It’s been one year since I deleted my social media accounts.
I checked my calendar: I deleted my Facebook account in the middle of June 2019, and Instagram followed at the start of July 2019. So it’s been one year without any of those services.
Except for Youtube, which I like as a tool to share ideas and tutorials in video form with you and which doesn’t unnerve me like the other platforms did.
I’ve written (and talked) about the negative effects of social media platforms before and why I think they’re ultimately not worth it. I’ve shared a lot of reading resources and background that were critical for my decision. If you want to form your own opinion, then please take a look:
My original blog post:
Why I quit social media
Video version:
Why I quit social media as an artist (video)
I have a question for you:
Should I make a detailed update on this? How the year went, what changed for me as an artist (with a business) and as a person, and what I struggled with? I’d love to address any questions you might have, so let me know what you’d like to know about this topic. Any social-media-related questions are welcome!
Just a a very short teaser: I don’t regret the step a single bit, and I would do it again.
I’m looking forward to your questions.
So will you continue without? Or will you start up the social media accounts again?
I’d like to know what you noticed the most. Did you get more done? Did you stay more focus on your goals? Did you feel healthier mind wise, less random stuff entering your mind and thoughts? Did you have a more positive outlook on life?
Thanks for the excellent questions, Sue! I will address this in detail in the update, but yes, I will of course continue without. Didn’t mention it because I thought it was obvious. ;-)
I would like to hear your update on how your year without social media affected you, your art, and your business. Thank you.
Thanks for the questions, Susan! I will address this in detail in the update. :-)
Wow, has it really been a year already since I read your post about going without social media? Yes, I would love to hear a more in depth update of how your year went. I struggle with social media as it just makes me feel worse about myself, but if you don’t use those platforms, how does an emerging artist get themselves known? Everyone says you have to use social media if you want to sell your art.
Yes, I didn’t quite believe it myself! Excellent questions and thanks for writing in, Lynn, I will definitely answer this in my update!
I deleted my personal social media accounts but kept them for business. I’d love to give those up too so would love to read how it affected your business – good or bad.
Thanks Anne for this important question. This was what I was most afraid of, too. I’ll answer in detail in the update!!
I have been struggling with the thought of giving up social media, especially this year. Would love to hear your thoughts on how the year went and what benefits you received from it. One thing I have done since the world went crazy is delete the Facebook app from my phone. That alone has helped me to cut down and not just randomly scroll all the time.
Thanks Tammy I will address this. And what a great first step to get the app off your phone!
I would love a more detailed account of how that year without social media went for you. Did you feel as if you lost some personal connections with friends and family that only communicate by social media. Did you use your extra time to your advantage or find a new way to waste former media time. Was there anything you miss from using FB and Instagram?
Hi Lin, these are great and valid questions, I will definitely talk about this in my update. Thank you for taking the time to respond! Quick teaser: I miss maybe one thing. Just maybe.
Yes please, to all ideas. I’ve deleted a lot of negativity spewers but I still was a lot of time on social media, but it is so scary, what would I do with those hours?
This is scary indeed, because it’s a lot of time, as I found out. I will talk about this. Thanks for taking the time to respond, Les!
Yes please, an update would be great! I deleted fb for months but did go back on it during the pandemic. Now I’m thinking of getting back off of it or at least trying to use it differently but not sure that’s possible.
Thank you Jillian – I have succumbed to reading a bit more news and Twitter during the pandemic, too. It is possible to use social media differently, if you set up systems.
Yes, I would love to hear more about how you feel after your first year away. Did you make more phone calls to people to get family news? Did you write any letters? Do you feel calmer? There are so many questions! Please do a follow up! :)
Thank you Jen, I will address all of these questions. :-)
Yes, I’d like to know how your year without went. I’ve struggled with this also. I found you on YouTube while looking for nature watercolor painting. I have an IG account, but private. You’re welcome to look at it with no obligation to follow. Had a piece of art stolen, since I’m not selling, I feel better. Was refreshing to read your reasons for breaking away from social media. I’ve never used or liked FB and was dismayed when they took over IG.
Ps. I just signed up for your How To Paint Butterflies class. Am an insect, butterfly, nature fan.
Love your work.
kfoh57 on Instagram
Thank you Kathy for sharing. Wow, that’s a really bad experience, I hope you got the person responsible. It’s no problem that you mentioned your account. :-)
Sorry for mentioning my IG account. I don’t use it much because of the reasons you’ve stated about social media. I do enjoy my daughters photos.
Hello Julia, well done for getting a year free of social media. I think it is a tie and distraction for artists. However, I would like to know whether had you never used social media to build up a ‘profile’ and gained the confidence that can come from random strangers ‘liking’ and commenting on your work, whether you think your blog and email approach would be as successful as it is? I have only been using Instagram for a short while and am just building up followers for my Instagram posts – I do find the feedback from other nature journalers encouraging as I am not selling my work.
Very valid questions, Kathryn, I will address this topic in my update. As a quick teaser, I have to say any confidence I might have built up from likes and follows (not very much actually, but it gives you a dopamine hit) were always immediately crushed by not feeling adequate enough when comparing myself to all the other awesome people in my feed. So actually the confidence goes down. That’s the dilemma of social media. Thank you for taking the time to respond!
I just discovered your blog after watching one of your courses on Skill Share – funnily enough I read your original post about deleting social media first and then clicked on your blog tab to see this update as the most recent! What a fluke!
As a couple of other people have asked, I too am interested in how to ‘get seen’ as an establishing artist without social media. I yo-yo between using Facebook and deactivating for breaks for weeks or months (as I find I can’t just stay off it, I have to fully deactivate to stop myself from checking for notifications), and have noticed that I feel better off of it and I use my time better (eg I will pick up a book or journal in the spaces where I would normally have automatically picked up my phone for a mindless scroll). Recently I have started making weekends social media free and have enjoyed it so much. It’s like a holiday! Writing this out now, I suspect that that FOMO feeling is a sneaky tool to keep people actively using social media.
I keep wondering how people would see my work without social media presence – and if I made a website, would people find me without being directing to it? I guess there’s only one way to find out! :)
I have recently noticed myself measuring artists’ success by how well they do on Instagram rather than the quality of their work, which is just crazy! I think it’s part of being in a capitalist culture, to [be manipulated to] want more, more, more, and [be manipulated to] feel inferior compared to those who have high numbers of likes and followers. The ‘average’ person can gain a kind of celebrity status now through social media; seeing everyday folk have success on SM makes it more desirable, as it seems something more achievable compared to becoming a Hollywood star, for example (which as an introvert I would absolutely hate!).
Imagine if the number of followers/likes equated to the amount in that individual’s bank – what a way to judge people by! But this mentality is the world we live in… how new our car is, how many bedrooms our house has, how many holidays a year we can afford etc etc… BUT at least if we are aware of it, we can learn how to avoid being sucked into it and consciously make space to live as altruistically as possible in our own lives.
(Sorry this got so long!!)
Julia, Thank you for posting this. I am a member of skillshare and have learned a great deal from your classes. I agree with your well though out assessment of social media as it can easily become a terrible drain on time, energy and creativity. I have had times of overusing it too so I know its allure.
I have no specific question now but thanks for your thoughtful and honest post. Chris
Hi Julia….I left a comment on your original YT video but thought I’d reiterate here as well, along with a question.
I suppose the obvious question is how new people find you without social media (even though I don’t believe the myth that people WON’T find you unless you have social media, I’m still curious as to how that works). Did you have a large following before you deleted your accounts and those people simply followed along? Or do you find that your new followers/community arrived purely organically…word-of-mouth, via YouTube and Skillshare etc.
I’m really looking forward to your update — I have only a personal FB account which I rarely use and my ‘breaks’ from IG are more common than my participation but I would LOVE to summon the courage to delete it altogether.
Hi Melanie, I saw your comment over on YT, thank you! I’ll mention this in the video, too, so just as a short answer: I didn’t have a huge following on social media, maybe that helped with my step to delete it. People still find me, and I don’t monitor the sourses very closely, but I’d rather put work into blog posts and videos that stay visible in search engines than into daily posts that disappear forever afterwards.
If you don’t use your accounts and they bring no real value, you can definitely delete them I’d say. :-)