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Question: Social Media - love them or hate them?
Answer: Both?? I only use Twitter and Instagram and I curate the hell out of both of them to keep them places that I can enjoy rather than stress triggers.
I used to use but dumped Facebook. That's just a festering pool of hate - mostly by people that I grew up with and had thought were nice. It just doesn't really work for me either. I never got the engagement or interaction that I do in other places.
I have both a Pinterest and tumblr account but don't use either. I know Pinterest is supposed to be one of the best things to help grow your blog but it feels like work and I don't care about looking at pictures and pinning all day, even though I can also see how useful it would be to organize things you're interested in. tumblr was supposed to be more of a free form blog for me - with shorter reviews and quick thoughts about movies, music etc but that's another place that just feels like it's mostly reposting and eh...
So that leaves Instagram - which I love because it's so fast and spontaneous. I get to share more of *me* since it's not a bookstagram account. It has all my interests in one place - books, food, animals and plants. I don't spend a lot of time on my pictures or writing the text so it's low stress. I find a lot of local things to do on there too so it's useful to me.
And Twitter - ok...twitter can be a festering hellhole but I routinely clean up my timeline - muting hashtags, people and anything that annoys me. I'm also careful about who I follow now (same with IG). Does toxicity make it's way through? Sure, but something about Twitter makes it very easy for me to just scroll on by and ignore and then unfollow if necessary. My favorite thing about twitter is how easy it is to click on links to follow blogs and (impulse) purchase books. This is my primary way of finding new blogs. I also like checking in with my bookish friends to see how they are doing. I used to engage more on there but I'm more of a lurker these days unless it's a friend so it can be kind of boring really but it's still my favorite.
How do you feel about social media?
Facebook is definitely a waste of time for trying to grow an audience. Their algorithms are godawful... I read blogs I follow on feedly and from time to time find someone new, but it's very difficult to find someone you like. IG I only have for our farm and follow people related to farming, cooking and baking ;) and twitter is a bit of a headache for me. It's so chaotic and fast that my eyes glaze over and I don't interact there with anyone, just have auto posts from the blog to go up which makes me feel vaguely guilty. That's it, I think.
ReplyDeleteI decided to use SM just for me. I do share blog stuff but I want whatever ones I stick with to be fun and not just about books. I was following people just to follow back or grow the blog and it was too stressful lol
DeleteNow I like the chaos of twitter lol It's just small little soundbites that I can take or leave. But I have it so muted it's probably not worth being there at this point ha
When it comes to social media I mainly just steer clear. Yes, Facebook is hateful. Yes, Twitter is hateful. And then there's tumblr and TikTok (not even sure what that one is, actually) and Pinterest... the fact is, I never leave those places feeling better. I never close the app/site and think that was a good use of my time and I feel better for what I saw/read. Nope, never once happened. So, I have a FB account and a Twitter account but I rarely even look at them. I check out Instagram occasionally but it's almost always as an observer. It's probably been months since I actually posted anything.
ReplyDeleteI used to be way more involved and jump in with my opinions and all that but it's such a waste of time and mental health drain.
DeleteI do love them but it's kind of passive. I scroll through in the morning and then once or twice during the day. On Instagram - I'm really looking more for places to explore. My area has a really good instagram presence.
I'm not really a social media fan. I've never had any interest in Twitter, Instagram or any of those platforms. I initially joined Twitter for book promoting purposes but I use it once a week on Saturday to follow the football match reports coming in, and to read read a few minutes here and there of political views of likeminded people. If it vanished tomorrow I wouldn't care! I like Pinterest best but have had no time recently to add to it.I'm always considering shutting it all down and going offline from all the social stuff as I don't much care for most of it.
ReplyDeleteI mostly still like it for staying in touch with my friends. I know so many people all over the world now and it's really the only way to do it. But, like I said, I have my feed so muted that it's relatively low stress for me. A little boring even lol
DeleteI have unintended social media detoxes I think, which only happen when I'm super busy with other things (like now). I just started using pinterest but I wouldn't say I use it to be social. I just upload my pins and leave.
ReplyDeleteI still have my FB mostly for family but I don't post. I will lurk for 20 minutes a day and peace out. No one needs that kind of negativity in their lives. Although I'm apart of two romance podcast FB groups that I enjoy.
IG is nice but I sometimes get overwhelmed by all of the aesthetics.
I'm not a fan of *aesthetics*. It's really boring to me. I tend to follow more people who post a variety of things and who don't post specific themes.
DeletePortland has such an active foodie IG and that's been fun for me to discover new places to eat. Now I'm starting to find more local garden accounts too so I can start back at gardening again.
I like social media I use Twitter the most, then FB and IG. I hardly go on IG, I just don't care for it all that much. I have some longtime friends on FB as well as family. If anyone starts hate speach or getting stupid on either Twitter or FB I just block them. I don't have time to be nice. lol
ReplyDeleteAt the time, most of my bookish friends were on Twitter and old friends were on FB and that did not go well lol I occasionally go on there to look up businesses but that's it.
DeleteIG is a weird place because I know it's all about the perfect pictures but I try not to follow those types of accounts.
I still like Twitter best, even with all it's (MANY) flaws.
I'm very much like you. I use heavily curated version of social media, but it isn't really a huge part of my life.
ReplyDeleteI've stepped back a lot from it. Plus I have it SO curated that it's kind of boring now lol
DeleteI had to step away from social media. Twitter was my new FB - damaging to my psyche. I will click through Instagram a bit, but I really don't spend much time anywhere anymore. I miss my good old Goodreads days. I used to engage on there all the time, but it became uncool.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I still enjoy it all but I'm rarely on there or connecting like I used to. You have to balance it for mental health reasons.
DeleteI wish I could leave it. Lol. Unfortunately, they've become my source of news and connection to the world in general. Sad, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI still like it. And oddly enough, I prefer to get my news (at least initially) from there. It's in a smaller snippet and I feel like I can prepare that way lol But I also don't get sucked into it anymore. I scroll through then move on before my blood starts boiling ha
DeleteI have accounts on most social media sites, but I don't use all of them in the same way or all that often. I like Facebook for keeping up with some bloggers and friends/family. I have definitely muted or unfollowed people in the past year though. I just can't with the hate and the ignorance. I like Twitter okay, but I don't really post a ton. I do love Instagram. I have fun taking photos of books. LOL It's not strictly a Bookstagram, though it's definitely become more of that recently - I still like adding other things here and there. I'm not really worried about an overall aesthetic or anything. Pinterest is great when I'm looking for something in particular and I'm trying to make more pinnable images for certain blog posts to see if they help with promotion. We'll see.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I think that's kind of the issue for me, I don't want to be boxed in as a bookstagram or dog account or whatever. So that limits the following but also allows me to be relaxed and have fun with it.
DeleteIn addition to Twitter, I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends but I'm re-considering that lately. Too many political arguments, too much hate and argument. I want my social media experience to be nice and supportive; FB isn't giving that to me lately. Good question!
ReplyDeleteFacebook was eye opening in not a good way lol
DeleteI don't wan to live in echo chamber or anything but so much of SM is noise and hate. It doesn't add to anything or help my anxiety in any way.
I like Twitter and IG the most too , although I'm terrible at IG. But I keep thinking I'll post stiff there lol.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about Facebook. Wow- there are so many people (and old friends) that post stuff that just either pisses me off or makes me sad, so I can relate. I'm actually thinking of deleting my Facebook
Pinterest I like but don't do much with. I find a lot of art there though...
I was going to delete my FB but several people said that if you ever want to (or need to since some things require it now) they make it hard to. Like you have to prove your you and they don't believe you lol So I have it all blocked off so people can't find me and just leave it there for now.
DeleteI need to curate twitter! I did take to mute words last fall, but more curating!
ReplyDeleteOne is supposed to use pinterest?Did not know that
I mute a lot of #'s and that helps a lot and then I snooze people for certain amounts of time. I really should just unfollow but I guess I'm chicken shit lol
DeleteI did unfollow tons the past few years though.
Yes! Pinterest is supposed to really increase your blog views but it's another investment of time that I don't want to make really.
"That's just a festering pool of hate - mostly by people that I grew up with and had thought were nice."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what draws bullies to FB especially...maybe it's the fact that they can spread their hate better than in 140 characters? LOL.
As you said in one of your replies above, Twitter is a good tool to keep updated with people you know all over the world. And with the character limit, one has to get to the point quickly, which (oddly, since I'm a talker) appeals to me. You get the gist - you even find yourself to write witty things precisely because of the character limit.
I can see why you love IG - it's the perfect place for you. I for one love your pet updates LOL.
I love IG for how spontaneous it is but I don't really follow those accounts with super stylized photos either. I know that's the point of it but I like the messier/real parts of life more.
DeleteI've just really learned to filter out the noise on Twitter.
I never used Pinterest because I always thought (incorrectly?) it's a crafter's kind of place. Or storyboarding. I don't do anything like that so it never interested me. Like you, I look for interaction, which is why I'm still on Twitter. I probably should stop following so many news outlets.
ReplyDeleteIt's supposed to be one of the biggest drivers for page views apparently. But like all SM, it requires a time investment to get the most out of it and I just can't be bothered lol
DeleteI don't follow many news outlets, publishers or even authors anymore.
I only use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends who are Liberals, and a few close bloggers and authors. There are only 54 of them and half of them aren't on very much, so it's a pretty small interacting bunch. I'm even friends with one of my old college professors and his wife. Ha ha. Most of my family live in other states, so it's nice to see photos and hear about what they are doing every day, and my old high school friends are hilarious. One of them now lives in Sweden and she plays the nose flute. 😆
ReplyDeleteEvery time I get on FB I'm horrified I was friends with some of these people lol SO I just don't bother. You have it pretty narrowed down though.
DeleteI think that's the key for all social media - learn how to curate it.
I agree with you wholeheartedly here! I HAAAAATE FB and have deleted it, best decision I have ever made. It is so toxic! It's all just either meanness or making people bad about themselves, etc. My mental health does NOT need that hellsite. Insta I do look through, because I like pictures, but I rarely post. And I NEVER look at stories, except for The 100 cast hahah. I have a problem, I know. Twitter is where I probably spend the most time, and like you said, I can scroll through the nonsense without it bothering me tbh. And like you said, it's so easy to filter out stuff you don't want to see!
ReplyDeleteI keep mine just to check on local businesses that only use FB but otherwise I only check it maybe 2x's a year lol
DeleteI never look at stories either. I don't utilize or even know how to do so many things on the sites. Like - I have no idea how to thread lol
I need to curate my Twitter better. I feel the same about FB and really only use it to talk to one person. I was gonna try and use Tumblr similarly, and I just... idk? Never did? Never quite "got" it or could bring myself to bother?
ReplyDeleteI thought Tumblr would be fun. It's like a cross between IG, a blog and twitter but then it just moves so fast with a lot of people just reposting and eh...
DeleteAs for Twitter, I mute the hell out of it and I've learned to just scroll over things. I try to listen to the smart people there to learn but so much if it is trolls trying to get you riled up for fun and I don't want to engage in it.
I really curate my places too, and also really limit my time on the social medias even if I am on there a lot. My tweets are scheduled and I have an in and out policy when updating my insta story. It helps. I use twitter, instagram and youtube mostly. I used to have pinterest and it still exists but I stopped using it. I also stopped using facebook. Having all the social media takes up too much time and stops me from living real life, so I cut down.
ReplyDeleteEven if it's for things I love, the sheer amount of noise on SM can be overwhelming so small doses are best lol
Delete