I’m glad to hear someone else’s thoughts on this! Too few people tend to question the status quo or bother to examine living differently. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with all time spent online. For me, shutting down my fb account for a few months at a time has worked really well. I find it breaks my “need” to check it all the time, and then when I do reactivate my account, I’m far less tempted to waste as much time on there. I actually just finished one of these sabbatical periods, and even after reinstating my account, I’m barely on there at all now. For me, social media works best when it is merely a tool used occasionally (whether that’s for for networking as an artist, connecting to friends socially, or whatever). Whenever it becomes a constant presence, it actually makes me unhappy and disconnects me from my day-to-day reality. I’m far happier when my mind is fully present with my physical surroundings and not tied to a screen. And, like you said, creativity flows much better and is more enjoyable when you allow silence in your life and shut out the chatter.
It’s funny that you say that Karen because sometimes I would sit here and wonder, how the hell is everyone else handling all of this and I just can’t seem to get a handle on it?!
I don’t think that I really realized how much of a growing problem it was until several of my online friends suddenly shut down their accounts or just walked away from them. These weren’t newbies either. These were artists and writers who had in some cases been online for years and had amassed thousands of followers. They told me that it simply got a a point where they felt that they had to choose between keeping all of their social media accounts updated or having the time to create their art. That’s when I knew that something had to change….
I’ve had my eyes opened to this issue recently because I use social media to market my art and crafts. We creative types are all being told to open Facebook, Twitter, blog accounts and ‘connect’ with people several times a day. Trouble is, marketing this way doesn’t work for a lot of people – including me. I have wasted a huge amount of time writing blog posts and tweets thinking I was driving people to my Etsy store. Time I should have been using to be creative. It turns out that about 0.2% of the traffic to my store is from my social media accounts. The majority of visitors come via Etsy searches, my business cards and Google. Knowing this has removed the pressure, allowed me to stop stressing over using social media and, while I won’t be shutting my accounts down, I will be using them less often.
I think you’re right Gillian, there does need to be some sort of balance. It doesn’t matter if online or offline marketing turns out to be best for your particular business, you still have to find that delicate balance between selling your art and having the time to create your art.
That seems to be the hard part for me and so many other artists I talk with. We all know that dropping out completely is not really an option, but we also know that they just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything we are supposed to be doing to build our online reputation and market our work. So we tend to swing back and forth and go too far in either direction.
Since this whole social and online marketing thing is still kind of new, I think that eventually we’ll all be able to find that elusive balance and get this figured out. At least I hope so!
I think some of us are just like that! My attention span for big projects is 3 – 4 years – after that I want out. I have learnt to say no, finally, to commitees, charity events, PTA and even work that I know I won’t do well – better to be honest and refuse! I am more careful about who ‘friends’ me on fb and I have started to weed out Twits (twitterers??) that have nothing to say that interests ME – although they may be excellent for somebody else. The more I simplify my life the more I seem to take on but I am pleasing myself more and more and not trying to please others (and failing miserably in the process). I also know that all of this is a build up to an amazingly creative focus which will lift me to the next level after which I will feel like I am back to square 1 and then the process starts again… Such is life I think! Keep doing what you are doing – it’s awesome! But you can probably slow down a bit so that we newcomers can catch up!!
X
Maybe that’s it Sara — Maybe it is my attention span (or lack thereof) or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m so easily distracted by the nearest shiny object hmmmmm. . . I really do admire your ability to say no to potential distractions and I like how you are moving towards a simpler path. It sounds like you have found a good balance for yourself.
I wonder if everyone goes through these social media life stages like some kind of online version of Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid? Maybe we all start off with curiosity and excitement, at then at some point move on to growth and insanity. Finally when it all becomes too much — we jettison the unnecessary baggage that we’ve accumulated along the way and find a place that works for us individually.
Drew,
Elizabeth and I are also trying to get our hands around this for our photography businesses. We are trying to cut back on our addiction to, and the time we spend on, social media. We are trying to focus on face-to-face interactions, but it is hard when for a ten second investment you can converse with someone versus all of the work it takes to arrange and attend a luncheon. I certainly understand the difference between real conversations and status updates, but it is seductive to believe the quantity of contacts in the virtual world makes up for the quality of personal interactions. Social media seems to be more effective for our Wedding business than our fineart work where, much like Gillian stated, it seems to have little or no effect so far.
You’re right Frank, this whole online networking thing is a bit seductive with its promises, but at the same time it’s still in its infancy and nobody really knows what exactly it’s going to become, or how it’s going to affect us long-term both as professional artists and as human beings
All we can really do is play around with these tools/toys and see what happens. OVer the past few years I’ve known artists who have created a significant reputation for themselves online, and I’ve also seen artists where social networking just doesn’t seem to be worth the effort (at least at this point) because so much of their business is local.
I’m so glad you touched on this subject. There is a pressure to be connected to everyone, via everything, all the time… if I allowed this pressure to keep me plugged in, my children would be running around naked and starving. In the end, I think it’s all about priorities, and self control. Thank you again for your reminder. :)
Thanks Trish for the saying so :)
I think you’re right, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to constantly be connected in new ways. Not just on the internet, but on our mobile phones as well. I’ve noticed that more and more people are getting offended if they can’t get in touch with me immediately via email, text, voice mail, or a good old-fashioned phone call. I’ll admit that sometimes I even go so far as to completely turn off my phone (gasp!) just to feel that sensation of being electronically unconnected at times. I know, rebellious right? Turning off and tuning out has that same feeling that you would get skipping out on a class back at school (not that I would know anything about that). It’s that sense of freedom that comes from being completely “unreachable” even if only for a little while. . .
First I want to say I am not specifically picking on Facebook. It’s just the only social networking program I use.
I’m fairly new in my journeys of people discovering my photography.
Everyone would ask me “Are you on Facebook?” I wrestled with the thought for over a year. Then I created a Facebook page and slowly built up the list of Friends. But then aggghhhh! I would end up removing so much uh,eh junk about people/places/things that just didn’t matter. I’d be so upset with myself for wasting 20-30 minutes of my life only to find out TMI on most people. I still fight it to this day.
I’m agree with Frank Myers said “it seems to have little or no effect so far.”
So for me and my business…..My final thoughts:
>Everything in Moderation
>Less is MORE
Thanks Jeanne for stopping by and sharing your experiences with us :)
I don’t know if it’s simply the newness of this whole social networking thing or what, but it seems to me that so many people these days ask “Are you on Facebook” not because they really care so much about hanging out with us, but because they want us to friend/like them in order to boost their numbers with the unspoken understanding that “you click my button and I’ll click yours”. I know that it’s been said before but Facebook (and Twitter to a lesser extent) has become the new universal ego-stick where we measure each others self-worth by the size of their (ahem) . . . friend count.
I’m slowly discovering, however, that there is a vast difference between being “connected” online and making a real connection with someone regardless if it happens online or off. It all goes back to that whole quality vs. quantity thing. We simply don’t have the time to really connect with everyone who casually stops by our website. It doesn’t work that way offline and it doesn’t work that way online either. Just as we wouldn’t ask the stranger who says “Good morning” to us on the street to be our friend, we probably shouldn’t expect the Facebook friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend to be our instant virtual buddy either. A real connection requires a mutual interest, sharing, and a conversation between two people (kind of like this), and this doesn’t just magically happen by approving a friend request or clicking a “Like” button.
Thank you so much for all comments coz I’m in between to turn off my fb.But when I read all comments,it’s very useful for me.I’m very new for a cyber world,so I have to study more.I’d like to keep in touch with some of my good friends too.I’ll manage my time in each day that how much time I’ll spend on fb and I must have discipline to myself too.What do you think?
Thank you for all of your kind words and support :) I think that we are all newcomers in some sense to this social world of blogs, tweets, and status updates. Nobody knows what any of this will end up being five or ten years down the road. We tend to forget that ten years ago there was no Facebook, Twitter, or even YouTube so who knows what we’ll be using down the road. All we can do is to try to connect with one another any way we can, regardless of what the latest cyber-fad might be. . .
Perhaps you know this tool? https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/leechblock/
Thanks for this wonderful article. I need a solution for my constant facebook-checking too – so I’m going to give this addon a try.
Thank you Kristina for your kind words. As I’ve said before, it’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one out there who is struggling to find a healthy balance when it comes to using these kinds of sites.
I haven’t used LeechBlock personally but I’ve heard of a lot of people using similar types of apps or addons. If you try it out, you’ll have to let us know what you think of it. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that unless I uninstalled all of my other browsers, I would probably just end up switching browsers anytime I started to get the the Twitter jimmies and felt the immediate need to tweet something. Unfortunately, that’s just the way my feeble little mind operates. Yes, I may have a bit of a problem. . .
So with you on this Drew. I have found scheduling Twitter Days and then leaving it alonne the other days helps.. and “StayFocusd” for Chrome is very handy too ;-) https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji
Thanks Helen, it’s actually a bit sad that I don’t have the self-discipline to make using these kinds of technological sanity safeguards unnecessary, but as they say admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery ;)
I’m still hoping that once the exciting newness of this whole social networking things wears off a bit that I will somehow learn to use it responsibly. Of course by then I’m sure some other new shiny object will have appeared to distract me from doing what I’m supposed to be doing so I should probably just learn to control myself now [cue laughter]
I can almost hear the public service announcements now. . .
“Don’t turn out like me kids, always remember to Tweet Responsibly!”
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I have just had to get off facebook entirely. I just stopped as of this past Saturday morning. I already feel happier, though I am actually going through withdrawal, which must mean it was a problem! I am sick of wasting the time, and I found it was causing me some emotional distress as well. Bottom line: being online that much is just not good.
I just close my Fb off cold turkey and I am ashamed to say that I must have been addicted as I can feel the effect it has had on my mind. I am in the midst of recreating my day without it. I am happier so much happier without it and I will never go back to it. I am done. Its a fake world and I never grew up with these thing so why the hell do I need it now. It was making me sad being on there, I was bored so I was constantly checking and I had no clue why. I started doing little things like listening to guided meditation on the train instead of scrolling facebook, listening to positive speakers and this is how I went cold turkey. I didnt want to be like everyone else on the train, head down, thumb scrolling and no eye contact. Instead I now look at the scenery and smile. Day two and I have thought about FB, but when I do it just makes me so happy I turned it off.
People have been calling me, emailing me and messaging me and it is so much more real. Thats what I wanted. Real friendships and connections. Life is way more beautiful looking at it for real, engaging all the senses, not living it through a screen. I choose LIFE
I’m glad to hear Kali that you’ve found a way to reconnect with your life. I think social media has the potential to be so time-consuming that it will take as much of your day as you offer it. I personally continue to go back and forth on this issue. I see the value of FB and Twitter for being able to stay in touch and connect with people who you might not otherwise ever meet, but at the same time, I also see how much time it can consume because you are never truly “caught up” and there is always something new to see.
Oh I have so much to say here! And I’m so glad I found your article. I’m gonna read every one of these comments tonight after work :) but I want to quickly say I’m glad I’m not alone, been struggling with this for years literally. One month ago I finally deleted my 15 year old FB cuz I couldn’t get control of my social media life. DeactivateTwitter all the time, still struggling with that one. Glad you found a system that works for you. Liz
Thanks so much, Liz for your kind words and I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who is still struggling to find a balance between getting myself out there and spending my entire day watching videos and feeling bad about myself. Don’t get me wrong, even if you set up a “system” like I’ve done (often still failing), it will find a way to consume both your productivity and your sanity unless you are constantly vigilant. Thanks again for the message and good luck! :)