Social that Struck Me
A question I get posed a lot and I’m sure others do as well is: “What do you do to relieve stress?” Common answers include: go to the gym, attend a therapy session, journal, go for a walk, listen to music/podcast, etc. For me, when my brain is completely jumbled, my body sends me a signal to write. It literally just pours out of me like rain falling after being in a drought.
I saw this post today made by my friend Derek. He posted a graphic he made of a pill bottle pouring out with ‘instagram likes’ instead of pills. He called it “Social Addiction”. Derek’s caption says, “Social media can be just as much of an addiction as anything else. Put your phone down and remove the stimulation of social media once in a while. Otherwise, you’re just going to be stuck in a vicious cycle of chasing the dopamine hit of likes. Is that really what you want to live for?” Is that really what you want to live for? - man, that struck me.
Creating content and doing social media for a living is something I never imagined would be a profession let alone something I’d be involved in. Now that I am, I absolutely LOVE it and cannot see myself doing anything else. Growing up, I never had a ‘calling’ for a certain profession. All I knew is that I wanted everyday to be different so I wasn’t falling into a rut and eventually become bored. Luckily, social media changes every single day. Whether it’s a new trending song for video content, finding a new person to follow, or another viral post, social is always being talked about.
Going back to my earlier statement, I love what I do, BUT it’s oftentimes tricky with boundaries. For example, I run both a brand’s account and my own personal accounts so I tend to be on my phone more often than I’d like to be. Also, social media isn’t 9-5, it’s 24/7. Just because my hours might be regular business hours, doesn’t mean that I can take a break from looking at a brand’s account on the weekends. I still get DM’s, tagged posts, likes/comments/shares, etc. outside of business hours. It’s tough to set a boundary when it’s never ending.
As a marketing professional, I’ve been asked in interviews: “what types of content do you enjoy seeing”, “what accounts do you like to follow”, “as someone who’s in social media, how often do you commit to having your own accounts?”. All valid questions. Within the last couple months I’ve been pretty radio silent on my own accounts. I’ve been struggling trying to figure out what my ‘brand’ is? Having experience running various brand’s accounts can be awesome but diminishing at times. Interacting with a community of 40,000+ followers is incredible because I know that they appreciate and respect the brand. On the other hand, this community doesn’t know it’s me. That I’m the one behind the brand giving it a voice to be heard.
So after my 9-5, I go home, and I’m just @jordanweber1 struggling to create great content for my so-called ‘community’. It’s hard to not compare being a big, meaningful brand during the day to then also being just being myself - the person who doesn’t know what to post.
Going back to Derek’s post, it makes me angry that I even think this way because he’s right, we shouldn’t get our dopamine hit from social media. It should be from the things that make you happy and that get you out of bed everyday. Whether that’s looking forward to your next trip/adventure, continuing a great book, whipping up your favorite meal, chatting with a loved one on the phone, trying a new workout, taking a new class... absolutely anything. I shouldn’t be worrying about what to post, I should be chasing my own inspiration.
My one piece of advice: Surround yourself with inspiration. Whether that’s people that inspire you, a quote you look at everyday on your wall, positive self talk in the mirror, a kick ass song that brings out the feel good energy, or any other ways that puts a smile on your face even for a second.
Derek, if you’re reading this, thank you for sharing your post. For some, it might just look like a pouring pill bottle, but for me, it struck up a conversation.
I’ll leave you with his words, “What are you really living for?” Comment below!