My Dysfunctional Relationship With Social Media

May 28, 2015 Blogging 52

Good Day, Bookworms!

It’s still Armchair BEA time and today we’re talking about social media. I have FEELINGS on the subject. Firstly, I am BEYOND grateful that I grew up before Facebook because having a record of every stupid thing I did or said while I was busy being a tween/teen would be highly upsetting. I’ve made enough faux pas in the social media world as a grown-ass woman. Sheesh. From a blogging perspective, I am pretty awful at social media. I thought I’d give you a glimpse of my social media profiles in case you have no desire to ever look at them. Behold!

dysfunctional

Twitter: It’s complicated. Like, if Twitter and I were dating, I’d be the mixed signal sending ex. Twitter and I will have a mind-blowing weekend of 140 character glory and then I won’t call. For weeks. Poor Twitter subsists on auto tweeted fluff until I get bored and decide to take it out for a spin again. I’m such a jerk, Twitter. I’m sorry. Not sorry enough to change my behavior, but sorry. Ish.

Instagram: Hey look! A selfie! Virtually all I ever post are selfies, and a shocking number of them are of my headless (fully clothed) torso. I don’t have easy access to a full length mirror in a room with good lighting, so any shots of cute outfits or accessories tend to be of, well, my boobs. Eh.

Facebook: I’m not talking about my personal page here, because lord knows I’m all up in that mug, but my blog page? Facebook made it nearly impossible for anybody who likes my blog page to actually see anything. I’ll put something up when I have a new blog post, but I’ve stopped bothering with anything else. Who even cares? Nobody sees it!

Pinterest: I don’t get it. I mean, I get it if you’re super crafty or like to cook or create amazing things, but I am not one of those people. On the rare occasion I do something crafty, I check out what Pinterest has to offer but I do virtually nothing blog-wise with it. Because I don’t get it, I’ve decided that Pinterest is responsible for all the world’s ills. Bento boxes and extravagently themed birthday parties were sent by aliens to destroy the planet. I’m cool with diaper cakes, though, because that is the only craft I can pull off with aplomb.

Goodreads: I literally only use this to track the books I’ve read. Seriously. I do absolutely nothing else on Goodreads. My star ratings are completely arbitrary and mean nothing. I’m the worst.

Talk to me Bookworms. What are your favorite social media platforms? Any bloggers out there using these things successfully? 

52 Responses to “My Dysfunctional Relationship With Social Media”

  2. Mary @ Keep Talking Nerdy

    You and me are the same for Twitter. I usually just retweet or favorite other and rarely tweet myself. Though I have been trying to tweet more myself lately well see how it lasts.

    Instagram and I…I usually use for other things besides books, haha. Usually travelling or concerts or my cat. XD

    FB, I have an account for, but just like yours, it goes nowhere. And I’d rather not pay FB money to promote it.

    I have an unhealthy obsession with Pintrest. I use it for cooking and to gain ideas for my apartment. I also use it for crafts that I’ll probably never get around to, haha.

    And finally, Goodreads. I use this to track all my books. A lot of my older ratings are crap but I plan to go over than again at some point…Maybe.

    Reply

  4. Sarah's Book Shelves

    Ha! I’m pretty much the same way on Twitter…and I don’t even auto-post. I have to get that set up. I live in the stone ages. But, I also get annoyed at those people that tweet about what they had for breakfast or that they’ve now sat down with a glass of wine…who cares?! And, I’m always scared of tweeting dumb things people don’t care about reading…

    And, yes, Facebook – thanks for making no one see our Page posts!

    Reply

  5. Quirky Chrissy

    I am a complete social media slut. I make them all think they’re my favorite. Until I forget about yhrm for a few weeks because I’m enamored with one in particular. Much like your relationship with Twitter, I do the same to Facebook page, profile, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and yes Twitter. The only one that doesn’t get a ron of love? Google+. Because…well…give it up Google, no one cares.

    Reply

  6. Holly Hester

    I feel the same way about social media. I’m terrible at Facebook really and I love pinterest but it takes a lot of time. The only thing I can really do is twitter because I can do it with my kids around. I just zone out and ignore them and think of a joke!

    Reply

  7. Alison's Wonderland Recipes

    I was literally just talking about this an hour ago with my husband. Maybe I’m part of the wrong generation, but I just don’t feel ANY kind of drive to share things on social media. I barely use personal facebook, don’t have a private twitter, and haven’t logged into my private pinterest for months. I try to be more active with my business accounts since they’re basically free advertising, but it’s rare for anything to seem important enough to share. Instead, I schedule time for social media binges where I post every “pretty cool” thing I can find. The only exception is Pinterest (I’m a sucker for funky book-related things, and I’m all for shares that only involve pushing a button).

    Reply

  8. Jennine G.

    I’ve given up on my blog FB as well, posting only new posts. Twitter, same pretty much. Instagram I don’t get at all because I have more friends on my personal FB and can just post my stuff there.

    Pinterest I didn’t used to really get it, but I do now. When I post something to FB to save it – or even use the save link – it gets lost easily and doesn’t always show back up, or I can’t remember when it was posted. But on Pinterest I can post by categories and always find stuff. I didn’t get into it until I started getting interested in changing my hair and getting tattoos. So I use Pinterest to pin all the short hair and tattoos styles/colors I liked for the future.

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      If I’m looking for something specific, Pinterest is great. Like, recently, I pinned a bunch of ideas for my SIL’s baby shower. Ballerina Diaper cake and tutu instructions? Thank you, Pinterest! Otherwise though, bleh.

      Reply

  10. thatashgirl

    Twitter: Same, I browse occastionally, tweet occasionally and don’t even bother following famous people.

    Instagram: My feed is basically knitting and cats. I follow a few pattern designers, and handmade yarn dyers so I get good ideas. Btw….I’ve NEVER taken a selfie.

    Facebook: I use it to talk with certain people but that’s pretty much it

    Pinterest: If you were decorating a house or something it would be good. I basically use it for hair techniques i’m never going to try.

    Goodreads: This is pretty much the only way I ever remember when a book is coming out that’s in a series I have read. Those newsletters “new books by author’s you’ve read” do wonders. Also it manages my ever growing “to be read” list.

    Reply

  12. Megan M.

    I’ve resisted joining Twitter because Facebook is enough of a time-suck for me, but sometimes I feel like my FB peeps don’t appreciate my witty brilliance, you know? I flirt with the idea of joining Twitter.

    I LOOOOOOOOOVE PINTEREST. But that’s because I fancy myself a writer and I love to pin all sorts of stuff that I could use in my stories… places, people, ideas. Plus it’s a great excuse to perv on hot guy pictures. What?? It’s research!

    I also love Tumblr and flirt with the idea of having one. But mostly I just follow a few people I enjoy and get mad at myself for seeing an awesome post that I don’t save and then having to scroll through like, 14 backpages of posts to find it again.

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      I appreciate your witty facebook brilliance. I’m glad that I get to see it now that we’re personal pals. I have no idea how Tumblr happens. None.

      Reply

  13. Amy @ Read a Latte

    Ah, I have a social media ADDICTION. It’s bad. But only Twitter and Instagram, as if that makes it any better. I’m with you on blog Facebook though – I have it but I so rarely use it aside from automatic posting!

    Reply

  14. Darlene @ Lost in Literature

    Well, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that I don’t tweet.
    I also don’t have a smart phone so that eliminates instagram.
    The only time I ever used Pintrest was when I was planning my LOST party, now I never go there.

    Facebook is the only one for me. My personal page provides a great deal of enjoyment for me and my blog page is basically how I keep up with other people’s blogs. I prefer that to an actual email subscription. I am really bummed when I find a blog I like that doesn’t have a facebook page. But I hardly post to my fb blog page other than my blog posts.

    So glad to know I’m not the only one out there not dominating all the social media channels.

    And by the way…I’ve been missing your comments lately…you mad at me or somethin?

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      I’m sorry, Darlene, I haven’t been commenting on much of ANYTHING lately. I’m barely even able to cobble together my own blog posts these days.

      Reply

  15. Michelle

    I gave up on FB several years ago. I don’t have a personal profile, and my blog page only gets auto-forwarded stuff from other social media sites. I do love me some Twitter though. It is my favorite place to hang out for a few hours or even to just pop in and say hi. I love talking to my friends, sharing recipes, make-up tips, daily life updates, and the like.

    Reply

  16. kristin @ my little heart melodies

    My day job is working in social media, and it’s difficult now on Facebook. They are just trying to strong arm everyone into paying for what was once free. I get it, but it’s frustrating. I don’t have a FB page for my blog, and for my personal page I just post when I have an upcoming concert (or my husband’s concerts), or if I find an interesting article to share. Not many “personal” posts on my personal page anymore.

    I don’t have a smartphone, so Instagram and Snapchat are out for me. Pinterest never attracted me—when it started becoming popular I was just like “I canNOT deal with setting up another profile and password for anything.”

    Goodreads is okay. I like the stats and book-tracking aspects. I’m not very “social” on there either.

    I admit I’m totally into Twitter, though! 🙂

    Reply

  19. Samantha

    I don’t have time to do as much with my social media etc. that I’d like to. Facebook makes me angry. I LOVE Twitter. I like looking at Pinterest and saving ideas but don’t use it in a “promoting my brand” kind of way. Hardly use Goodreads lately, but that’s mostly because I’ve been rereading/listening to a series and I am not going to enter them in when they’re already marked as “read”. I like Instagram because it’s an easy photography outlet that’s always with me everywhere I go. I rarely take selfies but sometimes wish I did more. Not anything narcissistic, just thoughtful reasons, I guess. If that makes any sense.

    Reply

  20. Suzi Q, The Book Dame

    Oh my gosh, Katie, that is a good point. I never put a lot of thought in it, but I can only imagine what would be out there about myself if social media were around when I was a teen. I love the way that you injected a little humor in your post. Well done!

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      Right?! I know they try to put age restrictions on some of these sites, but no 12 year old should be able to preserve their tween-ness for all time. 12 is not a good look on anybody.

      Reply

  21. Rachel @ Dashing Good Books

    This is hilarious! I feel slightly less bad about my own failures at social media blog-promotion. Sometimes I post on twitter about food, but otherwise I seem to have the same relationship with it as you do. Weirdly, my mum is super into Pinterest. She can barely send a text message, but Pinterest is her thing. I am still baffled by it 😛 Great post!

    Reply

  22. Joules (from Pocketful of Joules)

    I still hang on to my blog’s Facebook page even though it hardly shows anyone what I post. I love it when my fans/friends have conversations on there though.

    I post a lot on Instagram, because apparently people like to see my outfits. I also like to be able to look back and think “oh, that looked cute, I should wear that again” or “Daym girl, someone needs to do her roots!”

    Unless it’s BlogHer time, I basically just use twitter to send out blog post and IG pictures.

    I do use pinterest when I have a visual blog post, like a Stitch Fix review that people might like to pin themselves.

    I just took a week off almost everything though and it felt SO GOOD!

    Reply

  23. Belle Wong

    I’m most faithful to Twitter. My relationship with the rest of them is like your relationship with Twitter – I definitely go on social media binges!

    Reply

  24. Jenny @ Reading the End

    Twitter’s my favorite, I must admit! Many good things originate on Twitter, and it always keeps me up to date with the exciting news. Like when Harper Lee decided to write a new book! I learnt it on Twitter first!

    Reply

  25. Rory

    I love Instagram, but am the same way as you about Twitter and Facebook – twitter especially (yay autotweets?!).

    Reply

  26. Katie @ Doing Dewey

    I’m pretty much exactly where you are! I’m starting to try to do a little more with facebook – mostly cross-posting some of the things I tweet – and am also trying to get more involved with goodreads groups. But there’s only so much time in a day! I would also like to do more actively using twitter instead of auto-posting. Perhaps I’ll go do that now 🙂

    Reply

Talk to me, Bookworms!

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