‘It’s like another job. Another bl**dy thing to do. Keeping up with all my social media, it’s a massive pressure’
Conventional wisdom says young people use social media all the time and love them (may even feel defined by them) while old folks wish they didn’t exist and we could all go back to how things used to be; living near one another and popping round for a cuppa instead of liking one another’s posts
But recently we’re hearing something else, too:
In our research on social media, the thing we’ve been struck by is a growing feeling of responsibility. The sense that social media has now become something people feel under pressure to keep up with
And we’re hearing this even from Millennials; not the late teens and early 20s, granted, but slightly older Millennials – like the 27 year old quoted at the beginning of this article
Some joked that they wish someone would invent an app to manage their social media presence for them. A cross between Hootsuite and a virtual PA – but for your social life rather your business life – that you can programme to ‘be you’ in the online space to give the real you a bit of a break
The thing is, they were only half-joking. There really was a feeling that you can’t not do social media, even if you don’t want to right now, so it would be good if someone else would just do it for you
Is anyone else hearing this too?
Maddy is Director of Lucid. She has been described as a ‘maestra’ with groups of people and is appreciated for her passion and commitment as well as the clarity of her strategic thinking, insight and expression. Maddy began her career in advertising at Ogilvy and BBH and then worked at the Arts Council, English National Opera, AEA consulting and Stimulating World Research before setting up Lucid.