Alice Catherine Alice Catherine

It’s safe to say that over the Christmas period, I was pretty exhausted with the online world – I was ready for a break, and boy did it help to completely reset my mind. It’s not healthy to live all of our time online, playing the numbers game, and getting neck deep in comparison. We all need real human interaction, and to feel less pressure to document every little thing that we do and see – it’s not the way for us to thrive. Admittedly, I owe a lot to my little corner of the internet – it’s helped me develop my own business, and meet some of the most wonderful people whilst doing so. However, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with creating a safe online space for yourself – one that doesn’t involve a constant stream of triggers and unsettling behaviour…

We have to stop assuming that we need to follow absolutely everyone back – if you don’t personally gain anything from following an account, then it’s taking up the space of an account that could really inspire you. It really should be as simple as that, yet a lot of people seem personally offended if you don’t follow them back. That doesn’t mean you have some ridiculous vendetta against the person who runs the account – it simply means it’s just not your cup of tea. Having a clear out is healthy, and it frees up more space to fall in love with new accounts…

Don’t overwhelm yourself – sometimes it seems like everyone in the world is using Twitter, at all times of the day. It can be overwhelming to subject yourself to a constant stream of thoughts – political views, intense emotions, and a lot of the time, just sheer idiocy. There’s lots of amazing, intelligent, and inspiring people using Twitter in a productive way – but as always, there’s a lot of trolls, misinformed, and just generally ignorant people thrown into the mix. I’ve experienced this on the odd time I’ve tweeted something that’s caught a little more attention than usual –  some people seem to pride themselves on being passive-agressive and confrontational, and sometimes hitting the block button is your safest bet! Sometimes you can reason with stupid, and it’s better to just to let your silence speak volumes…

You don’t have to put up with bad manners and intrusive comments – the online world shouldn’t be any different than our everyday, walking/talking reality. I’ve definitely noticed a weird online culture that seems to have developed over the last few years – an almost sense of entitlement towards people who present themselves, and aspects of their life online. Whether that’s intrusive comments about lifestyle, or someone they may or may not be dating, it’s very strange to me that so many people don’t understand when they are crossing the line. It’s also still baffles me that basic manners are sometimes forgotten – if you want to know where someone’s dress is from, all you have to do is ask nicely. I kid you not, sometimes, I just receive a simple direct message with ‘dress?’ – if you would feel embarrassed about conducting yourself the same way in the street, then don’t do it online. I remind myself of this time to time when I feel compelled to reply to a shitty comment – but in some cases, it’s necessary to highlight negative behaviour.

Comparison is the thief of joy – avoid it at all costs! I feel so much happier and lighter since not overloading myself with social media every day of the week. You just have to accept the fact that you can’t keep up to date with everyone, every newsletter, every book, every blog post, every podcast…the list goes on and on! I’ve also found that limiting my social media time in the mornings makes me way more productive and optimistic throughout the day – if you wake up and see a constant stream of what everyone else is up to before you’ve even had chance to get out of your pyjamas, you instantly feel defeated before the day has even begun! Give yourself a break – recognise when you need a little TLC, and uninterrupted time away from staring at screens your various screens.

Keeping up with all platforms is a balancing act – don’t beat yourself up if you struggle to spread yourself across all the platforms you want to utilise – whether it’s for your business or not, sometimes we have a tendency to be hard on ourselves. Particularly when we happen to be our own bosses – remind yourself to be kind and give yourself time. Organisation is key when it comes to being in five places at once – I have so much admiration for people who manage to weekly posts on YouTube, alongside publishing blog posts three times a week – it’s a lot more work than it seems from the polished surface, and not something I have managed to keep on top of so far. Youtube takes a lot of time to film and edit – it’s not really my forte if I’m totally honest, I love to be able to write and communicate through my blog. It’s just what I prefer – but I do want to create more video content this year. However, one thing I won’t be doing is beating myself up over is not being able to post weekly videos – neither should you.

This is the mindset I want to take into the new year with me to avoid burning myself out via the internet – remind yourself that the block and mute buttons are there for a reason! Your own mental wellbeing is so much more valuable than seeing the odd airbrushed bikini image each morning – build a social media community full of strong, inspirational figures (and lots of puppy memes, if you’re anything like me). If something makes you feel bad – stop giving it your attention. We might not be able to control what happens in real life, but we can certainly control our online usage…

Alice x


Photography by Adriana

Jacket – Urban Outfitters (similar here) | Jumper – New Look | Jeans – Vintage (similar here) | Boots – Miista | Bag – Simon Miller | Beret – Vintage (similar here)

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19 Comments

  1. Natali says:

    Oh yes, it’s so easy to get an internet time burnout because the amount of information which we process every day as well as the pressure which comes with being a digital influencer can be overwhelming and stressful.
    I love your simple and comfy outfit, your jacket is such a must have!

    https://lartoffashion.com

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Agreed – I think I definitely did that in December! And thanks lovely 🙂 xx

  2. Mariya says:

    I took a whole year off from Instagram last year and it felt really good!

    x Mariya
    http://www.brunetteondemand.com

    1. alicecatherine says:

      I can imagine that would be very liberating! Kind of hard when it’s such a huge part of my job, but I’m definitely learning to tune it out a little more x

  3. Summer Read says:

    Yes to all of this! It amazes me how rude people can be online, I definitely agree that if you see any kind of negativity or something that just isn’t your cup of tea, the best thing to do is unfollow, mute or block. I’m trying to spend less time scrolling this year, last I kept finding myself reaching for my phone throughout the day for no real reason! x

    Summer, http://www.thetwinswardrobe.com

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Me too! I’m trying to actively fill that ‘scroll time’ with something productive like reading a book, or doing some sort of life admin. That way I feel less defeated and overwhelmed by the end of the day xx

  4. Demilade says:

    I agree completely Alice! I especially love what you said about accepting the fact that you cannot keep up with every podcast, newsletter and book. I really needed to hear that, so thank you! xx
    Coco Bella Blog

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thanks for reading! xx

  5. I think you hit the nail on the head with all these points Alice. I am reaaaaally tired of the follow-unfollow game and of bots raiding my little IG account, I always think “go and find an account that truly inspires you and stop just focusing on the numbers! This has really become a stock market…” I don’t get many nasty messages, thank God, but I do believe people would not behave in the same way irl but the anonymity of the web gives them some sort of evil power… Also, on the keeping up with YouTube and posting every week, I’d imagine many of these bloggers have someone there to help them with these tasks! In any case, I love to read each one of your posts and watch your videos and can appreciate all the hard work you put into them, so thank you!!

    Saida | She talks Glam

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thanks lovely lady – really means a lot! I’m pretty lucky that I don’t really receive anything negative, but I definitely witness other people being subjected to it. Particularly on YouTube – some of the comments blow my mind ha. Totally agree with what you’re saying about anonymity too – definitely has a part to play in how people behave, but then some people are just dicks in real life too haha xxx

      1. Saida says:

        Tru dat, hahaha!

  6. aaishah says:

    I relate to this so much. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by social media these days, sometimes we just need to take a step back and accept that we can’t be up to date with everything all the time 🙂

  7. Olivia says:

    Thank you so much for this post! I really need to take a step back from social media and comparing myself to others, so thank you for the reminder. 🙂

  8. Orlanelg says:

    Bonjour Alice!
    As usual still an interesting post. And there is so much to say about the influence of internet. Last year I just had a break during few months. It’s just that I didn’t feel good with myself so It was the best thing to do. simply found myself and mindset so far from the influance of internet. it was a good time and sure for the best. of course I don’t « popular » like you are, so I do unterstand that you need a break sometimes far from the social media. And honestly, nothing better that a real conversation around a table with a cup of tea.? Humans need real conversation and see the face of the person front of them.

    I’m apologize for the english. I’m french and it’s hard sometimes. Hope you unterstand. ☺️

    À bientôt.
    Orlane

  9. Andrea says:

    Such a true and awesome post! I just recently cleaned out all my accounts and it feels so good!

  10. love this post and your pictures!

    xo. SN | http://www.sahonynatasha.com

  11. Hennie says:

    Hi Alice! Always absolutely love your blog, you fashion sense and your wise words! Coming back to a favourite outfit post of yours as I have recently re-found this jacket online and was wondering what size you’re wearing here? Am trying to suss what size is best without it being too oversized.

    Thank you v v v much <3

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Hey, thanks for the kind words! I think I got a big size in this as it was the only one left at the time – it’s the type of jacket that looks good oversized though so really depends what look you’re going for xx

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