𝕊𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤: 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖?

London Tube - @hmcguirephoto

𝕊𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤: 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖?

At first the headline was meant to be ‘Socials: how to handle’.

But the truth of the matter is I don’t know ‘how’ to handle them.

I’m a 49 year old artist (background in philosophy, languages and law) with a pronounced allergy to tech and numbers (did I hear algorithms?). 

I speak two languages fluently. 

Socials ain’t one of them. 

I have taught myself many things over the years, and I love to research and learn almost anything. Here again, socials are not one of those.

I’ve tried. 

My darling sister — @Caroline_Safir_officiel (follow her, she's amazing)— a few years back, attended a workshop and has since grown to be one of the major players and influencers in her field thanks to her social media presence and content. She built an incredible space for herself, women in the film industry, representation and equality. And from there, her career took off to new places. She learned to use socials to her advantage.

She tamed the beast.

One of my closest friends @Dani_Spies (Clean and Delicious by Dani Spies) built her brand over the span of 20 years exclusively from socials, a YouTube channel with close to 2.5 millions subscribers, and a business that provides for her family as well as feeds her aspirations.

There are a plethora of inspiring examples and success stories.

And yet, I’ve been off them entirely for months.

I don't trust what I see there. I wonder what is real and what isn't.

I know that socials are unavoidable to any business venture. Mandatory even, if you want to exist on any map in today’s world. You need videos, stories, feeds, comments, likes, footprint, posts, content, follower base, platform, hashtags, influence and viral content. It’s a daily commitment.

And some people do it well. Some others, I have no words for (in the worst ways).

It is competitive. It is pressure. It is… a lot.

As an experiment, I decided to see how NOT SCROLLING would impact my day (and my health). I was surprised (and slightly horrified) to see how hard it was, even for a ‘mild attendee’ such as myself. Then I realized how much time I gained each day by doing so, and how less stressed I actually felt.

I am now disconnected. Read it as good or bad, literal or figurative. It probably all applies.

I don’t understand the many references thrown out by my teens anymore (not that I was particularly proficient there before) or in friends gatherings. I don't know the latest trends, the hottest memes, the viral videos or influencers. I am most likely losing followers at lightning speed (to be honest I also never really acquired clients through social media in the past either).

But I am undeniably more relaxed. I read books. I write 4-6h a day. I look around when I walk my dogs. I breathe. I face my thoughts. I sit comfortably in my discomfort because this is life on Earth. I taste. I listen. I touch. I feel. I appreciate.

I take time to take time.

Now, my sister would argue that I never played the game the way it is meant to be played. Fair enough. She’s not wrong. I never persisted in creating reels (hate it), searching hashtags, participated in workshops, online training or networking events like she and Dani did. They invested. They learned the rules. I didn’t. I am fully aware. Again, I tried. I’m not good at it. 

And the deeper truth is I don’t like what it does to me. 

I don’t like burning my time that way. I don’t have enough of it.

I don't want to worry about likes. I choose to allocate my anxiety elsewhere (kids, for instance, require to maintain fair amounts in the bank).

So, what then? Impending doom?

Will my art and my business die with me and my quest for sanity? 

Will respecting my boundaries be the song of my demise?

I suppose time will tell one way or another. And it'll all be okay.

—by Hélène McGuire - Word Is My Oyster, April 8, 2026