gotten much attention lately. My soul was feeling the same way so I’m posting when I want and only reading what I want. Good for you. Trust yourself and do what your heart wants. 🙂
Caz Makepeace
My personal facebook account doesn’t get a lot of loving either. I think the burn out has hit me for sure. It’s nice to just sit back and follow the heart. Sometimes you just have to let go
Christy
I’ve been feeling the same way lately. It seems like I go through this every few months though. It just gets to be too much. I’m stepping away next week to spend time with family and give myself a break.
Caz Makepeace
Good for you!! We are as well. I think everyone is getting so tired with it. Must have something with the new world coming tomorrow.
Johanna at ZigaZag
I so agree Caz. So much of our time is spent on social media that writing often gets put second. I know it does for me. It’s such a catch 22 situation though – and we’re reliably informed 😉 – that if we don’t have a presence and don’t connect with people, then the blogs will die and we’ll have no readers. There must be a slicker way of communicating – Jeepers, something like a blog hub where several bloggers share a social media platform and each commit and promise to chat and connect with readers, and promote each other, each taking responsibility on a certain day of the week, so that the others can get on with writing and publishing?
Caz Makepeace
That would be good Jo! Get it started 😉 It’s very draining to be connected all the time. I’ve been really enjoying just getting other stuff done that feels like is contributing more.
Veronica @ Mixed Gems
I get what you mean. Is whole year has been about focusing on priorities which has meant cutting back on social media in particular. I didn’t have a huge following to start with but my hits are now probably 50-60 percent what they were a year ago before I made this decision. But I had to go with my gut, just as you are feeling. I still have a small core of blog friends that I’ve connected with and that’s probably what counts. Burnout was a factor but it was mostly the realisation of how much time I was spending and for a small return on investment. I just couldn’t justify the time which was usually stolen from family time. Twitter went first, then FB, both my personal and blog pages. Instagram is the one thing I keep up with. Through it, I’ve discovered a love of photography and that inspires and invigorates me….most of the time. Wishing you a lovely break and hope you find where your gut and soul are leading you. I hope the same for me n 2013 too! 🙂
Caz Makepeace
I knew you had disappeared lately. I’d been wondering why I had not seen you around much. Your photos on instagram are always so beautiful. You can tell you really love it. Stick with it, you are good at it.
I think I feel a lot of the social media stuff is distracting me from what the Universe really wants me to do. It has all happened since I went to the yoga retreat and got a lot of clarity. I’ve been doing my yoga and meditation daily so I know that something really powerful is speaking to me so I have to go with it. I’d be mad not to trust that voice.
Bret @ Green Global Travel
I have to say, getting interns to help out with our social media “obligations” has been one of the better moves we’ve ever made. It frees Mary and I up to focus on the important stuff, while still having the personal interactions on social media that lead to actual real-life friendships. We finally found a nice balance this year…
Caz Makepeace
We are working on that Bret. I love the interactions and just wish I could do that. I am very much the creative social person. I love creating, but when it comes time to promote and market it, I turn right off. To me the job is finished after I have stopped writing. Craig does most of the marketing stuff because I’m crap at it and hate it. I just want to do the fun stuff. We are starting to outsource a bit more now which is wonderful. If we can continue to grow we should be able to outsource more soon
kirri
I see social media as icing on the cake – I only reply to people on twitter, ignore google plus and on FB, I post 2-3 times max 5-6 days a week and make sure I have at least one full day a week completely off the grid.
When I had a two week holiday – part of me felt like I should schedule stuff to keep my FB page alive but my heart was not in it and it would have felt forced.
It can feel like a burden after a while and I just got to the point where I just started doing things my way. Maybe it means slow growth and maybe it means that I receive less traffic but I enjoy my 15 mins a day of social media and that’s all I am willing to commit to.
Jo (Dexterous Diva)
LOVE this post Caz. I go through the same thing, and cant face twitter or facebook for weeks at a time. It can all feel so impersonal and time zapping, and I often feel the need to reconnect offline.
In the grand scheme of things, social media has brought so much to my life, but no one ever died wishing they had tweeted more 😉 xxxx
Caz Makepeace
It’s a hard one to come to terms with because you know how much it has given you, but you also know how much it takes too. I’m really enjoying scaling back from it. and I’ve kind of let go of the thought that it will make me “lose business” Meh! Hope you have a lovely Chrissy Jo! If it wasn’t for social media I would never have met you so it’s certainly worth it