I started this blog back in 2008 as a freshman in college. It began as a creative outlet while I was getting my bachelor’s degree.

Around the same time is when the first iPhone came out and social media started to become a thing.

Now, with over a decade of social media continuing to grow its reach and impact, I’ve been thinking about how I’ve used and interacted with both blogging and social media, and about how they’re similar, and how they’re different.

In a way, blogging was the first social media on the internet. It was the first space for regular people, like you and me, to show up online in a personal way to share snapshots of life.

Now, social media is the go-to place for sharing “life”. You may wonder, is blogging dead? While that’s not the purpose of the post, that’s a good question, and I explored that topic in this post.

In this post, let’s look at the similarities and differences between blogging and social media and how each one can spur a different type of creativity.

Why I Love Blogging

I love blogging because it demands a different type of creativity from me.

Longer form content takes more time and intention to write. You have to sit with it, reread it, and revise it often.

That means you have to take the time and space to be creative without the instant gratification of publishing frequent micro-content. And I actually think that’s a good thing.

What I Like About Social Media

There’s so much to love and hate about social media. It truly is a double-edged sword.

Staying in touch with friends is the main reason why I use social media these days. It’s not to follow brands, it’s not to get news, it’s to follow people I know.

I used to follow brands and news outlets on social media but I started noticing how that was impacting my mental health back in 2020 during lockdown when I was constantly dooms-scrolling on my phone. I had to take a step back and reevaluate how I was using social media.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both blogging and social media.

Blogging Pros

• More control over the format of the content.
• Content is not gatekept by an algorithm.
• Demands the intention and time to be creative.
• You own your content 100%.

Blogging Cons

• It’s harder to reach more people quickly.
• There’s not as much instant gratification (but is that really a bad thing?).
• Takes longer to publish content.

Social Media Pros

• Keep in touch with friends.
• Stay connected with world news, brands, trends, etc.
• Fast, instant gratification (sure it feels great, but is it actually a GOOD thing?).
• Easy to post quick content.
• Wide audience and reach built into the platform.

Social Media Cons

• Fosters higher levels of loneliness and isolation
• Comparison trap
• Increases anxiety and depression
• Privacy issues
• Addicting
• Affects mental health

Final Thoughts

While the purpose of this blog post was a personal comparison between how I use blogging and how I use social media, my goal is to not paint one as better than the other. They both have their own value and their own drawbacks. But I’m curious to know, what are your thoughts on blogging versus social media?