Social Media, Love it or Hate it?

Ok so.....not a bit of cardstock or coloured image in sight for this post today (don't worry there's lots in the draft folder for sharing later), as I wanted to have a bit of a chat about social media.

So....social media and I have a bit of a love hate relationship going on. I love it in that I can share my creations with more people, I love it that I can see what my friends are making, that I can see new crafters that I wouldn't otherwise have come across, that I have a whole melting pot of inspiration to fire my creativity when my mojo takes a nosedive.

So where does the hate come in I hear you ask?  Well that can be answered in one simple word....time.

When I first started blogging, that's all I did. I did use FaceBook socially, but not in connection with my crafting.

Over time and as I joined DTs, I added (in no particular order), a Facebook page and also started sharing my cards on my personal page, I added Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram. Currently I have no plans to add Twitter, but hey I had no plans to add Instagram originally!

All of these things soak up a huge amount of my very small pocket of spare time. It takes time to upload to each place, write a blurb and post, time to add a bunch of hashtags, time to look through, like and comment on other's creations, time to reply to comments on mine.

I fail miserably some days, I would love to be able to comment on everything I see, but time is not kind to me. As I work a full time job with around two and a half to three hours journey time each day, I only have a few hours in the evening and the weekends to do everything else I need to do. That includes all the normal chores such a shopping, cleaning, washing, cooking etc as well as contacting/visiting family and friends and any RL social stuff I can, plus actually crafting, then photographing, uploading, editing and making my original post. Trying to cram in all the other social media sites can be very difficult sometimes, I manage (mostly), but there are the times when it feels a bit like work. So in the main if I comment on a post of someones on one of their sites, I may not comment on another. Some days I don't get a chance to comment at all, and though I try to catch up where I can this isn't always possible, I do try at least to run through and like stuff quickly on Instagram or FaceBook though.
Where YouTube is concerned I would love to share more, but the combination of a lack of free time, no room for a permanent video set-up and rubbish internet speed due to the distance from the exchange, means that I haven't posted in recent months, though I'm hoping to rectify that after my guest room/craft room makeover.

So in conclusion, Social Media and I have a bit of a love hate relationship going on, I like it and I use it, but I think I'd need a time machine (or retirement!) to truly love it.

What about you? I'd love to hear your views, are you a Social Media guru, or do you hide in the corner, love it, or wish you didn't lose half a day due to one post you clicked, which of course led to another and another (and Pinterest you have a lot to answer for here!), we've all done that right?

Thanks for dropping by, I'm looking forward to hear how you balance your time.