Why I Took a Major Social Media Break
The past two years I’ve struggled on social media. As each of my profiles gained followers, comments and received more and more direct messages I found myself combatting a lot of mental things. I deeply desire to connect with people and love how incredible the interactions can be but I found myself drained each time I opened Instagram and Facebook. After several conversations with my husband, I made a choice to take a 90 day Facebook break. I slowed down posting on Instagram and stopped doing daily stories. And guess what? I found I am able to have more mental space to devote to the things I love which includes this blog.
I started the blog as a creative outlet back when I was slaving away in the corporate world. I loved sharing style and home inspiration! Each time I wrote a post, I felt like I was showing up in the world as me - no boss, no rules… total freedom. As social media grew I used it to help my blog find visibility. At first, that was fun too! I enjoyed learning about what people engaged with and how to make my own posts more attractive content. As social media demands increased, I found myself posting less and less here on the blog.
Then, the sponsorships started rolling in. Where I used to share vintage inspiration mixed with popular fashion, more and more of my wardrobe became about merchandising to share with my following. Don’t get me wrong, I love the opportunities to help brands out but I began to feel a lot of pressure to do things “their way” to meet content requirements. More and more pressure started building and I felt more disconnected with myself than ever.
Then came the struggles of superficialities pushed to my own feed. From Botox to boob jobs… it was so much fake. I never aspired to be a carbon copy. I felt like I kept seeing the same posts from people over and over. I felt depleted and empty when I would go to my feeds. That’s when I decided a pause was in order. There were too many triggers and I felt like I was suffocating.
At this point I’m choosing to spend time writing more. More on the blog and more on Substack. I’m working on a custom jewelry line which launches this month and we just returned from an amazing trip to Santa Fe with Marshall. I am so thankful for each of you as I open a new phase to this human experience on earth! I cannot wait for what the future holds.
-XOXO
Crystal
