A Lesson in Using Social Media Intentionally
Recently, I posted a meme about generations on my Instagram story. It was something that a friend had initially posted, and finding it amusing, I wanted to share it too.
The next morning, an acquaintance who follows me across social media took the time to send me a message on Facebook asking if I was aware of the connotations of the meme, that it related to a particular movement, and also told me that she found it offensive.
I felt sick when I got her message. I had no intention of sharing that meme for the purpose of this movement and didn’t even make a connection to it at the time.
Various thoughts ensued… If I delete the meme, I am basically that person’s bitch. Or, I am social media’s bitch. You know you can’t delete something every time someone says they are offended. I now truly sympathise with JK Rowling. Genevra, one “wrong” move on social and your hope of a writing career is done.
As part of my personal evolution, I am trying to break away from people-pleasing. Case in point: The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Kogais is on my bedside table.
As I pondered what to do next, I thought about my reasons for leaving the meme up, and for taking it down.
The message from this person telling me how the meme made her feel was triggering because I knew my intentions at the time and it did not involve the intention to offend. Sometimes we don’t think about all the angles that our content will be viewed from.
Is that our job as artists though? I don’t think so. Having said that, if I were creating my own content then fair enough. But I wasn’t — I was sharing a shallow meme.
Can I Be With This?
One of my new favourite questions to ask myself when I get triggered is something that I heard from the amazing Peter Crone. It’s simply: can I be with this?
If the answer is no, and in this case it turned out to be a no for me, then ask yourself why. You might discover something new about yourself in this process.
My answer? Because it was not what I want to be known for. It’s not want I want to use my social media presence for. It’s not my message for my audience.
So I took it down after careful evaluation of my own reasons — not because I had offended her.
Moving forward though, I daresay this may happen again because personal views and making art can be interchangeable. Sometimes your personal views are what drives art. What is the solution? Two social media presences? I don’t think so. That’s way too hard, not to mention confusing — for me and for whoever is following my journey.
The clues for the solution (on how to proceed on social media) lie in living life authentically (honouring my values is part of that) and living life according to my purpose. I say this as someone who is a work in progress and still figuring all of this out.
Furthermore, on social media channels, do we want to spread positivity or negativity? There is no right answer here. It’s up to each individual. Great art has been born out of shedding light on negativity. Sometimes it’s a bit of both—say, we really feel the need to vent. Even with this, there’s a chance that the occasional negative spin blows up and shapes our persona. When I reconsidered all of this for myself, it was easy to make my decision.
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