Good day my friends! It seems we all have some reflecting to do today. It’s pretty ironic though right? Yesterday everyone was seemingly scrambling the for the entire workday without Facebook and Instagram, today it has given everyone fresh content. The amount of memes, posts, polls, and tweets I have seen just since last night is incredible. There are people who literally make their entire living from social media, so it is understandable how a day like yesterday shook them up. It’s like having IT issues except there’s no one you can contact to fix it. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube we use but don’t really have any control over. If they go down or don’t work in any way sure, you can report the issue, but then you’re stuck biting your nails waiting for it to come back up. Then everyone else was actually forced to *gasp* actually read a book or do their work?! I can only hope.
Especially during the pandemic, more people than ever have quit their traditional 9-5 in favor of becoming entrepreneurs with social media driving their business. While I am not an “influencer” by any means, I am an aspiring author who has this blog. I am in the middle of writing my first memoir and I post all about it here and on Instagram.
During the outage yesterday, Cara Alwill (one of my favorite authors/podcasters) sent a letter via her email list. I was happy to see it upon opening my inbox, and eagerly checked it out. Basically she reminded her readers how Instagram could literally be gone in a second and we wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it. Every single photo, caption, video, or story you have posted over the years could be gone and you wouldn’t be able to retrieve them. Albeit the chances of Instagram being gone tomorrow are extremely slim, she really gave me something to think about. I have made multiple friends/connections on Instagram. I have also learned multiple things via content that other people have created and posted. I realized how if Instagram was in fact gone tomorrow how would I find these people/creators again? Some have other platforms. Some have email lists (which I definitely make sure I sign up for!) Arguably without Instagram I wouldn’t have begun writing my own book. How else could I share about my book or blog with anyone who actually wants to read them in future? Cara’s letter was getting a glass of of water to the face. She has her website, podcast, and multiple books she published herself… I want to make sure I don’t solely rely on Instagram to connect.
To anyone else who simply uses social media on a daily basis, I am sure it made you reflect on your relationship with it one way or another. Were you relieved to get a break? Did you find yourself anxiously refreshing? Were you unsure what the hell to do with yourself? Do you not even know what the hell this entire post has been about because you barely use social media? Whatever the situation, yesterday definitely was an interesting day across the board and has given a lot of people something to think about. I am not quite sure how I am going to change things up but trust me it’s in the works 😉
nicole kanz 
Couldn’t agree more here my friend. I personally am very conscious of my screen time in social media. It’s just something to do when there’s nothing to do for me but this has developed over time. I think with the metaverse coming, peoples are only going to dive deeper into spending more time on these social platforms and that will be interesting to see over time. My concern is that affects mental health in many becuase you are comparing yourself so what people want to see on their social which isn’t reality. Only the best versions.
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