I have decided that it is time to lay my Facebook account to a new setting called “dormant”. You don't announce it, you don't deactivate (with the immediate “what's wrong, have I upset you questions), you don't delete (no going back)... you just let it slip. 

As someone who has anxiety and at times low mental health, Facebook is a double edged sword. I compare myself all the time to others who are doing things that I am interested in, or have just started, such as singing. I'm not really hugely comfortable with any limelight (and even with public speaking, I like to use my voice to help people rather than promote myself). But so many people now are using social media to do this... all the pouty selfies, the filters, the influencing, the bragging, the targeted adverts and the perfect lives. I'm so damn tired of it all. However, it is nice to connect with others further away who I don't get to see much in person. 

I guess it was galvanised slightly by a chat with a person I know who describes herself as intensely private and she said that it really helped her mental health. Messenger is still open as this is a helpful tool for me to communicate with people. The down side is I may not see events that are happening so I might miss out on some things, but if I don't know, I won't miss them! I have decided that in order to stop my overthinking and my comparing and my uncanny ability to absorb so much like a sponge, that I need to stop going on to Facebook and some other online sites. 

Instagram proved to be a bit like the perfect cake baked by Mr Kipling...a tad false despite one of my friends saying it was great. I don't do Tik Tok and have never been interested in self promotion. Perhaps that's why in a business and a personal sense, that I do things a different way. Another celebrant I know is all over various platforms like a rash but it's not my thing, of course he is very much more financially successful than me but I don't measure success by that. 

I do have an addictive personality though and I am willing to admit this and that more unpleasant aspects of my personality such as jealousy/envy rear their ugly heads as some people just seem to get the cherry and the cream on top and they are always the type that go go go for things and everyone thinks they're wonderful and I am bored of hearing it/reading it. Just being honest. 

How do you feel about these sort of platforms? Are you on them? Have you come off them? Did it help?

Liz

A Moodscope member