I am sitting in bed, trying to fall asleep, when suddenly it dawns on me that I haven’t posted on Instagram in four days. My immediate thought is that I need to put up something. Anything. I begin scrolling through my camera roll until I finally find a photo from an old blog post that I never put up. I make a few quick edits, type out a caption, and bam–the photo is posted.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
My concern is gone.
This is a scenario I lived the other night. And this isn’t the first time something like it has happened to me. Every now and then, I start to lag behind on social media. I forget to tweet for a couple of days, or I can’t think of an Instagram caption interesting enough to post. So, I don’t.
At first, it doesn’t bother me. Before blogging, I had never been a massive social media user. I didn’t feel like I needed–or wanted to be on social media all the time. And as a result, being away from platforms like Twitter and Instagram for long stretches of time doesn’t faze me.
However, it’s once I realize that I’ve been absent from social media that I start to panic. I feel like I’m slacking off. Not doing what I should be doing. It’s a weird feeling, but in some ways, I swear having social media almost feels like a job.
Maybe it’s because I’m a blogger, and social media tend to go hand-in-hand with that. Or maybe it’s because I’m the type of person who doesn’t like sitting on her hands for too long. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that posting on social media can sometimes feel like an obligatory thing.
There’s something about social media that makes me feel as though I constantly need to be exciting and entertaining. Whenever I go on platforms like Instagram, I always see interesting people doing interesting things. And my gut’s immediate response to seeing that is ‘well, I should be doing something interesting and posting about it every day, too.’
And let me tell you, feeling compelled to post on social media every day is hard. Unless you travel all the time or have a ton of photos on hand, it can be really difficult to find interesting things to post on a daily basis. I live a pretty normal life. I have days that are exciting and then days that are not so exciting. And while I have no problem with that, it’s basically next to impossible to make those not so exciting days feel anything but that.
That being said, I think it’s important to keep in mind that contrary to what it might seem, posting on social media is not your job (unless it actually is, of course, but I think you know what I’m trying to say). You don’t owe it to any particular platform to be engaging in something interesting every single day of your life. It’s okay to take time away from social media and not feel guilty about it.
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Currently, Lately 
Great post. I find a lot of the time you simply don’t get the returns for effort on social media. Good to forget it for a day or so
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Thank you! And I agree! I think it’s really important to remember to step away every now and then!
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Yes it can definitely feel like a job. My planner even has a list of what things to post on social media and what days. It can be exhausting!
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I know, right?! It definitely can be!
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I love this post. Yes I feel social media is like a job. Up till a point I had to constantly update my work or else my followers lose interest and unfollow but nowadays I am more relaxed I only post when I am motivated and not just post for the sake of it. I try to be active thou.
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Thank you! And that’s a great mindset! It’s important to be consistent, but it’s just as important to enjoy what you’re posting!
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Your welcome 😊 exactly it’s all about the balance.
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Amazing post! I totally agree with everything you said. Sometimes social media even feels more stressful and more time consuming than a job. And unlike most jobs, social media sites feel unescapable as well 😦
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Thank you! And that’s so true! It’s hard to find separation when it comes to social media!
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Gosh, this was so relatable. At times it does feel like a chore no matter how interesting it may be otherwise.. there’s always that feeling of ‘I need to put a post/pic up now’ thanks for sharing love xx
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I know, right!? As much as I love it, it can be so frustrating sometimes!
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Yes def 😢
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I fully agree with you. Social media has been a job for me and stresses me out sometimes. This is why I took a 9 month hiatus. If I don’t keep posting, I lose my followers. Ahhhhh 😓
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It stresses me out sometimes, too! I definitely feel like taking breaks can help alleviate that stress, but as you said, it gets stressful when you start losing followers because of it!
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Its one of those win/lose situation.
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Yes I am tire and taing to much time from other tings. I am going to stop now.
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Great post! I’ve literally told myself it feels like a job to post on social media to gain more followers or promote my blog. But sometimes like you said there are days where nothing exciting happens. I think that it’s okay to take a break or just post something simple like a quote.
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Thank you! And I totally agree! Taking breaks and posting simple things is necessary sometimes!
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Yes, it really is!
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I feel you can’t go wrong with an inspirational quote during a break.
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Oh it definitely feels like a full-time thing. None of us are ever really off social media. There’s always a meme, a twitter moment or a video going viral. We then put unfair pressure on ourselves to post “worthy” content. I’ve often found myself staring endlessly at a draft of a tweet as if I can perfect it somehow. I keep telling myself I’m gonna quit social media but then I remember it’s a keen promotion tool and thus the vicious circle is complete. Yes, moderation is key 👍
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Very good post! I love seeing different people’s perspectives on social media. I’m still at a point where I’m really excited to post and don’t feel forced to do it, but I find that if I spend too much time on it, I do feel a bit anxious, the numbers stress me out and I just need to put my phone down and leave it! Xx
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Really random, but I love the font that the main body of your blog is written in. It’s so pretty! Do you mind if I ask what it is?
Also loved the article!
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♥️ Amazing post, and I totally agree about feeling like it’s a job. xx
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Hello Paige!
Loved your honesty in this post. I agree that social media feels like a chore at times, though we should remind ourselves that it is not our job and that we are allowed a break every now and then 🙂
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I totally agree with this post! It is so stressful to have Insta Twitter or Snapchat bcoz u have to keep uploading things or people will start in following u. I loved reading this post. You are awesome at blogging!
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I love this post because I have been having the exact same feelings lately! I’ll go one day without posting on insta and i instantly think about how I should working harder, taking better pics or stressing about losing followers- I would say it’s almost worse than a job haha! 😅💕
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This is so relatable. I feel you. Good job😘
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Great post! It definitely is a job, and one that I get tired of. There’s too much going on in real life to be tied to the demands of all this social media. I have lots of pictures, but then to sit and think of something witty to say that will be “engaging”, it’s like trying to write a novel every day. There are days that I don’t even look at my accounts, and I don’t feel bad about it!
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Unless it is. It’s turning into mine. I think many people have this idea that it’s a hip, glamorous job, but it’s tedious and tiring in truth.
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I work as a social media manager so it is quite literally a job to me, 7 days a week! But I make sure that when I’m done for the day, the social media goes away, and sometimes I’ll schedule things for the weekend and go camping or go to the seaside. For better or worse, social media has become a HUGE part of our lives, and it’s more important than ever to find the balance!
If anything, working in social media has made me experience less of the sort of pressure you’re talking about to post something every day on IG, for example. Since I get paid to do that for work, I guess the value of doing so on my personal accounts has changed somewhat. For whatever reason, I question my intention more. For work, I know my intention is to create engagement, to get likes and follows, and to attract customers. So for me, I want it to be about expression. And if I post for expression, then it’s not a job, it’s a passion.
Ultimately it is a tool, so it should serve us. If we end up becoming addicted or dependent on these tools, then we are better off without them!
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