social media side effects | Food Galley Gab

Social Media Mania

Books/Articles I Wrote | March 8, 2019 | By foodgalleygab@gmail.com

Social Media Mania is a post about why we love social media, but on the flip side, why we hate social media. Also, the manic effects that we often face. I’m not going to get into how human relationships have changed due to technology and social media, that’s a HUGE topic for another post… and, a good debate. I’d love to hear peoples’ thoughts and opinions on the topic so please, leave comments and let’s start a thread.

Okay, I can never have a successful blog, best selling books, or a popular podcast without the use of social media – and I mean, InSaNe social media connections, and followers, which in turn leads to sponsors, which then leads to the possibility of ultimate success. To attain this God-like status? This seemingly incredible career? A full-time job involving the use of: Every. Single. Social. Media. Platform. And, by full-time I mean: all day, every platform – connecting, posting, responding, liking… So… now let’s be serious, you’ll probably need to pay for search engine optimization (SEO), run ad campaigns on Google & Facebook at the very least, and eventually have a vlog.

If you’re not looking for some sort of branding success via blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and books, and you’re simply using it for “human connection,” kinda like the early days of Myspace & Facebook, you’ll still get sucked into a very similar vortex: Social Media Mania. Below, I’ve written an acrostic poem about the emotions and effects that are often attributed to the overuse of social media. Using social media as a business, I am WILDLY overwhelmed with the frequency in which I must post, reply etc. I can be obsessive about it and then have to completely remove myself for my own sanity. However, using social media as an everyday individual just looking to keep up with my friends’ lives, I feel a sense of anxiety. It was my birthday last Thursday, and it took me over 24 hrs to go onto FB to “like” and reply to all of the birthday responses. I am not quite sure why, but the thought of logging on to do so was incredibly overwhelming and gave me anxiety. So crazy! Of course, I LOVE seeing some of my friends’ kids, vacations etc, but on the other side of that coin are the false vanities that are presented – daily. The ultimate life facade. I don’t really love social media, just like it, and only when I use it infrequently. I’ve talked with soooo many people about this topic. The poem below sums up the negative feelings that my friends and myself have experienced and do experience. Of course that’s not to say that there aren’t benefits and joy to be had! However, that’s not the purpose of this post. Again, please comment! -FGG