You're so lucky you get to do what you love for a living. We don't all have perfect lives like you. With your platform I don't think you should be.... talking about/mentioning/eating... *insert something here*. You have such a huge platform you should help *insert person/charity/business here*. You have such a positive brand you shouldn't be... etc. etc. etc. You get the idea!
These are comments I've actually had, and I don't even think my 'platform' is THAT big (currently 22.5k on instagram), however I do know it will only get bigger and therefore attract more comments like the above. Social media and the internet can be used in the best and worst ways, and I'm learning to ignore/block the really negative stuff and continue to focus on the good but after Richard Branson posted about The Happy Newspaper and my book 'Make Someone Happy' today, it seemed like a good idea to mention this again as I often try to share the 'real' stuff as well as the happy and lovely stuff. People see me and my brand and automatically assume my life is the rosiest, this is a classic trait on instagram and something I've talked about A LOT, most recently on here. We're all guilty of comparing ourselves to people online but I'm noticing more and more how damaging it must be to scroll through social media with a totally blinkered view that all the filtered images you see are reality. I talk in more depth about it here, but I often try to take everything I see online with a pinch of salt, which maybe isn't the best approach but I found it helped me and made me realise that what people are posting isn't always a true reflection of the lives they are living.
No my life is not perfect and no I'm definitely not perfect, however a lot of comments I have received and probably will continue to receive imply that if I did *insert whatever here* then I might actually be 'perfect' or as close to perfect as can be, and guess what... *news flash* I don't want to be! I am quite happy in my world being completely and utterly imperfect, I know what is right and wrong in my world and I know what I can and need to change to make ME happier or possibly not quite as knackered (for example)... That isn't anybody else's business but mine. I have no desire to be liked by everybody. I love that I can use my social media to share snippets of my day/life but however much a person shares online or otherwise about themselves/their lives, it's often not even a fraction of what's actually going on in their work/life/whatever.
So please, next time you consider (or don't) what your comment, message or suggestion is going to say to somebody like myself... think about what you're actually saying. The only reason I have 'the platform' I have is because I've worked flippin' hard at something I'm passionate about and something that helped me through a dark time in my life. I support people and charities that have helped me or people I know, that doesn't mean that you can't support and be passionate about charities/people that have helped you or that deal with issues that have affected you.
I am often careful with what I talk about online because I am fully aware that there are a lot of people watching and listening. I will never comment or talk at length about something I don't fully know about or understand, and I'm certainly not going to respond to comments or put myself in an uncomfortable position if there's likely to be an unnecessary and negative outcome.
I am one person single-handedly running a growing business and I use my social media to make a few people smile and share pick-me-ups and positive news stories as well as raising money or awareness around certain issues that are close to my heart whenever I can. My aim is and has always been to make a few people smile and hopefully make The Happy Newspaper accessible to even more people, as I know the positive impact it has and is having on so many people. That all said, you're never going to please 'em all so please stop trying to.
Big loves,
Emily x
Side note: 95% of comments/messages I receive are so lovely and glitter-filled and I appreciate every single one, thank you! And in the first paragraph I'm not talking about people who send me recommendations of small businesses or charities who contact me... I'm talking about people who have commented on me supporting certain charities and not others etc.