The Freeze-up for Sensitive-types on Social Media

Here's the conundrum: you want to enjoy using social media but find it somehow unnerving. What if you're reliant on reading cues, understanding nuance, and then acting accordingly? Body language, energetic vibe, and tone are often missing, minimal or ambiguous in socials-land. Eye contact, stance, spit flying from someone's mouth as they're excited by an idea — things that subconsciously attract or repel — are lacking. YIKES! Inertia sets in. Yep - it's the freeze-up. When the all-important signals you've spent your life tuning into are not there, it's challenging to interact in an unnatural environment.

For people who are not bothered by such things — socialite types who can small-talk their way to oblivion as easily as cleaning their teeth, who do not second-guess sentences flowing from their mouth/past their fingertips — social media can be a fun playground.

For the wonderfully tuned-in weirdos in the world, whose superpower is to process the subtle by engaging the senses, social media is a little more tricky than that.

In today's world, being active on social media can be of huge benefit — necessary even — and therefore a good idea for people/writers to find a place within it that fits.

Social media sites can help build a profile and presence in a chosen field — a place to establish connections, receive and offer support, and become part of a network.

I'm definitely not alone in having a love/hate relationship with social media. I know this because it's a hot-topic. It can eat up time, it can be toxic, it can cause overwhelm. Like anything, it's important to find ways to manage it.

For me, I delve in and out of social media. I want it to feel positive and not a chore ... or a downer. I want connections to be 'real.' I'm still figuring out the parameters of my place within it as a friend and as a writer.

In regard to interacting with writing and publishing people, I've discovered that it feels more natural for me to engage with people I've heard speak — as in their audible voice — either in person at events, or online, and often by podcast interview.

For anyone else who might relate to the weirdness of social media, as a deep-thinker or sensitive, if you haven't already read Elaine N. Aron's book The Highly Sensitive Person, check it out if you feel inclined. It was a game-changer for me. You can buy it online at Booktopia, or you can support your local bookstore or library.

Another great resource is the website highlysensitiverefuge.com.

Social media is a super-duper, fantastic forum for the ability to meet and connect with like-minded people, to share valuable information, to broaden horizons, and to contribute in a positive way. All voices are important, even the thoughtful ones — especially the thoughtful ones.

See you in socials-land!

Image by ooceey from Pixabay