How Social Media Can Become a Vicious Vortex

The amount of followers you have does not minimize your worth.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Introduction

Many people around the world use social media to engage with the content made by others or create content of their own with the hopes of gaining recognition. While social media can be a fun escape, it can also become a dangerous vortex. The attention your content gets can be elating, but a lack of it can also be discouraging. Posts don't get the desired number of views or reactions. People leave insulting comments. The number of followers fluctuates, and sometimes the number doesn't move at all.

This topic needs to be discussed more across social media platforms. It’s important to remind social media users not to focus extensively on the amount of engagement their content receives and get sucked into the vortex of believing that the number of followers, likes, comments, saves, and shares validates their worth.

️My experience

I'm a writer. I post a lot about writing and my aspirations to become an author on social media. I appreciate my followers, and I’m comforted that my content is seen by at least some people and their views make the time I spent on the material worthwhile. However, I've noticed that I either become elated when I gain followers or views and sad when I lose followers or my posts receive little to no engagement. When my numbers fluctuate, I start a vicious cycle of criticizing myself, wondering what I did to lose someone's interest and what I could've done differently.

Over the years, I’ve realized that this is the nature of social media. People come and go. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. Besides, an unfollow may not specifically reflect on something that I’ve done as a content creator. Other factors may be involved. For example, the account may have been inactive and removed by the platform from my followers’ list, the individual may have deleted the account or simply unfollowed because the individual found another account that had more relevant content fitting his or her needs and no longer wished to see mine, and that’s okay.

It's been a process, but I'm training myself to have a neutral reaction about how many followers and views I receive. While I do see value in managing my social media accounts because I’m trying to develop my author brand, I'm also working on accepting that it doesn't matter how many followers I gain or lose because a number does not validate my worth as a content creator,  writer, or individual. As long as I'm creating content that I’m happy with, was worth my time, and I feel I've contributed something meaningful to others, that's enough. I can proudly put myself out there without getting discouraged or elated by a number.

️Conclusion

Don't allow the perceptions you have of yourself to fluctuate based on the positive and negative engagements you receive with individuals across social media platforms. Be your true authentic self and know your worth is determined by you and no one else.