Hi all!
Today I wish to discuss my new Bookstagram and why, after such a long hiatus, I have decided to return to social media. Before I begin however, feel free to check out my new Bookstagram account: my_bookish_universe. Also, the pictures featured below are all of the bookish pins I have collected over the past year or so. I hope you enjoy!
In August 2016, I published a post called – Why I Quit Social Media…
I won’t repeat everything I wrote but I will mention that in the past, I had found social media to be overwhelming, confronting and draining. I felt pressured to post regularly and build a following. I was obsessed with likes, subscribers and comments. Now, nearly two years later, I am back but in a completely different way. Let me explain…
First of all, I am confident that I will never have a YouTube channel or Tumblr account again. I really didn’t enjoy being on YouTube and Tumblr bores me (sorry!). Having said that, I absolutely love watching other people’s videos, I just don’t want to make my own.
The platforms I use now are Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. With Snapchat, I only use it to send silly photos to my husband and best friend – that’s all. In regards to Twitter, I have it to follow all of my favourite authors, enter bookish giveaways and keep on top of book releases/events. It’s fantastic and I love it. As mentioned in the post above, I always planned on keeping Facebook to share my blogs and keep family/friends updated on big events in my life. With our baby girl only a few months away from making her big debut, I am can safely say I’m glad I still have it. If I wish to share something, I download the app and post it. The minute it’s up, I delete it again. This may sound silly but it keeps me from scrolling mindlessly all day, every day.
Instagram was the main platform that caused me the most stress in the past. So…why did I start a new account?
One of the biggest issues I faced with Instagram in 2016 was not feeling authentic. The majority of my posts were either fake or forced. It was a personal account promoting veganism, health, travel and lifestyle. Having never had an account prior, I copied other, similar Instagrammers to stay relevant and popular. It was not genuine and I hated it. I was also motivated by reward rather than creative expression. I wanted to gain a huge following in order to promote my books/myself. Everywhere I went was an opportunity to take a photo and for this reason, I barely lived in the present moment. There was an anxiousness behind all of my actions. If I didn’t receive many likes or comments, I was depressed. I obsessed over the rise and fall of my follower count. It was that bad.
My new account is not a personal Instagram, it’s a Bookstagram. 99% of the images I upload, are bookish related. As I’m sure you’re aware by now, books and reading are my life. When I talk books, I light up inside. My passion for literature is so authentic that each post I’ve made so far has felt incredibly right to me. I also have zero cares about followers, likes or building a name for myself. That is the honest truth. I have plenty of bookish pictures from the last couple of years to share and it’s been really fun discussing them with like-minded people. Once I run out, I’ll take more if I feel like it but I am no longer anxious or afraid to leave my account stagnant for a while. Especially with a baby coming, I won’t always have time to post.
I love how easy and relaxed I feel towards this new account. There is no pressure, no expectations, no stress and no negativity. I can continue to live my life completely in the moment as I’m not sharing photographs of myself or my food. I can post when I want and not obsess over the stats. If you want to follow me, you’re welcome to but I honestly don’t mind. I just want to talk books until I die! I cannot wait to share more information about epic new releases, readathons and novels I am loving.
Anyway, I realise that I probably don’t need to explain myself at all but I wanted to just in case somebody questioned the post I published in 2016. Let me know your thoughts down below. The best part about all of this is, if it ever gets too much again (which I don’t believe it will now), I can simply delete it. I’ve done it before and it wasn’t difficult.
Thank you for reading and supporting me always…
Peace & Love xoxo
I saw this post earlier in my reader during word, read it and it was such a lovely read! I decided to comment later and right after that I got a message from you 😃 What a brave post to write my friend. I had no idea that you used your previous social media in such a different way – but it is so good that you realise that it wasn’t making you happy and changed how you used it to suit what makes you happy. I am enjoying your book IG a lot and IG stories – the alien book you shared was very cute! You definitely don’t need to explain yourself at all. We all go through phases in our lives and it’s a learning process and we can look back and laugh and no harm at all 🙂 Hope to see you soon my friend and you are well xxx
Thank you so much my friend! I really appreciate all your support and kind words. I feel much happier now with this new IG. It is much more authentic and in line with my passions. You would love the alien book! It’s so cute! Can’t wait to see you soon x
I have followed your insta- I totally agree that social media is overwhelming and sometimes a break from it all is really nice, but its important to remember how much social media can also do for us 🙂 like blog promotion eheh!!!
Thank you so much! Followed back 🙂 definitely agree it’s a great way to promote your blog! The break has been so beneficial for me but I’m glad I’m back 🙂
I totally understand this. I also love that you only post to fb when you need, and then delete the app – a very good idea. I stay signed out of the app and only log in when I post! I’m going to follow you on IG – I’ve made a new account for this blog. I’m “heymakeyourbed” 🙂 Hope social media is better for you this time around x
Thank you so much! It’s nice to feel like you have control over social media rather than it having control over you 🙂 I appreciate the follow, will definitely follow back! Xx
A very interesting read. I wasn’t aware that anyone would feel uncomfortable or “fake” while using social media, so this opened up my eyes to that possibility.
Thank you! It wasn’t the most positive experience for me the first time around but now it’s so much better 🙂
That makes me feel so happy to hear that! Even better that you were able to step away and become grounded before trying again. It’s great that you discovered work-arounds so you aren’t missing out on the important stuff in life!
Thank you so much!!
i enjoyed this post! i like the “meh, I’m trying it, if it doesnt work then who cares” approach!
Thank you! I’ve found that approach is working so well 🙂