HOW IT STARTED
My thoughts on social media and why I don't want to monetize my hobbies.
Some of the things I collect these days are rocks, vinyl toys, and tchotchkes for my apartment. Iāve always liked to accumulate things (much to my own detriment), and little did I know that collections can exist virtually, too. I have a list of social media profilesāseparated by interestābecause it doesnāt feel right to lump them into a single category. For example, all of my food pictures and travel videos will get mixed in with my vinyl toy unboxings, and last I heard, people like niches. The more obscure, the better.
First, I must add that I miss social mediaās early days, back when we posted heavily-filtered, seemingly mediocre photos of mundane things, like, I donāt know. This?
One of my earlier photos from Instagram in 2011. Iām guessing I was trying to capture the rainbows reflected against the wall.
Our use of Instagram was still in its infancy. Social media back then was simply to share your personal day-to-day with your mutuals. At least most of us used it that way.
And then all of a sudden, your friends stopped posting on their grid, Instagram introduced Reels and shopping, and the platform became another way to consume. Content is now a commodity, and becoming an influencer is a legitimate job. The creators who were able to ride the big wave transformed these platforms into what they are today, for better or worse.
Most of my mutuals on Instagram are now just viewers who occasionally post little snippets of their lives via Stories. Iāve also stopped posting on my grid and have taken to Stories to shout my world views through reposts of others. My personal life no longer feels worth sharing. Now, I curate content based on different interests and post them to separate platforms.
However, Iāve struggled to gain followers and reach my prospective audience. I know Iām doing a lot wrong, and I struggle with my own morality over this, which is probably why I stubbornly refuse to do what needs to be done: Post daily, interact with your audience, jump on the occasional trend, amongst other things. But itās enough to tell me what this is: Work. And once something becomes work, I no longer enjoy doing it.
āFind a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.ā š
Mark Twain wrote that, a controversial figure whom you can research for yourself. But based on my light googling simply to finish off this thought, he is not a person Iād align my views with. I believe that even the idea of working on a passion project is just another capitalistic selling point to make work āfunā so we can āenjoyā working into our graves.
Dancing into our graves, I guess.
Iām not dunking on anyone who loves their job and what they do. If it works for you, then keep going. As for me, whenever my hobby becomes something that needs to be monetized, the pressure to make it successful sucks out all the love I have for it. Thus, Iād rather do a job I donāt enjoy, so I can continue to enjoy my hobbies.
Anyway, I got completely sidetracked. The point of this post was to share my various social media profiles. I went on a tangent to explain my predicament as to why Iām struggling to pour myself into this, because I still see social media as a hobby rather than a job. I mean, Iām not getting paid for it, and even though Iād love to turn this into a side hustle (another word I loathe, but I get it, itās hard out here), my attitude isnāt helping.
I started writing my list and itās going to be very long, so Iām turning that into its own post. Until then, what are your thoughts on turning your hobby into a job?
On a related note, I wanted to be a graphic designer since I was a child, went to college and got a degree in that field, and immediately regretted it after graduation because, after 5 years of school, I already hated it. However, that career allowed me to travel the world, so Iāll always be grateful for that, I tell myself monthly as I pay back my student loans. š„²