My goodness, I’ve missed writing! Having said this so many times over the last few days, I decided it was high time I did something about it. However, I didn’t have anything buzzing in my head to write about until earlier today, when I listened to this episode of Jay Shetty’s Podcast featuring Gary Vee. 

One of the most striking parts of the conversation for me was when Jay asked Gary how he could maintain a highly public persona online while keeping a lot about his personal life private, to which Gary responded with something along these lines which I resonated with deeply:

“ You are in control …… you are responsible for what you share …. You get to share what you want to share”. 

Often we fall into the trap of thinking we must do something just because everyone else does, but it is always helpful to remember that it should be according to our terms. You can share or not share whatever you want, as long as you make the decision based on your own preferences.

Personally, I sometimes enjoy the thrill of sharing on social media but I also cherish my privacy, and as a result, have had to develop mental guiding principles about how I share on social media – this doesn’t mean I don’t fall short on occasion but in general, I try to follow those principles; some of which are:

  • Will sharing this make me happy or help me feel better connected with people in my social network?
  • Will this educate/inform someone?
  • Will this make someone smile?
  • Am I comfortable with this potentially becoming viral? 

If my answer to at least one of these questions is not a yes, then I do not share. 

Everyone’s principles and reasons will vary, even those that others may consider vain, but I think it’s imperative to define them for yourself and redefine them whenever necessary.

I think it is also crucial to understand and remember that when you put something out there, you’re giving people permission to have an opinion and you need to feel comfortable with the reality of that.

As a final thought, I believe it is okay to take a step back and give yourself a break if you ever feel the need to. In my experience, sometimes taking social media breaks, especially from specific apps, helps me reconnect and reestablish my relationship with social media. I wrote about my 30-day social media break here.

Overall, I believe we should approach social media from a place of consciousness and realize we are in control of what we do or do not do with it.

What are your guiding principles for managing social media? Happy to hear your comments/feedback.

Wishing you an amazing week! ❤️

Love,

Nifemi