More good stuff, please, social media.

Hey look, it’s a four leaf cloverMarch! Mid-March, even. Almost late March. Kinda.

Where does the time go?

Well, it goes to running two businesses, getting through our family’s second bout of Covid (mild, and we’re all fine), getting some actual voiceovers done, kids’ school stuff, paperwork, housework…. Okay so you’re a grown up, you know where time goes. 

If only there was more sleeping  , though, gosh it was hard to get out of bed this morning (we’re still in Daylight Savings here and did I mention it’s, like, late MARCH? Enough already! No more dark mornings!)

In the midst of all that time-sucking work and chaos and darkness, I try to keep up with the world, mostly via social media. Which is possibly not a terribly effective way to keep up with anything except how very strange and extreme some of my cousins’ political views are getting…

I TRY to use social media as a force for good – to network with voiceover friends, particularly other Australian voiceover artists as we try to get our feet in many international voiceover doors. To promote my own VO business and the fab clients I work for, when I can. To learn new business, voice and technical skills. Et cetera. Good stuff! Yes!

smiling dog

happiness! yay!

But inevitably I get sucked into the Bad Stuff.

Lately, that seems to be articles about parenting that make me question everything I’ve subjected my poor children to for the last 19 years, the aforementioned political and, uh, “ideological” broadsides, arguments about health policies that may or may not have to do with needles in arms, and the Australian Prime Ministers idea of women’s networking. (Please go look. It’s AMAZING.)

There’s also the awful situation in Ukraine and other oppressed nations, and the ongoing pandemic – in case you needed that reminder. 

Many days, I get so frustrated by all the negativity and chaos on social media that I can’t even bring myself to post my own voiceover-related stuff, or engage in positive ways with friends’ work, so I end up hiding away wasting time instead of doing any productive networking or promotion.

I also get sucked into spending too much time learning HOW to use social media, instead of actually USING it. I’ve done a bunch of Jonathan Tilley’s courses about instagram and productivity, and they’re fab, but will I ever use this information effectively, that is the question!

The other questions are – why is this crazy thing called social media so addictive, so negative, so time-consuming, so confusing as a business owner? And how can we rein in the chaos?

And why must I keep using the word chaos in this blog post?

Why? Because that’s how the social media companies want it. They make more money from the chaos and negativity than anything else. And they sure as sh*t (excuse my Aussie vernacular there) know how to create the ideal mess of soupy, goopy, anger-inflating, depressing virtual gunk. Direct to your brain and mine.

a pot of soup.

Mmm, soup.

Yes, right after I publish this blog, I will go straight to social media to post about it and hope people see my posts and “like, comment, share”, because like it or not, I am a part of the beast. Rahhh! 

How can we rein it in?

Gosh, I don’t know! Didn’t I just tell you how parenting articles make me cry and my cousins send me round the bend?

I guess, though, we can be aware of the addiction, and remember this important maxim:

Don’t believe everything you think. 

That post may make me think I’m a crap parent or failing voiceover artist – doesn’t mean it’s true. This article might make me think some random person is a terrible person – doesn’t mean it’s true. The endless stream of war and politics and death may make us think the world is irredeemable – not true. Probably.

We could also try as much as possible to inject some positivity into the stream. Some happy voiceover news. Some encouragement to a colleague. Some silly, pointless memes, just for the sake of laughing.

silly laughing dog

don’t laugh. I dare you.

Oh no, is Sumara going on about positivity again? Oops, yes she is!

It helps, I promise.

Can I give you a challenge?

I’m gonna give you a challenge. I’m making it up right now, because why not.

Next time you’re scrolling social media of any kind (I’m certain that will be pretty soon), find two ways to inject some positivity. Make someone laugh, tell a fellow voiceover how fabulous they are, post a funny quote. Do a laugh reaction to someone you don’t even know! It doesn’t have to be voiceover related at all, but I like to use the word voiceover in my blog as much as possible (without seeming like I’m saying voiceover too much, just, like casually mentioning voiceover ya know…) so maybe it could be voiceover related, up to you, my lovely positive voiceover friend.

Maybe you could tag me in your positive posting. (Yes, please do, I wanna see so much positivity you guys. SO much.) Or comment here to tell me all about it. 

Go forth and make the social media world a better place! Yay!

 

Images by @Enso , @vesnoi_@elena.hramova , @valeriea

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9 comments… add one
  • Joshua Alexander Mar 16, 2022 @ 21:05

    Oh MAN! I was so positive that I was going to enter my name into the Big Yellow Box Because I Wanted More Of Sumara…but then I realized, O What Chaos! I am ALREADY registered for my intermittent helping of More Sumara. Drat. That, as you said, sends me around the bend. Oh well. I will continue to maintain a positive attitude in the wild hopes that all of this CHAOS will evaporate just like my cash does when my children see a new Pixar movie available for rent or a new fleet of Godzilla toys that they will die from CHAOS if they do not have. I think I will rename one of them Veruca, and the other one Salt. But I jest – I can’t do that; it would be pure CHAOS! So no more renaming of children out of lack of positivity. Where was I.

    AH! Chaos. *Sigh* There’s too much of it! So instead of reflecting on the CHAOS, I will reflect on how FABULOUS and POSITIVE my good friend Sumara Meers is, and how, without her, the world would simply devolve into CHA-….uh…..DISORDER!

    Here’s to paying your happy thoughts forward, my fabulously positive friend!

    • Sumara Meers Mar 18, 2022 @ 14:40

      hahahaa… maybe you could enter someone else’s name and email into The Big Yellow Box! 😂 And then I will force them into brutal readings of obnoxious positivity that they never even asked for… okay no, better not.
      What’s with children and cash evaporating, anyway? Those little buggers barely even know what money is but they sure like to go through it like a steam train through butter… wait, what. 😬
      You’re one of the most positive people I know, Josh, thanks for all the NOT CHAOTIC AT ALL positivity!

  • Diana Mar 17, 2022 @ 7:44

    You’ve made my day, Sumara!
    Turned my negative thoughts into positive …..
    Wonderful blog! Bless you.

    • Sumara Meers Mar 18, 2022 @ 14:40

      Oh my goodness, how fab is that?! Thank you Diana! I hope the positive vibes stick around for a while. 😁

  • Michael Apollo Lira Mar 17, 2022 @ 12:04

    Social media NEEDS more positivity! I’ve found my Facebook feed to be ads and opinions, both of which I don’t care much for. I did recently mute a bunch of friends whose opinions I decided that I was done seeing, which was actually kind of pleasant in and of itself. But a barren wasteland won’t flourish without water and food. Be the change you want to see, as the saying goes. I’ll try to follow your advice and add some positivity!

    • Sumara Meers Mar 18, 2022 @ 14:42

      Ads and opinions, yes! So we all end up buying too much crap and hearing too much… also crap. Darn you capitalism!

      Looking forward to the Michael dose of positivitiy!

  • Craig Williams Mar 17, 2022 @ 13:04

    Great blog Sumara. The world according to news media and social media is a bit sh*t at the moment. I do my best to stay of the evilness of Twatter and have stopped watching the news altogether. On the sites I do go to, I am with you. I try to be as positive as I can be and always try to make others feel better.
    Thanks for posting this.

    • Sumara Meers Mar 18, 2022 @ 14:44

      I don’t watch the news, either. It’s amazing how so many news programmes these days (“kids these days!”, she says, sneering at the children on her lawn…) are just as biased and one-sided and… cranky, even, as the general social media vibe…. it’s depressing. Ick.
      So thank YOU for being positive and making people feel good!

  • Jon Gardner Mar 20, 2022 @ 7:36

    And then there are some people who make the world a more positive place just by being in it (you).

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