Ever since I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I’ve had a crisis of conscience.
Well, in reality it started before that.
In 2019 I noticed an improvement in my health when I distanced myself from social media. Was there a direct correlation or was it coincidence? I may never know, but mentally I do function better with less social media in my life.
But then there’s a dilemma: Do I need it to promote Haunt Jaunts and A Haunt Mess? And what about if I finally ever get my books out. Don’t I need social media for that too?
My author friend Priscilla Bettis doesn’t use it. And guess what? She gets a lot of writing and reading done.
I decided to check out two other authors I sort of follow and one day hope to emulate: Darcy Coates and Jeremy Bates. Both are USA Today bestselling authors. I wondered if they have social media accounts and how often they use them.
They have them, but guess what? They’re not on theirs hardly at all.
Huh. No wonder they’re so prolific.
Time
I remember back in the early 2000s other writer friends kept telling me, “You need a blog.”
I remember balking, “Wait. You’re telling me to spend time away from writing and working on my books to write a blog that I then also have to promote?”
This was well before social media. There were AOL and Yahoo groups that sort of served a similar purpose. All it did was eat up time for me, because I’m easily distracted and sidetracked.
Then came social media.
Well, first came cancer and starting HJ and hearing about all these bloggers who promoted their work on social media. So I jumped on the bandwagon because it did used to be fun.
Not anymore.
The Social Dilemma put a lot of it into perspective. It’s designed to suck you in, but it’s not designed to be kind to your mental health. As humans, it’s natural for us to compare ourselves to each other. So suddenly my days were consumed trying to keep up with the Social Joneses in the hopes people would come see my blog.
Spoiler alert: the whole world is wanting people to come see their stuff. Buy this, watch that, learn this, become that…
#Overload.
Fatigued and Disgusted
Thanks to 2020, I’m exhausted. Not just from first quarantine fatigue and the never ending social distancing fatigue, but from all the craziness. Everybody has to be on a side, be it whether or not to wear a mask or whether or not they support Black Lives Matter and anything and everything in between.
And don’t even get me started on politics.
But then I watched The Social Dilemma and I realized just how unhealthy social media not only is for me, but for humanity as a whole.
Chaos, fear, and hate sell. The reason our country is more divided than ever doesn’t have as much to do with political lines and differences as social media and how it’s curated, controlled, and manipulated. Instead of bringing people together, it’s teaching them how to tear each other apart.
It’s exhausting watching people war with each other over everything. And there are people not only loving that this is happening, but who helped facilitate it.
Influencer or Content Creator?
It also made me realize that guess what? I never wanted to be a social media influencer or marketer. Who am I kidding? I was never that person. You know, the one in the know with an almost prophetic ability to not only spot trends but hop on them and influence others to as well?
Nope.
I have only ever wanted to be a content creator.
Social media can be useful for marketing –if you’re willing to pay.
A few times I even have on Facebook. It does work. I can reach an intended audience…for a price.
Not For Sale
But guess what? My Return on Investment (ROI) has never been that great.
It has resulted in nabbing more Facebook followers, but FB controls not only what those followers see, but how many will see my posts.
Not all 11,000 see what I put out there. But for a price, FB will make sure a few hundred –or thousand, depending on how much I’m willing to pay– will see.
Also, while Facebook does dominate when it comes to HJ visitor stats from social media, it’s such a small slice of the overall pie.
Combining FB, Twitter, and Instagram altogether, that makes up about 10% of my average HJ visitors.
About 10% are repeat visitors.
Somewhere between 70-80% are organic, meaning they came from searches.
Basically, my ROI stinks when it comes to how much time I invest on social media for the returns I don’t get in people coming to see what I’ve posted.
Party Pooper?
So I’ve decided to try and experiment and ditch the socials. At least Facebook, Twitter and Insta for Haunt Jaunts.
It’s super uncomfortable –or was, until I thought of what one last post I’d do on Twitter and FB: A pinned picture with text explaining where to read, listen and watch.
On Insta I’ll create a grid of three last photos that give the essence of what HJ is all about.
But the other side of not having been on socials hardly at all –for Haunt Jaunts or personal– is that it has been very freeing.
I don’t want to let my A Haunt Mess co-hosts down though. I take care of our FB page. So I will stay on a bit for that.
But mostly I want more time to create videos and write. My phone tells me I spend nearly 3 hours a day that could be better allotted to what will really make my heart happy. (And that doesn’t count all the time I’m on socials via my computer. Or that I was on.)
So, that’s what I’m going to do. Because 2020 has been an incredible reminder that nothing is a given, it’s easy to take things for granted, and you only get this one life. It should be savored, enjoyed, and appreciated every day.
That’s what I plan to do more of.
Basically, I want to free myself from distractions and annoyances and just create.
I figure whoever is meant to find me, will find me. And if you’ve made it all the way to this last paragraph, thank you. I want you to know I appreciate your time.