This post is for the artist, the photographer, the author, the designer, the small business owner, the teenager, the mother that is sharing some piece of your life in this space.. all of us came to this place at some point to share a part of us. For some it is our creative hearts. Others our words. For some our work. For many it’s a place to share life. I’ve been here for eight years. I started with a just a few friends following me and sharing snapshots from my phone. That evolved into sharing my photography journey and words from my heart. This place provided a community of artists and mothers who became friends. We encouraged each other and have watched our families grow through these squares.
I know many of you have similar, yet unique stories. One common thing I continue to hear is this platform has changed. It’s not what it used to be. It’s sadly become a placed filled with a lot of negativity. It’s not so much a creative and uplifting hub as it is a mix of advertising, selling and propaganda. It’s a business that’s being run by algorithms that I have no idea how to keep up with. And truth be told, have no desire to. What I know is these algorithms have changed things around here. I know I don’t see half the people I follow in my feed and only a super small percent of my following actually sees what I post. Like many of you, I’ve seen my interaction and likes plummet. And while I am not here to be affirmed through likes, I’d be lying to say that seeing this decline hasn’t caused me to question my art. I have struggled with this. For some, you are questioning your business. For others it may be your writing. Social media has programmed us to feel like interaction and likes validate our work in some obscure way. It has made teenagers second guess posting their favorite memories with their friends if they don’t have the aesthetic quality to be seen. They are growing up in an online world carefully orchestrated to give off whatever “image” they decide they want the world to see. And then you mix in the dreaded algorithms. Even if we wrongly let likes affirm our work; they will never be an accurate assessment of anything. Do we even know if people didn’t like our posts or did they not ever see it? I was recently told that the more active you are, the more your posts will be seen. Do we really want to encourage our children or even ourselves to be online even more? I’ve set time limits for myself. I want to pick real life interaction over scrolling. I also value the community I’ve known here over these years and don’t want that to be gone when I am active.
I’ve had so many thoughts and questions about all of this the past year or more. I don’t have answers. Yet, I know so many of you are feeling this too. More than anything I want to encourage you. Whether your platform is thousands or the children at your kitchen table. God has given you something to share with this world. I know this can feel frustrating when you have bravely put yourself out there. Please, don’t let likes or lack thereof define you. Moreover, please don’t let it stop you from creating from your heart. My husband often reminds me that there may be one person that needed to see or hear what you share and you may never even know. Remember, someone may need to hear your failed motherhood story. Someone may need to see the Joy you shared with your friends. Someone may learn through that hard journey you endured. We all have something to bring one another.
Be authentically you. Create what stirs in your soul. And if you release it, do so without any expectation. I think the ultimate question we all have to ask ourselves is our why? Why are we creating, working, writing? Why are we sharing? If we are here only for validation or affirmation, this place will never fill us. It can’t. Our worth and our identity can only be rooted in Christ. But, if we share our gifts, our talents, our stories and our lives with Him and through Him for His glory, then suddenly all the algorithms and all the negativity fades away. We have purpose. Keep shining your light friends. In the unique way God intended.