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Pull the plug!


I am at a networking event on how to make social media work for you, I am surrounded by a room full of women finely tuned in and scribbling down all the key details of what is coming out the speaker's mouth.


“This stuff is gold dust” I hear someone near me say all while excitingly taking photo’s for Instagram and dreaming of being the next Mother Pukka by 9 am the next morning.


All I want to do is scream.


I want to walk around and unplug all of them. I feel like they all need some reality check slap to bring them back down to earth. Everyone is like a robot drinking in as much information as they can, learning all the tricks and do’s and don’ts of social media while barely blinking.

Where has this desperation of being a blogger/social media star/influencer (bloody hate that word) come from? Yes, the speakers that are giving advice are doing very well in their fields but they have simply worked out what works for them. Not everyone is built the same way or some might find parts easy, and some will really struggle. But really what is the appeal?

People are convinced that thousands of followers bring happiness and free shit. It leads you to the road of success, well yes it can do but do you realise the hard graft that goes into it and the hours of working for not a penny you have to do to get there? Well, if you do it the right way… that is.

People cheat. People pay for followers. People get an app to do all the hard graft for them. People climb the social media ladder without breaking a nail and still get to reap the benefits, the invitations to the posh events to the “must-see, Insta worthy photo, locations”. The doorbells keeps ringing with free products and even trips or holidays start coming in. Sounds tempting, right? Yeah, of course, it bloody does but brands will finally catch up to you and learn their product/money is falling on deaf ears or fake accounts to be more precise.


It is like your kids doing a magic show or a tea party to a bunch of dolls; the poor kid is giving it everything they have and put on a great show but the recipients are just empty hollow numbers. It must be how a comedian feels when a joke goes down like a lead balloon.


Honestly, social media is mainly common sense and learning the art of the platforms, which can naturally happen anyway from the amount of time spent on it every day. Without realising it you can become your own expert and you know more than you really think. You don’t need to be plugged into a charger, paying your hard-earned money to hear the most wanted words of the Insta season to know more because let’s face it, who really does know more these days? With the Instagram algorithm changing more than Kim Kardashian changes her outfit, does even Instagram know what the fuck is going on?


Focus more on having a business to be proud of, that organically grows with you and your audience and the rest will follow. Yes, there are shortcuts and different paths you can follow to get there but just try and walk before you can run…prefebly with the headphones unplugged just for a little while at least.


Written by Sophie Farrow (Founder of Bad Mum)

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