I Quit Social Media

Ella
Mar 1, 2024
6 min read

This may be surprising, maybe not (?), but I quit. For good.

It might be strange coming from someone who has chosen to pursue their art career online using social media platforms, but there is one big BUT.

I started my art journey back in 2019, and in March 2020, I decided to start posting online. Instagram was a reasonable platform to start because you draw something and just slap an image of your work. However, the big hurricane called TikTok came around that time, and every single platform wanted to compete with TikTok. Which, I get it, yes. And I did quite enjoy reels on Instagram... For a short period. I even had a TikTok account but soon deleted it.

Instagram ruined my creativity

Today, social media platforms are an amazing way to promote yourself for FREE. I am not going to debate that fact. That is why I kind of stuck with it to create a profitable business, like a lot of creatives there. I was so inspired by all the creators saying how reels are an amazing way to build a community and an audience, and it is the best opportunity EVER! That sounded very promising, I must say. So, I just started digging, watching, discovering other artists, and absorbing as many ideas as possible. I had so many notes, screenshots, saved reels, and profiles that I was inspired by! Until one moment, I realized that for the majority of my time, I was only CONSUMING. More reels, more scrolling, more ideas... And as a matter of fact, I was saying to myself that all of that was for my growing on the platform, while in reality, I was slowly falling into one big trap.

But I did it. As I said, for a short period. I scheduled the days to script and film, I was brainstorming like crazy to find the best niche (or however it's called), the best time, the best audio, and the length of the reels since every single week was something different. I was binge-watching all the social media gurus on YouTube just to find the best way to grow there...

And guess what?

I didn't even create anything since I was too occupied figuring out the algorithm, the trends, the platform itself...

I still know that the way to grow there is to create short-form content. And if I wanted to, I could now start posting ten reels per week, and I'll get there. But, this time I'm choosing not to.

The fear of missing out

I asked one time in my story; has anyone ever felt like they need to apologize and explain themselves for not posting for a day/week/month?

And the majority of people said yes. And this is exactly how I felt every single time when I didn't post anything in a week, even a day! It is so crazy to think about it now...

Social media got us thinking that if we're not online 24/7, we're going to miss out on so important news, content, and meaningless trends. Or if we don't post 17 times a day, it's killing our platforms and reach... And to be honest, it is 100% true. While I was posting reels on my feed, I did get a few followers, likes, and even some crazy views (it's a lot to me)!

Instagram Reels for digital artists — Instagram reels reach

The moment I stopped for whatever reason (it was mostly work and occupation with that), I barely got 15 likes on my next post. Not that I don't appreciate that, but it was absurd to me how quickly you become forgotten by the crowd. At that point, Instagram slowly but surely, started to kill my passion for creating.

External validation

It feels so good when you see comments, likes, shares, support... But what if I tell you that you can easily become super addicted to that and it can lead you to lose your self-esteem and burn out? What happens if you simply won't be able to post for some time? It may be hard to admit to yourself, but that can also lead to comparing yourself to others on social media, living online, and trying to be like someone you see there... It's just not healthy for the brain. Once I admitted to myself that I was actually comparing my art to other artists and telling myself (super stupid) things like; I'm not good enough, it's even pointless to TRY... I knew I had to change something. ''Instagram valids quantity over quality, and everything is about the numbers; likes, followers, views... Without too much rewarding except the instant gratification.''

Distracted mind and lack of focus

Here is a pure reality of it;

At one point, I felt I was fitting perfectly into that statistic. I was only scrolling and consuming endlessly! I couldn't focus on work; I couldn't sit down and drink my morning coffee without scrolling through the feed, to get inspired, as I was telling myself... My brain was ADDICTED, filled with unnecessary information and it was constantly asking for MORE. I even started noticing the same effect in my other aspects of life, like: putting someone on the speaker while talking so I could scroll, or I couldn't wait for a break to hop on my phone again. It was exhausting! I even set the limit on my phone, but that didn't really help... It was time to change the game.

Stop consuming, start creating

I still wanted to stay on track with my goals and plans, but something obviously wasn't working. I realized that I spent so much time and energy on a platform that didn't even get me any results in the past few years. It only contributed to the burnout last year. I got stuck on my 766 followers and couldn't move from that dead spot.

''Instagram simply stopped being about connect with people, it started to become a competition.''

I fell into an endless hole of consuming and I finally admitted that to myself.

And the worst part is that I completely left behind my YouTube channel which was my biggest passion and the platform where I found that I could truly express myself to the maximum capacity! Just imagine all the lost time I put into Instagram, which I could have used for the videos that actually matter and for my own self-improvement as an artist!

I put a lot of unnecessary stress on my back because, at the end of the day, I'm an ARTIST. An artist who decided to use social platforms to promote, to help me and my work grow and get recognizable, and to spread the positive word, knowledge, tips, and inspiration, as much as possible! I'm creative, and I want to do exactly that - create and express myself. So, I'm finally starting to do that!

As I said, I left my YouTube channel behind last year, and I'm not planning to do that this year. I'm refocusing the whole energy there, and I actually achieved way more being on YouTube than on Instagram.

Of course, this is only my personal experience and thoughts. There are a lot of amazing creatives on Instagram who have built their careers and use the platform as the main source for their businesses. Which is amazing! At the end of the day, it's important to find what works best FOR YOU and your needs. Remember, you don't have to fit in the same shoe box as everyone else on the internet!

New ways of connecting

So, where will I spend most of the time?

On YouTube with monthly videos (and YouTube community), The Sketch Club on Discord (feel free to join and dm me), and here, on my fresh new website! With my blog posts as updates, different tips, and experiences! Most of my work I'll be sharing here in the porfolio section, and on my ArtStation. I'll be also back with a regular livestreams in the following days, so you can watch me paint live!