I don’t know about you but it seems to me that there’s more pressure today to make a statement about who you are to the world. I’m a Gen X’er so I use Facebook and LinkedIn more than some, Instagram less than others, Twitter not at all (no political reason). I can’t keep up with anything else except Tik Tok which I use to watch cute animals and people tell jokes and read questionable kid books in a Scottish accent.

When I was growing up, I longed to be a published writer. Nowadays, everyone is a published writer because we post our own content and broadcast it to everyone all on our own. It blows my mind to think back on the days I needed to go to a designated computer lab to type papers pre-internet. I called my mom every morning to ask, “what’s it going to be like out today?” Now everything is media at the touch of a button or the sound of your voice and everyone has something to say.

I love this about technology because it introduces me to new people, new concepts, new stories and in touch with friends I don’t get to see IRL (acronym snarkily inserted) and it’s how you’re reading about me right now. Just some days, I feel pressure to be a supersized version of myself; especially when I follow individuals with likes and emojis in the hundreds after I’ve labored too long to write a blog post or promote a therapy event I’m offering that barely gets noticed.

I feel that it’s becoming increasingly harder to say something unique. It’s daunting to worry about the need to stay relevant. I have anxiety thinking about how I can make my therapy niche of ADHD bespoke when all of my clients follow ADHD Tik Tok. And then I breathe out and remember this…

There’s only one of me. All I have to do is be myself. You can follow me, like me, or not care. We’re all influencers; all our voices matter.