My Social Media Recess + Where I’m Going

Fourteen months. That’s how long my “recess” from social media platforms has lasted. And it’s been nice, in a lot of ways. But in other ways, I found that I missed the space, specifically the people that I made connections with and the creativity of this space. I wanted to explain WHY I left social platforms for a season in the first place, and how I feel about becoming present on this space again. Before I do, though, I want to say how GRATEFUL I am for those of you who have hung around even while I’ve been trying to sort all of this out. I’m so thankful that you’re still here supporting me on my feed and with my blog, and I am looking forward to what’s ahead!

With that being said, why did I step back from Instagram for a season? Well, to be honest, a lot of reasons! For one thing, my Instagram fashion account led me to a place in my mind that I’d never really had to deal with before: I began to really care about what people thought of me. That may sound silly, but all of a sudden, as my Instagram took off and began to grow at a quick pace, I began to wonder:

do people think I’m materialistic because of this space?

do people know that I love God more than THINGS – specifically, shoes, purses, clothes?

do people think that I spend all of our hard-earned money on material possessions?

am I truly using this space in a God-honoring way?

do people think of me less highly as a pastor’s wife because I have a fashion instagram account?

do i come across narcissistic with all of these pictures of myself?

On and on the questions went, and there were others that followed, not so much about myself but about my account: was I pushing others to live a materialistic lifestyle? Was I encouraging others to spend money that they didn’t have on things they didn’t need? It was exhausting and I spent far too much time worrying over what people were thinking than on enjoying this space that had become a creative outlet and made me a tiny bit of income!

After almost a year on Instagram, I realized something else had happened: I was letting the space drive me instead of me driving my space. What you might not know about the Instagram algorithm (if you don’t have a business account) is that more time engaging on the app = more visibility for your own feed. Basically if you spend hours on the app engaging with other people, it brings them around to your space as well, and Insta “rewards” you by pushing your posts more regularly into other people’s feeds. It’s the ONLY thing about the Instagram algorithm that will never ever change. I began to realize that hours and hours of my time were required to make this space a “success” (from a business standpoint, which was where I was trying to take it)…and so I let Instagram control my time instead of the other way around. I began to see that even though I was “succeeding” on this little space full of pictures, I was really unhappy because of what it was stealing from me and requiring of me.

So by the time 2020 hit, I was a little fed up with all of it. How I might be being perceived. How I was utilizing this space. The pressures of time spent on the space – I had to constantly be present on Insta for my posts to continue to be visible to people. And then came a new issue – the pressure of feeling like I “HAD” to post certain things in 2020 hit – let’s be honest, from the pandemic to the election to everything in between, there was a lot going on in 2020, and followers were wanting “influencers” to speak to these issues, but all I really wanted this space to be was a fun place to highlight fashion, life, and Jesus, and hopefully make a few bucks in the process. Sounds simple, right?

So I thought I’d take a small break starting in September 2020, thinking that I’d possibly return to posting in January 2021, because I did truly miss having a creative space and sharing my love for fashion. But illnesses, church concerns, and life in general got in the way and it never felt right coming back onto this space. I didn’t realize then that God was trying to deal with my heart about people’s perceptions of me and the use of this space. He was wanting to deal with me regarding the use of my time in general. There were a lot of things that He wanted to do in my heart. And now – well, now I’ve come to a place of peace with those things. I have prayed and sought the Lord’s guidance on this space, and He has finally released me to come back, but on different terms than before. A lot will be the same. I still plan on sharing mainly fashion. But whereas in the past I was posting three days a week, I certainly won’t be posting that often. My goal is one post a week at this point. We’ll see if I can even manage that 😂. My plan is to be present in stories more often than in the main feed, and I am hoping to still stay connected but not have as many time pressures due to this approach.

I want my Instagram to be a place where I can share fun, affordable fashion finds with you, to share spaces in my home with you, and to share recipes and other fun things along the way. And of course I’ll be sharing encouragement and Jesus too! One space that I have shown up fairly consistently and that has been very productive for me is my LTK (LikeToKnow). If you are looking for a great tool to help you find the best deals and sales, LTK is THE place to be! It’s almost like having your own personal shopper, free of charge! If you don’t already follow me on LTK, you can do so by clicking on the image below!

To wrap all of this up, I want to share my heart on one last thing. I hope and pray that this space of mine never offends anyone by its existence and the fact that I’m a pastor’s wife sharing fashion. Before returning to this space, I fervently asked the Lord to stop me if He didn’t want me returning to it, and I sought my husband’s guidance, and got approval from both of those authorities in my life! So I can rest in and enjoy this creative space, knowing that if I use it in a healthy way, it can be a happy place for me, and hopefully for you, as well!

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll continue to follow along as I share fashion, fun and Jesus! I’m going to keep it that simple 🙂

xoxo, Stacy {thepastorswife}