More and more people lately whether it's a founder, a creator, or a solopreneur, are all saying the same thing, that if it wasn't for their business, they wouldn't be on social media. Some were even talking about go back to landlines and flip phones.
And yeah. Same.
The burnout people are experiencing is from what social media asks you to become in order to survive and make money and it is so... ugh. 😣
Stay consistent. Optimize this. Always be on and perform in the most strategic, and algorithm-approved version of yourself. Don't forget to post at the right time and use the right hooks. Follow all the trends and engage for thirty minutes before and after you post and if you do all of that and still don't see results? Do more.
It's exhausting as if you're on a hamster wheel and not allowed to get off until you hit a certain metric.
What makes it even more eye opening is that stepping back from social media isn't as straightforward for most people building something online as it may seem.
We watched it play out with TikTok. One day it was there, the next it wasn't, and creators who had built everything on that platform had nothing to fall back on and was going crazy. Like they had just lost a loved one.
And it makes me wonder, would people really be able to fully disconnected from the world where they don't know anything that's going on? No news, trends, hot takes. Nothing.
Would I be able to do it?
For me, being completely disconnected means being at the beach, no notifications, writing by hand, eating good food, getting the best sleep I've ever had, and existing without anyone needing anything from me.
I want to be able to say yes, but I also know I wouldn't be able to handle not knowing what's going on in the world even outside of digital marketing especially at first anyway. That feeling will probably go away but I know it'll be eating me alive since I am chronically online and yes I just admitted that and no I don't think that's a flaw. Humans have always made things to be witnessed in some form.
The conversation shines the light onto something much deeper than that.
The thought of real life community. Can that truly be an honest thing anymore? Being able to go to a party or hangout and not post anything to social media. To just sit and be in the moment.
And no I'm not saying not taking pictures to hold onto memories and moments. I'm saying not posting those moments online.
I do believe that everyone building a brand online deserves a space, an outlet outside of social media that feels like theirs. Not curated for an algorithm or performing the highlight reel to convert new customer and clients and has anything to do with their business or their brand.
Somewhere that allows them to be just that. To be.
Like the online course creator for women with ADHD who begins making YouTube videos of playing her favorite video game on the weekend or the email strategist who doesn't post anything beyond stuff for her brand and just fully disconnects building puzzles and legos all day.
You get where I'm going.
Places where the algorithm doesn't set the terms and you don't get penalized for being an actual human being.
Yet I don't think people will be able to sit in those moments because we see it now where everything is for monetization. For the engagement and rage bait to get the views and likes.
Like someone who really enjoys painting and you have people in the comments trying to get them to sell them and build a brand.
Like that may be their getaway without actually getting away after a long day of work or just a long day in general.
Not everything has to make money.
and it is truly a sad thing to see because there are so many beautiful things happening in the real world that is just passing us by because we are glued to our screens.
Kinda reminds me of the movie Ready Player One where the winner of the games made it a new rule that the VR world would be offline Tuesdays and Thursdays, so people can actually go outside and actually touch some grass.
So here I am, not going fully off grid, and still very much online, but when I do get the chance to actually disconnect from the online world, the beach fantasy will become a reality with the exception of still having wifi and just having to discipline myself to not engage in any social media and only use it for the TV.
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