The Truth About Posting Anxiety

Usually, when we talk about posting anxiety or social media anxiety, by definition, it’s the fear of being judged, getting trolled in the comments, or not racking up enough likes when posting on social media.

I am an ambivert and for the extrovert part of me if you message me, or comment on my post it “charges my batteries”. It’s like a fuel for me. I thrive on it. I’ll be honest, I love attention. Yet, posting online can be, at times, difficult for me. Does that sound confusing? Let me explain.

Let’s say that I post something on social media. I may even be posting “regularly”. And then, things get busy and I don’t post for two weeks. After two weeks, I’ll feel guilty of posting something, because I was posting every day and then vanished and posted after two weeks. I’ll feel like I need to explain myself and that I will be judged. So I do not post anything. After 3 months or 6 months, I go through the same motions and again… I will feel bad and guilty and I will not post.

The thing is, though, nobody notices. People will see your post on their feed. If it gets their attention, they will stop, interact and then move on. The chance that they will open your account, look at your last two posts and the timespan between them is slim to none. At best, if they notice it they will leave a comment. You probably know each other well. They will say something like “Yo! It’s been a while! I’ve missed your posts.”, this will help. You see you can comment back and your post “popularity” will get bigger. Others might see the comment and take a look at your older stuff, further increasing your priority in the algorithm. In the worst case, they will notice it and say nothing. Why? Because we have enough things to do writing a message criticizing you is unlikely. If someone does, they’re trolling. You can safely ignore their message or block them. They are rare though.

So, there you go. Don’t worry about taking a break from social media. Everyone does it occasionally and, in today’s world, we need it. Just make sure to find time to come back and post some more, whenever you have the time and feel comfortable doing so.

Until next time!