4 Ways To Overcome Social Media Shyness

If you’ve been on the internet anytime in the last few decades, you may have seen a post with the caption:

“Feeling cute, might delete later”

While this has since become a meme that plenty of people like to poke fun of, it brings up an interesting idea: instead of those posts we threaten to delete after we’ve posted them, what about the posts we simply never post?

Though social media is certainly a place where you can be yourself, for some people the shyness that they feel IRL follows them online, too.

With published guides like Psyche.co’s How to use social media if you have social anxiety, it’s clear that just having a computer or a cell phone to post from doesn’t resolve some of our main issues with being in public.

And though there is no obligation for anyone to use social media if they’re not so inclined, those on the fence who wish they could post more - whether it’s to build their personal brand and find more success or even family members who use it to stay in touch - can feel overwhelmed by where to begin.

For those who would simply like to post more or for others who have bigger obstacles to overcome, we’re sharing a few strategies that could help open up the gates and lead to a more fulfilling online experience.

4 Techniques To Post More - And Feel Better About Why You’re Posting

1. Ask Why You’re Hesitant - Sometimes it’s as simple as addressing the roots of the issue to solve it, suggests Gigaom. Are you worried that you’ll offend someone? That an overshare will have professional ramifications? That no one is interested in what you have to say? Put into words why you’re uneasy and then it’ll be simpler to put together posts that sidestep those issues.
   
   
2. It’s Just One Post - As the Psyche guide shares, when we post then wait to see how the likes and comments stack up, it feels like that one post is a referendum on ourselves as people. The reality? It’s just one post. If people didn’t respond, see it from their point of view - how many posts have you seen and not responded to? The lack of attention doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with the post - just that it was one post among many.
   
   
3. Share Small Moments - If you think for days (or weeks!) about what you’re going to post, when the moment comes, it can feel like the space between posts is begging for some earth-shattering announcement. Social Pro Now suggests to instead post something small, like a photo of your pet or an inspirational quote. Once you’ve gotten over the need to share a huge life moment, you can get back to sharing posts that feel more like you.
   
   
4. Remember That You’re Already Out There - As Alexandra Fasulo shares, most of us are already online. Our pages on LinkedIn, our profiles on Facebook, our personal web pages. So to have anxiety over what people might say or how they might react to what we post when in reality so much of our information is public can be limiting. Viewed like this, it may become easier to see how what you’re sharing fits in with how you already are online.

However you decide to share yourself on social media, we hope that this piece helps you approach it in a healthy, sustainable way. Just like we advocate for getting out there IRL (and with our Get Out There IRLA Pack!), putting yourself out there online can also be a great way to boost your personal and professional life.

What about you? Has anything kept you from posting on social media? How did you handle it?