I’m a Social Media Influencer Who Had to Delete Social Media for My Mental Health

About a year ago, I was at the height of my social media career. Each time I refreshed my account on YouTube, Instagram or Twitter, my numbers were skyrocketing. By February of 2019, I had passed 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, over 11,000 Instagram followers and about 4,000 followers on Twitter. Then, it all came crashing down amidst a controversy I found myself wrapped up in, which is documented in my last book Canceled: Inside YouTube Cancel Culture.

When this happened, my mental health was a hot mess. As someone who has been diagnosed with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder and depression, this was no good. On top of that, I’m a recovering drug addict, so if my mental health isn’t in order, relapse is right there waiting for me, and my life is far too good today with my son back in my life for me to put that in jeopardy.

At that point, I decided to take a small break from social media, but since part of my income is based on being a social media influencer, I only did this for about a week. I removed all social media apps from my phone and told my girlfriend to not tell me anything about what was going on in the social media realm. I also gained some great tips from Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.