Leaving Social Media: How It Started
Quitting social media was not unlike the opening scene of Zack Snyder’s (amazing) Dawn of the Dead remix, when a pajama-clad Sarah Polley fought for her life to outrun a sudden zombie apocalypse:
I woke up rather abruptly one day, felt the monsters invading my house, and got the hell out. I ran far and away from those under siege places I once called a kind of home.
Eight thousand+ followers on Twitter: gone. Hundreds of “friends,” family and industry connections on Facebook: kaboom! 🤯 I low-key kept my Instagram up – but rarely used it. Tumblr and Pinterest? Yeah, they’re still around, but I’m sure some magical dust creatures are now running those accounts. YouTube? I posted three videos (two vlogs, and one fan video) then quietly backed up and tiptoed right out of the room. Snapchat and TikTok? Oh I’m there, but you won’t see much since the holidays when we were at peak COVID shutdown and all I had was my Baby Yoda, cats and goofy Snapchat filters to fight a complete depressive meltdown.
Leaving social media and destroying my large accounts was the equivalent of Ms. Polley arming herself to the teeth and fighting back.
Some People are Made for Social Media!
To be clear, if you’re an influencer, that famous Eagles “Hotel California” lyric is likely true: you can check out, but… you can never leave. (Unless you’re earning six to seven figures and have been smart with that money).
But let’s face it, if you’re an influencer, you have to be passionate about social media, and comfortable with it being your life. You’re not likely googling the phrase, “Leaving social media” “no social media hurt business” or “can I leave social media without it hurting my business.” You’re loving the ‘gram life and the ‘gram life hearts you. Great! GOOD. This blog post isn’t for you.
I Left Social Media for 18 Months and This is What Happened
Leaving Social Media: How It’s Going
Here’s the long and short of what leaving social media did for me and my business, and what it may possibly do for you:
- It gave me time to make my business relationships more direct and meaningful, which then led to more word-of-mouth referrals, and long-term commitments.
- I started to wrap my ever-clearing brain around which of my relationships were toxic and needed reevaluation. As a result, my business became healthier too!
- I learned a new sense of boundaries, which gave me more time. As a result, that extra time converted into more money.
- Leaving social media cut down the noise, which made my brain smile more often. It’s insidious how the curated #BestLife, hashtag-blessed feed of a lie well-lived is something to which we’ve grown desensitized because of social media. Leaving that all behind became a balm to my mental health I hadn’t realized I needed.
- I started viewing life without filters, experiencing my world with wonder and magic again.
- I became resourceful about how to find more clients and business partnerships without social media. As a result, I now have nothing to lose should Zuckerberg’s “meta” empire crumble to the ground. 😈
In short, leaving social media got me really fcking clear on what I want for my life and my business. And when it comes to running a successful business, clarity is everything. Clarity will always add more value to your life and business than tons of followers. Clarity is crucial. Without it, you’re going to drive yourself crazy and your business into the ground.
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Chase dreams, not algorithms.[/tweet_box]
Why I’ve Decided to Come Back
Yes, I’m slowly returning to social media, and am as excited as ever for what’s in store! You may ask, am I a masochist? Do I just love irony that much? Has a terrible case of FOMO infected my brain?
Hey Jaye, if leaving social media was so good for you, WTAF?
Once again, I give you the all-important word: Clarity. I know exactly what I want now. For my business, for my life, and from social media.
It’s a perfect time to start over… and guess what? Now I know for sure that leaving social media won’t ruin my business. So LOL I’ve finally got the upper-hand:
I can check in, and I can always leave.
🌟 Would you like to follow my new artsy, n3rdy, creatively magical social media experiment? Click here for my most relevant socials! I promise I’ll keep your feeds artsy, nerdy and magical. 🤓💥🦄
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