Who cares?
Sometimes this whirls in my mind as my finger hovers over the publish button, just as I’m about to share yet another photo of a dreamy cotton pink sunset glowing behind the rooftops opposite my house. People have seen a million sunsets before, so what makes this one special? What makes any of my posts social media-worthy, for that matter?
Social media is all about attention and, to a degree, narcissism. It’s saying look at me. Look at what I’m wearing, what I’m eating, what I’m drinking, what I’m doing, what I’ve bought, where I’ve travelled to, who I’m with, what I think.
I don’t even need to share a perfect, ultra-filtered selfie to make it all about me. Whenever I post something - anything - I’m inadvertently saying, ‘hey, look this way'.
I’m old enough to remember life before social media - and mobile phones, too, come to think of it. And for all the positives of being hyper connected these days, I hate the fact that social apps now shape my daily routine.
As soon as I wake up and decide I won’t be hitting snooze for the fifth time, I roll over, still cosily wrapped up in my duvet, and fumble around for my phone. Then tap, tap, tap. My app checking sequence begins, as I discover what’s new and what I’ve missed while I’ve been asleep. I’m all caught up in a matter of minutes and I haven’t even left my bed yet. But I’ll be back on my phone again soon enough, probably after I’ve showered and brushed my teeth.
Little moments throughout the rest of my day - things I might consider interesting, entertaining, or my definition of ‘cool’ - all vie for my phone’s attention, hoping to debut as my next Insta story or tweet.
Sometimes I share them, sometimes I don’t.
It depends on my mood, with my social media activity usually reflecting how sociable, spontaneous and chatty I’m feeling in real life. Sometimes I’m just too busy to capture and share content in between everything else. Other times, I’ll talk myself out of posting altogether, fearful of those ‘what was she thinking’ eye rolls, a distinct lack of heart-shaped likes, or dare I even whisper it…an unfollow.
On the odd occasion, ‘digital me’ will still show up when she really doesn’t want to. That’s because churning out thoughts, photos, web links and GIFs is just the expected norm, especially when you’ve got a creative side hustle that relies on a consistent social media presence.
Confession time.
I am (sometimes) guilty of oversharing. A handful of my friends even joke about it. My response? If it wasn’t for people like me, you wouldn’t have anything to look at while scrolling through your feeds.
This past year in particular, I blame my incessant oversharing on feeling so frickin’ bored during lockdown. I end up having one-sided conversations with myself on Instagram stories. The ‘might delete later’ vibes are all too real.
It’s not just about what and how often you share though - it’s also where you choose to do it.
Every time I share a link to my latest Monday Oops newsletter on LinkedIn, my tummy ties itself into knots.
LinkedIn is the one platform where we’re supposed to present a professional, polished up version of ourselves. Users don’t hold back in proclaiming ‘this isn’t Facebook!’ every time they stumble across content that, in their opinion, doesn’t fit this remit.
And, for me, this is where the dilemma lies. My newsletter is incredibly personal and revealing, yet I still want to savvily tap into LinkedIn’s good organic reach and find new audiences for it on there. To quote myself from a recent post: “We're all people behind our day-to-day roles, and this is my little side project to help me develop my writing skills, so I'm going to keep sharing my posts.”
I feel like I’m forever justifying and apologising for my social media content, but perhaps I need to look at things differently…
Maybe instead of mulling over the relevance of my personal posts, I should just casually say ‘who cares?’ when it comes to obsessing over what other people think about my sharing habits.
If they don’t like what I do - they can simply scroll on by.
January 11 mixtape
Book of the week
I’m currently reading F*ck Being Humble: Why self-promotion isn’t a dirty word, by advertising pro Stef Sword-Williams. Stef’s pithy careers advice delves into understanding your talents, and how to stop shying away from shouting about your achievements. My favourite tip so far comes from the chapter on constructing your online presence: “Stalk yourself regularly. It’s not only socially acceptable, it’s necessary.”
Instagram of the week
If, like me, you’re kick-starting your new year with a renewed focus on all things health and fitness, I’m finding Stylist Magazine’s Strong Women Instagram page a really good source of inspo. You’ll find stretch routines, mini workouts, recipe ideas, and a good helping of motivational content to help you stay focused on reaching your 2021 wellbeing goals.
Podcast of the week
I’ve featured a few of his quotes before, but did you know that Steven Bartlett has a podcast too, called The Diary of a CEO? He’s so down to earth and relatable - I also love his ultra smooth, calming voice! It’s worth listening to his back catalogue for plenty of inspiring stories and nuggets of wisdom. Plus, only yesterday he revealed details of his new book, Happy Sexy Millionaire - Unexpected truths about fulfilment, love and success - one for my pre-order list!
Until next Monday
Alexis 💕
www.alexisforsyth.com
Catch up on my recent issues…
Don’t trust your inner narrator