The Blogger Misconception


I'm not a big blogger, I'm not famous and I don't shower in money, but I love what I do. I receive an average of about five packages a week and I'm pretty sure my postman deserves a present of some sort. But it doesn't match the reality.

Although my housemates are slowly starting to understand that I'm not an extreme shopaholic or anything like that, there were definite initial misconceptions that I was loaded because let's be honest, I'm living the illusion of a life that is beyond my means. My instagram features champagne events and designer handbags and I regularly feature coffee shops which should amount to hundreds of pounds a week being spent. But it's not the reality.

If you're a blogger (small or large), you'll understand the thrill of being put on a PR mailing list, the thrill of unknown packages but you'll also start to understand the snide comments you can sometimes receive, "Oh but you can afford it, right?". Actually, no I can't. I'm a student and I recently quit my job because of the stress that trying to do it all brought up, but it also caused me to question this life I was portraying.

I like to think of myself as honest, I always disclaim when it's PR samples and I desperately try to make my friends aware that I'm not spending cash because there are weeks when I struggle (we're talking the end of the month here). Because it doesn't matter how much designer makeup I'm wearing or the new clothes, because it wasn't bought by me. Because the blogging life isn't a reality.

It's a world where image is everything, I couldn't enter the world of Youtube simply because I've seen the hate that heavyweights such as Zoella get and really, I couldn't imagine putting more of my life online than I already do. And I'm not complaining, I love it and am so grateful for being at the stage I'm at now.

So this post is for the bloggers that envy lives of others and the normal people who follow me because they like my writing, just make sure you know the back story - a lot of it is smoke and mirrors.

11 comments:

  1. Thought-provoking post! I would say blogging has taken this 'high glamour' image on more so in the last couple of years especially, perhaps with the rise of Instagram and how mainstream social media in general is now. Like you say though, behind the scenes it's not quite like that; you should take certain things with a pinch of salt and understand there may be more to other things than there seems. Thanks for reminding of that this morning :)
    Rebecca | The Two Twenty Somethings
    Xx

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  2. my work colleagues definitely don't get the whole blogger thing when packages show up weekly, it's sneered at a bit and i do feel the need to defend myself sometimes. completely agree with your post, a lot of the struggles aren't shown and being a blogger is hard work at times. great read x

    www.thedressdiaries.co.uk

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    1. i hate having to explain that i'm not constantly spending money!!!

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  3. Interesting topic, happy I stumbled across this.

    I also think that we have to own up to our part in how people portray us. If we're only showcasing the amazing 20% of our life where we attend lavish events, travel to exotic places, splurge on designer items, and arrange our latest hauls in perfectly positioned layouts, than we have to understand why people have that perception of us - because, in part, that's the perception that we're giving off.

    I had to stop doing little things such as attempting to make every single photo pretty & perfect. It's just not realistic for me. I know some women are neat & organized and their vanities and desktops truly are as perfect as their photos portray, but that's not my reality. My reality is cluttered, flawed, and crazy. And so I show cluttered, flaw, and crazy.

    I think posts like this help people to see the other parts of you, and help widen their perception. I always love when I get to see the real bits of bloggers, past the makeup & fancy trips. It makes me feel like I'm talking to a friend. I always say if I can see myself getting a drink with a blogger, than their blog is an automatic follow lol.

    Z · HELLOZAUNI.COM

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    1. thank you so much for such a detailed comment! i completely agree xx

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  4. This is an amazing post and I really like the angle that you've written it from. I would hate to be internet famous as Im quite a private person actually. I hate that some people think that im really wealthy and just sit around on twitter all day. I work SO hard running my blog! xxx

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  5. I totally agree and my postman did think I was a shopaholic and then when a PR company put my blog name on a package, they started reading it down the sorting office and constantly ask for advice for their WAGS x

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    1. thats so funny! I quite like it when i get parcels addressed to my url x

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  6. Great read! I wish people would understand Youtubers and bloggers are just real people. I always read such mean comments towards Youtubers and their "lifestyle."

    ahintofbeauty.blogspot.com/

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    1. definitely! I swear some friends thing i'm loaded x

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