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At times social media can appear to bring out the very worst in humanity, but at other times it can bring people together in a wonderful way. However, for people who struggle with social interaction it can be difficult to know how to use social media it to help promote your blog/business/product or to simply be more sociable.
How to Use Social Media as an Introvert
I wasn’t always a introverted person, I was a smiley and chatty child who would speak to anyone I felt comfortable with, then for a variety of reasons by the time I’d reached my early teens I had lost any ounce of self-esteem and confidence and would do anything to avoid social situations. Things haven’t changed even now I’m in my thirties, meeting new people is generally terrifying, and the thought of introducing and promoting myself is the stuff of nightmares.
I have always been comfortable in my own company, as an only child I never had any issue with being by myself and finding something to do, so being an introvert never really proved to be a problem. I am quite happy to be quietly by myself in any situation whether it’s in an office at work, or having a meal in a restaurant or even heading off on a trip to a foreign country. I rarely feel the need to have another person by my side.
Having a blog seems like the perfect thing for a more introverted person, you can sit at a laptop without being disturbed and quietly write about whatever you want. The problem comes when you want other people to read what you have written. Nobody writes without a desire for it to be read, but nothing will be read unless you tell people it’s there and provide them with access.
This means that social media is just as important as the blog itself. The question is how to use social media as an introvert without feeling overwhelmed?
When you feel like social media is a necessity for getting your brand or business off the ground it makes sense to spend all of your time and energy on posting content and growing your following. However, I like to think of introverted people as running on an internal battery that can drain more quickly in social situations, even online and so excessive us can actually drain you of energy, both mentally and physically, this in turn can lead to burnout.
Despite what some people will tell you, there are no rules when it comes to deciding how to use social media. You don’t have to use all available platforms. If you enjoying engaging and interacting with people on Facebook rather than Twitter then stick with it, don’t feel like you have to use Twitter every day.
You also only need to follow and engage with people who you like, yes there are millions of people using these platforms but you don’t have to follow them all.Â
Read: Who Should You Be Following on Instagram
During the week I generally only look at social media twice a day. Once in the morning and then again in the evening. This means that I don’t feel obliged to constantly be looking at the various platforms.
I also limit my use by using AppDetox which allows you to set time and usage restrictions and blocks apps to help you take a digital detox.
Simply using social media as an introvert can feel like a contradiction, but there ways of using platforms and learning to be comfortable with them. Engage in Twitter chats, join Facebook groups or Instagram comment pods. Find a small, tight group of people whose content you enjoy and engage with them. Find a community that you’re comfortable with.
The great thing about social media is that you can share as much or as little information about yourself, you can talk to people on the other side of the world and know that you never actually have to meet the face to face.Â
Remember, social media is something to be enjoyed, embrace it, use it however you want, and if you’re really not happy then leave it. Don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to do,
Are you an introvert? How do you use social media?
Let me know in the comments.
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Thank you for sharing! The struggle is real with social media these days
True. I’m still working out how to enjoy it without being overwhelmed.
As a “high functioning” introvert, I appreciated this article. Social media really is different for us.
Thanks for your comment. Definitely – we all just need to find what works for us individually and be happy.
I am an ambivert and can be in social situations but also have to have my alone time as well. Although as I get older I am finding myself more introverted these days and while I use social media to promote, I’m not very good at it. I actually hate it. I don’t engage that often but I do like your ideas on only following those who you want to engage with and who share your interests. When I first started blogging I was told to follow everyone. It doesn’t really help though when most of the people I follow and who follow me don’t share the same interests and aren’t within my niche. I have begun a cleansing recently that has helped a lot.
Thank you for your comments. I also like to surround myself with less people the older I get. I also followed everyone in the beginning but realised that my own happiness and mental health is worth more than invisible people hidden behind numbers.
Great post!
Thank you.
I need that app! And I’m such an introvert and this very thing has been hands down the toughest part of my blog journey. Connection and promotion is so important, but it can be such a struggle for me. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment. It’s definitely helped me to avoid falling down that social media rabbithole. Finding a community and connecting with people has been important to me but when I hear of people spending hours upon hours trying to get bigger numbers I tend to want to run away.
This is so on point! It’s honestly such a struggle for me and don’t get how people can just talk to others online lol
I agree. Sometimes I find it easier to talk online than in person but I find the way people put huge amounts of value on the number of followers they have exhausting. I think of online and the real world in the same way – I can only deal with small numbers of people at any one time before I want to hide away.
Blogging requires some pretty intense vulnerability, too. I haven’t even told my husband’s family that I do it. It’s hard “advertising” yourself on social media, especially for an introvert (me!), and I hate all the games that social media requires (following, commenting, and definitely the follow/unfollow people).
Definitely. It took me a year to tell my family and then they simply asked why I was bothering if I wasn’t making money. Not very helpful or encouraging.
Am an introvert and sometimes social media can get overwhelmed. I know my limit and when I see it coming to it I have to take time off from it.
Well done. We all need to do the same. Sanity and happiness is more important than numbers.