Why Social Media Kills Me

I’ve wanted to write about this for a while now. This rant is completely based on my experience with social media so please don’t interpret this as an attack to anyone who uses social media.

Why does social media kill me but I’m still a part of it? Well the main reason I’m involved with social media platforms is because I’m a musician and nowadays you HAVE to have an internet presence. If you are not actively using social media you cannot be known to the world and are not taken seriously in your art. Yes, I know some artists who refuse to have social media accounts but realistically you need it if you want to get any gigs, promote your music and put yourself out there in the world. The music industry has changed a lot and the internet is an essential tool to promote your art.

The web is saturated with millions of musicians which makes it a very exciting time but also a frustrating time. Anyone is able to create music, post it on the web and promote it. It’s pretty awesome that you don’t need thousands and thousands of dollars to record and promote your music but it does make it very difficult for people to hear your music in the massive ocean of musicians on the web.

How do I feel when I scroll on my social media platforms? Well firstly I get completely overwhelmed and sucked into spending a lot of time just trying to keep up with what people are posting, doing, etc. It’s too much information and it makes me anxious. I am definitely a person that has a hard time responding to things quickly as it stresses me out. I try to limit my time on my social media accounts. 

People wear masks as they only want to show what they want the public to see. I’m 100% guilty for doing this!!  No one, I mean NO ONE has a perfect and happy life all the time like they post on their profiles. We want to look like we are successful and awesome at every moment in our lives. Why does this bring me down? Well because it’s like a slap in the face that constantly says: “Why isn’t your life perfect? Why isn’t your body perfect? Why aren’t you pretty enough? Why aren’t you travelling the world and seeing amazing places? Why don’t you have your dream job? Why don’t you have a lot of money? It’s the constant pressure that says “you are not good enough!” People only want to share the positive things in their life - I get it. Who wants to hear about negative things that are happening? I do feel like that the spectrum has gone all the way to one side saying that we need to be perceived that our life is amazing all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely see people also post negative, unhappy experiences or subject matter, however it’s definitely not that common. There is the constant expectation that we put on ourselves that we need to be loved, beautiful, successful and famous or else our life is a piece of shit! Not true at all, it’s all bullshit.

You are probably asking why don’t I just get rid of all my accounts? Well like I said before I can’t as a musician as I need a social media presence or I might as well just perform to the birds outside as my audience. I’m going to try to be as genuine and real in my posts from now on because I’m not perfect, no one is!

If you think I’m full of shit that’s totally fine, I won’t be offended. If you feel any kind of anxiety, depression or pressure to be perfect on social media please share! We are all in this mess together so I’m trying to stay positive. 

I’m trying my best to stay real, stay weird and be myself.
Peace out and lots of love.

OXO

What motivates you to keep pursuing your passion?

What motivates you to keep pursuing your passion?

This is a question I almost face everyday but it’s an easy answer, “because I love it.”

If you love to do something why stop? It seems pretty simple but I can understand why some of us want to stop or we actually do stop pursuing our passion and dreams.

You will have obstacles that will interfere and disrupt your journey but that’s life. If you love to do something you will fight for it. Just go for it, you have nothing to loose.

Here are some points from my experience I have faced in my musical career so far.

Realities:

As an artist you are judged by others. Whether it be from professionals in the industry, peers, family, etc. there is always going to be a subjective opinion about your art. This isn’t a bad thing it just means that some people will like what you produce and some people won’t.

As artists we also get questioned “what do you really do?” and if we make any money from our music. Success is different for every person. Just because you don’t sell thousands of albums or don’t have a ton of Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube plays doesn’t mean your music sucks. There is a whole business around the industry and it can be extremely difficult to be successful at it. The internet is saturated with millions of artist’s music. It makes it so exciting and accessible for any artist to put there music out worldwide but you can get lost in the ocean of songs on the web. Don’t get discouraged we are all trying our best to get our music out there for the world to listen!

The performing arts has a lot of rejection but that doesn’t mean you are a failure. You keep going because you love what you do. Ya it’s a tough gig but will you kick yourself if you didn’t try hard enough? I know I would. It’s the easy way out to stop when things get difficult. I am definitely one of those types of people that if you tell me “no” I’ll do it even more.

Positives:

How did I discover my passion?

For me I was pretty serious to continue pursing classical piano and voice and musical theatre ongoing but then realized that I loved creating my own music much more. I sometimes look back and say “I could have kept going with the classical music or kept auditioning for roles,” but I knew deep down that my passion laid in creating my own songs and performing them to the public.

Motivation:

Do I ever get discouraged? Yes of course I do! It’s inevitable in the arts but I can’t quit. Music is my life.

There is a constant voice inside my head that says “just keep going!” It doesn’t matter whether or not people or situations put you down. Use that negative energy and turn it into positive motivation to get better and pursue your dreams. No one is stopping you but yourself! If you want to pursue your passion that is all that matters at the end of the day.

Wishing everyone all the best and take care XOX