It has to add rather than take.
I’ve been a relentless advocate for social media, and still am. I’ve been talking a lot about the good things that social medias have brought, especially in forums where the worse sides have been talked about to a larger extent. Yet, I’ve found myself sort of moving away from both Facebook and Instagram when I’ve deleted the apps and limited my time on the plattforms. Here’s why.
I find all of the good parts about social media so incredibly underrated. We can reach out to so many people on this planet from our palms, which has never been possible before. It’s truly amazing.
Something even more amazing in my eyes is the ability to create things. Stories. Videos. Small teachings. Value in all shapes or forms. Interactions. Purpose. Even physical things like a scarf or food. I find the ability to create more exhilarating than the idea to connect.
Simply because if we can’t create something out of our connection, if we’re just interacting to be interacting, it’s no good. It won’t make any difference, and it won’t be any interesting to me. Creating something has to come at first hand.
To me, social media plattforms can both help and hinder that process. It’s been both ways for me, as I create a lot of content to share, which is one of the drivers for me to create. Without the ability to connect over it, I might not have created it. I’ve also found myself in a scrolling tunnel, just consuming instead of creating. Not even bothering to consume, but just scroll.
In those cases, social media is used not to connect but rather as something to hang our attention to. It’s often an addiction, and we often times don’t realise.
That’s why I’ve taken a step back from the plattforms. I’ve realised that it might not be the best thing for my creative side to be on there as much as I’ve been. On the other hand, I also feel like I miss some parts of it. I’ve been peeping in on instagram a couple of times lately, and realised that I’ve missed the content of people like @babin and @drock a lot since I left. Their posts often times motivate me to create.
There’ll be no better punchline to. This text then this: too much of anything will hurt. To me, the single most important thing is creativity, in all its forms. Creativity can be increased and decreased by social media depending on the usage. I’m still trying to find that balance. Have you found yours?
