Fear of social media is similar to the fear of the unknown.
Over the passage of time, we have seen a tremendous rise in social media websites and their users. But with the wide usage, the uncertainty clicks even harder, giving rise to anxiety. (See tips on relieving stress)
Social platforms not only come with privacy concerns but also tend to make people anxious about their appearances. This usually boosts social anxiety in many, especially girls, when they compare their beauty standards with a celebrity or influencer they stalk.
If you are not on Facebook or Instagram, you are somehow not approved by society these days. They will ask you in disbelief, “WHAT? You don’t use Instagram? But why?” It seems nothing less than a pressure that you must exist on these platforms, elsewise, you are alienated.
For the majority of us, social media is all fun and games. Some people have managed to create a business out of it and many are struggling to utilize its potential to the best.
On the other hand, some people are simply scared of it. And that is okay. It is not abnormal behavior.
Is social media bitter or better?
Whatever the real answer to that question is, there are people who are actually scared of social media?
What makes them frightened of a space that has a lot of positives as well?
Well, we will be digging deep into this matter.
Causes of Fear of Social Media:
Do you have the fear of social media? Do you want to overcome it?
The first step towards eradicating the fear of it, is to understand the cause behind the fright. We all have our personal reasons but if you do not understand what scares you so much from these platforms, then here are some common reasons that might be behind it.
Fear of the Unknown:
The biggest cause behind the fear of social media is the “unknown.”
You don’t know where your information goes and you simply have no idea what happens to the images you post because apparently, nothing is secure in the world of internet. Or at least, the stats of cyber crime make us believe so.
But, if you look at the brighter side, millions of people, around the world, are using these platforms for a lot of good reasons too. They have decided to light a candle in the darkness of the unknown.
Wastage of Time and Money:
Many people are scared of the addiction that comes along with social media.
There is no denial in the fact that once you pop up on a good online shopping page on Instagram, the scrolling seems endless.
You visit connected pages and then somehow, you end up buying a thing or two or even more.
Thus, it doesn’t even waste your time but it manages to make you, waste your money too.
All those wonderful pages you follow, keep pinging you up with attractive items that you want to buy.
Likewise, if you want to turn your social media into a famous business or you wish to become an influencer, you will be scared of the tons of time and money it requires. A lot of investment goes into it and it scares many as well.
Therefore, many people are scared of the fact that they will waste their time and money on social media, and thus, they decide to stay away.
Posting the “wrong” thing:
What to post and what not to post be a real problem these days for social media freaks! If you are an influencer or blogger, you will understand the hustle that goes behind the perfectly aesthetic post. You have to make everything right and even type in the right thing.
This fear is not confined to people with public spaces only. A lot of induvial feel social anxiety, with their private accounts as well. They are scared that they won’t get enough likes or they won’t be able to appear aesthetic or beautiful/handsome in their photos. Thus, the fear of social media boosts within them and causes anxiety.
How to overcome the fear of social media?
We hope that you have figured out the root cause of your fear. It might not be one of the above mentioned top 3 social media fear causes but you would know the underlying root of it as we all have our own reasons too.
But social media has tons of opportunities as well. If we look at it this way, we can understand that we are somehow blocking tons of good things too. Sometimes, our behavior towards the utilization of social media is what actually matters and makes it either good or bad for us.
Now, social media can be used for business purposes or for personal use too. In both ways, people can be scared to use it.
Thus, we have helped both types of people here. Whether you want to overcome the fear of failure on social media or you just have social media anxiety while using it personally; here are some ways to manage it.
Social Media for Business:
The fear of social media is huge when it comes to utilizing it for business. The fear of failure and the unknown keeps you awake at night and exhausts you as well. But, if you have invested your time and money in it smartly, your fear would be way less.
Remember that every business comes with risk. You are never guaranteed to win. You can always fail and you need to embrace this reality before starting your business on special media.
Thus, here are some strategies that will help you overcome the fear of failure and get the best out of these platforms.
Proper planning always helps you make the best out of your efforts. If you are working without strategies, you are basically running without a destination.
- Before you begin, you must have a content strategy planned for your profile. Posting randomly is great for your personal accounts. But when it comes to business; everything needs to be planned. You need to be clear about what content you are posting, why you are posting it, and for what type of people you are creating that content. The relevance of information with your audience is crucial.
- When you are running a business profile on social media, you need to understand that it is not about you; it is about the audience. You can always interact with your followers on a personal level too. But if you add too much of your personal self on a business profile, it will lose its essence. You can always create a public space for your followers to get to know you better. But don’t make your business account about you. Keep it specified to the purpose it has to fulfill.
- Collaborate! The fear of failure on social media usually puts a halt on people for collaborations. Beginners assume that collaborating for free will get them nowhere and this is where they lose a huge chunk of the audience that can be derived through a collaboration.
- Do your best and focus on quality. If you are scared, you need to make sure that you plan a lot. Planning will help you massively in quality creation and will boost your efforts a lot more. Following a proper strategy increases your chances of winning.
Fresh entrepreneurs are always scared of starting their journey. It is fine.
The process of beginning your business on social media can be intimidating because there are so many new startups popping now and then.
It becomes very hard to ditch the fear of failure on social media. But if you follow the process properly and take relevant and needed steps, then you will definitely overcome the fear and unleash your complete potential.
Social Media for Personal Use:
Surprisingly, business owners are less scared of social media than private users. Why?
The tug of war of beauty standards is real and social media ignites it more. Social anxiety is more common in girls but boys are also fighting it equally.
Will my image gets sufficient likes? Do I look beautiful or handsome? Do I look as beautiful as that specific person on my friend list? And the list goes on.
You post an image and then you sit and refresh your feed, again and again, to see whether someone likes it or not. And if you don’t get enough likes in some minutes, you decide to delete that image.
Firstly, the best way to overcome the fear of social media for personal use is to stop comparing yourself. Nobody is sharing their failures with the world. Everyone wants to make their feed look aesthetic and beautiful.
This does not mean that they have a blissful life all around the year. Judging people on the basis of their social media profile is insensible.
Stop comparing beauty standards with influencers and stop yearning to be like someone. Acceptance of your own self is what makes you fight the fear of social media and get control over the anxiety.
So many people get confused as to which image they must post on their account. Why is there confusion? Post the one that you like the most! The urge of seeking validation from others is what kills the fun of these platforms.
We are always in the need of approval. We want people to comment on our images and tell us how amazing we look or how stunning our outfit is. But the question is; why seek for their approval? Aren’t you enough?
Once you embrace your actual-self, you somehow manage to overcome the fear of social media. You stop bothering how many people like your image and how many comments you get. All you focus on is sharing a moment or image or piece of writing that you adore.
Secondly, the fear of the unknown is also what scares people away from social media these days. Where is your information going? This is a huge confusion!
To overcome this, it is best to not share your data! You don’t have to share your real data on social media.
Why even do that if you are not comfortable? Facebook won’t know your real birthday if you didn’t put it up there! A lot of people do not share their real-time information on their social media platforms at all and they are still using it the same.
Point being, if you are not comfortable, do not share everything! It is a choice that you make.
“I am addicted to Social Media” – What to do?
Social media addiction also turns into fear for conscious minds. If you are conscious about your time and the way you invest it, in daily life, then social media addiction will have you thinking.
And that is great because you don’t have to spend 10 hours on your smartphone daily, just scrolling through different platforms.
So if you are scared that you are getting addicted to social media or you don’t use these platforms because you don’t want to get hooked to them, then we have some helpful tips for you.
These are very simple tips that you can utilize to make sure that social media addiction is not getting the best out of your life.
- Stop looking for validation through social media numbers. The numbers of likes and the numbers of comments, do not sum up your self-worth. Once you start believing in numbers, you will get hooked to these platforms. Thus, the best and most important step is to not get addicted to the numbers of likes. Do not hook to them for your self-worth and acceptance.
- Schedule a social media break now and then. Even if you are a blogger or influencer; you need to stop the addiction. You cannot stay glued to your phone and social media profiles all the time. It will eventually get to your head and cause anxiety as well. If you are spending too much time on these apps, make sure to take a break. Put a halt on them for at least a week or maybe 4 days. You will feel better.
- Turn the notifications off. This is really helpful. If you are following step 1 and you are not in need of validation, the notifications won’t matter. Thus, turn them off now and then. Or if you are dedicated to overcoming the fear of addiction to social media, then you might just turn them off permanently.
- Indulge in things outside your smartphone and profiles. Who are you when you are alone? This is a very important question to look into. What do you love doing apart from scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest? Having a life outside the bubble of social media is very important. It keeps you away from social anxiety and the fear of getting addicted to it as well.
Conclusion
Ah! The fear of social media! We are all a little anxious about our presence on these platforms but we are good at hiding it off, where some people, are not that great at handling it.
Social media has definitely opened up innumerable options for all of us but at the same time, it has made it tough for people to live a content life. Comparison and beauty standards being dependent upon likes and comments have affected people’s mental health too.
However, if we accept ourselves and embrace our personality, without seeking for online validation, we are able to overcome the fear of social media.
Put away your smartphone and unwind your mind from these apps now and then. It keeps you sane and doesn’t let the fear of failure or not being good enough, get to you.
Social media is definitely an important part of our lives these days. But these platforms don’t have to be the center of our life either. Keeping everything at a safe distance from yourself is the key to success and happier life.
Take small steps daily to overcome the fear of social media and you will find yourself beating social anxiety!