My relationship with social media is such a tricky one. I love digital design. I love content creation. I love drafting visuals, editing videos, thinking of fun captions to post on Instagram. I love it all. I just strongly dislike the concept of social media itself.
Social Media & Dance
Social media is the main platform of promotion for performing artists. I remember attending seminars about social media branding at dance conventions when I was only 12 years old. The value of my "look" and "image" was so heavily emphasized at a young age that I developed many insecurities about posting myself and my art online. Everyone is a critic when it comes to social media, and you don't even have to have a dance background to put your two cents in.
This is not entirely a bad thing though. I absolutely LOVE the power of social media (when used wisely). Because of Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok, the appreciation for dancers has grown immensely. I've gained some of my dearest friends and supporters through social media and have also gained many teaching/choreography jobs because of it. But with the market now being inundated with influencers and some commercial jobs only giving jobs to performers with large platforms, it gets really difficult for me to truly love and appreciate my craft sometimes. Trying to keep up with the trends or "next big thing" gets exhausting.
Me Being Slightly Hypocritical
To make my relationship even more juxtaposed, I actually really love managing the social media pages of others. If you are unaware of my so-called "professional" background, I am an intermediate freelance social media coordinator and currently co-manage the Instagram page for my college dance program. I have been digital designing their graphics and event flyers for a little more than a year now. My graphics for all of that can be found pretty much everywhere on my website, but here are some of my favorites in case you forgot. (lol self-promo... winky face)
My goal for post-graduation is to become the social media coordinator for some small businesses and up-and-coming choreographers in New York City. This mostly started off as just a side hustle plan to pay off my student loans (don't worry, we're going to circle back to this topic another time). I absolutely love content creation. I think it's so stimulating to make graphics and observe analytics. It's genuinely so fun for me... but not when I'm at the forefront. I don't know whether it is my deeply rooted desire to be a ghostwriter or my overwhelming anxiety with being at the "face" of a brand, but I love the idea of being behind the scenes and being the woman behind the curtain.
I am, however, trying to develop a healthier relationship with my personal social media account. I want to hopefully someday be able to share my art without that predetermined stress - especially if I want to transition into choreography one day once my body becomes even more brittle than it already is. I am aware that social media isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I might as well embrace the discomfort and learn how to be confident in my ability. I think being able to share art across the world is absolutely beautiful. I just need to take that risk.
PROTECT YOUR PEACE!
But with that... please please please please please protect your peace. I know how easy it is to just log onto social media and get FOMO from all the fun things other people may seem to be doing. Just remember that social media is just a highlight reel and everyone is going through the same roller coaster that you are. I'm trying to only long into social media whenever the time serves me and log off when it immediately doesn't.
I know all of this is easier said than done, but I promise there are more effective and positive ways to spend your time than making yourself sad over someone else's online success. Go for a walk. Hang out with friends and have face-to-face interactions. Start a blog. Just remember to always protect your mental health and protect your peace.
Social media is a valuable resource to performers and everyone else. But please remember that it's not the only source of success and happiness.
Love, Jo
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