If you’re my age, you’ve been around since before social media and you remember a time when you balanced far fewer friends and acquaintances, IRL. For those who don’t speak digital that means, “in real life”. I’m considered a Cusper, meaning my birth year falls between Gen X and Millennial and I potentially display characteristics of both. My birth year is closer to Gen X and I definitely see it in my approach to life, so I think of myself as, GenX.
One of the biggest benefits of being Gen X is all our undocumented fun and mistakes! I am grateful beyond measure, for that little gift. I got to stumble through my learning years, witnessed only by my closest friends and family. There are only memories to wrestle with in my mind but very few pictures or videos. This isn’t news to anyone. Gen X has often said the same over the years, especially as we watch our children plastered all over the internet. The world is watching their every move.
As social media emerged, I dabbled. I had a MySpace page, and I posted cringy, pointless dribble on Facebook. I have an X, formerly Twitter, account. SnapChat, Reddit, Instagram, MarcoPolo, LinkedIn, TikTok accounts, and a handful others. Most recently I was talking to a vendor I work with in London and he proclaimed that Europeans don’t text anymore. If you aren’t on WhatsApp, you aren’t talking to anyone. It seems like there is always another app to download, just to stay in touch with people. It’s hard to keep up and hold a regular job.
As time went on, I watched social media become the tool used to divide. The hostility was pronounced. Cancel culture emerged, mental health issues grew, and celebrities became your neighbor rather than the out of reach actor you’d never cross paths with. There is also good that came during the age of social media, of course. People are accessible. That is a huge benefit to all humankind. I can talk to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Truly, that is amazing!
It reminds me of a bit that Louis CK did on Conan where he talks about how people get annoyed with internet connectivity issues while flying, and it exacerbates him because its juxtaposed by the fact that you’re sitting in a chair in the sky. So, now humans have developed their expectations to the point that flying is no longer impressive enough on its own, we also require entertainment. It really does make me giggle when I think about it, and it’s the same with social media. We have become so accustomed to talking to people everywhere, all the time, that we are no longer impressed by the fact that we can. It wasn’t that long ago when our social circles were not globe size fits all.
Something happened to me over the years and I shied away from social media. It really scared me to post. I have tried a time or two to join the conversations but mostly I lurk. I like posts and share content I think is funny or important, but I don’t offer much from my own life. I have some sort of mental block to it, honestly. Every time I try to post, words escape me. I can’t think of anything to say, even when my objective is clear.
I’ve tried to nail down what my mental block might be but its not totally clear. I’m definitely worried about offending a person or group. I try to be considerate in all I do, but I don’t know that anyone is capable of the standards we hold today for social media posts. I also seem to suffer from extreme writer’s block when I try to write a simple post. For example, when I try to post about a rental property my family owns I can’t find the simple words to say please consider this lovely condo on the lake for a fun getaway. Like I said, I don’t know for certain what my block is for social media posting but I struggle with it for sure. I LOVE to consume it, but can’t seem to join the fun. Social media scares me.
However, I’m determined to find a way to overcome my block and join the conversations because I need a creative outlet and this blog is part of that goal. If you didn’t catch my post about my goals, go back to Day 1 and Day 2 to get up to speed. I suffer from something I call perpetual poppycock. It thwarts my efforts but this blog is a tool I’m using to overcome it.
Back to my social media phobia…I’m making a plan!
When my perpetual poppycock kicks in, my best defense is a plan. I’m going to face 2024 head on with a plan that’s both aggressive and flexible for life’s unforgiving moments. 52 posts for the year! Here are the details of the plan to make it happen.
52 posts is aggressive so it will take careful planning to achieve. The blog is only one of the hobbies I’m interested in spending more time on, so it has to fit into the fold, so to speak.
- Make a list of all 52 posts for the year...or at least as many as I can. I don’t have to nail down the headlines but the topics will be listed. This will eliminate the mental gymnastics that occur when I try to come up with posts on the spot.
- Organize the list into categories, so the posts lend themselves to some of my other hobbies.
- Pick one weekend a month to dedicate to writing all the posts for that month. This is clutch for making my aggressive goal achievable. I don’t want to spend every weekend writing, but I can if I decide to. It’s much easier to plan for one weekend and knock it all out.
- Setup social media posts and schedule ahead of time. Just like writing for one weekend per month, setting up social posts ahead of time, will save me from myself. If I do it all at once for a month, I don’t have to worry about it more than that moment.
- Gather the tools needed to accomplish the posts in advance, aka, mise en place. If you didn’t read my bit about mise en place, you can catch it here. It’s a common sense idea that I struggle with executing.
- Schedule quarterly check-ins to make sure my content is staying true to my mission statement. PS…I haven’t fully formed my mission statement but I’m working on it.
I think this plan is going to be effective, as long as I stick to it. Even if I fall short of hitting the 52 posts mark, I’ll at least get very close. I’ll share any tools I use to organize the work along the way. I have two months from now to build my content list and map out my publish schedule. Let’s goooooo!
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