Joanna Gaines Gets Real About Her ‘Insecurity’ and Social Media Anxieties

Joanna Gaines also struggles with the pressures of social media.

The former Fixer Upper star recently opened up about the anxiety she feels about having her fans comment on her every move when she posts on her Instagram and other platforms.

“It wasn’t so very long ago that I had only a handful of followers on Instagram,” she wrote in a new column for Magnolia Journal, according to Entertainment Tonight. “There wasn’t any pressure to post anything at all, so whenever I did, it didn’t really cross my mind whether or not people would ‘like’ it.”

As the show kicked off and more people became enamored with her family, Gaines admitted she began to “feel insecurity start to creep in” and realized that she was “letting this small square on my phone become yet another thing to perfect.”

“Posting a photo was no longer an act of enjoying the in-the-moments of life but rather a more calculated decision,” she wrote. “With every picture I found myself critiquing if there were messy backgrounds or blurry smiles. I think this is how we can end up losing sight of what it worthy of sharing and what is even more worthy than that — moments worth simply experiencing.”

After realizing what constantly posting on social media was doing, Gaines said she began to fight back against letting “social media rob us of authentic moments,” especially related to her children — Drake, 13, Ella, 12, Duke, 9, Emmie, 8 and 7-month-old baby Crew — whom she shares with husband Chip Gaines.

“There is a certain, creepy allure to a place where we can present ourselves any way we choose with very little accountability,” she notes. “What happens when we don’t think our ‘real life’ looks as good as someone else’s? We make adjustments — find better lighting, dress our kids in something nicer, place a vase of fresh flowers in the background, or add the perfect filter.“

While she still keeps fans up to date on her latest projects — and delights followers with frequenters updates on baby Crew’s childhood — Gaines revealed she has made it a priority to set aside her Instagram “when the red flags of comparison or anxiety begin [to] move in.”

“My best next step is to stop scrolling and put my phone away. That’s way harder for me to do when I’m not in a great place in my head or heart, but continuing down the rabbit hole never, ever helps a thing,” she wrote in the column. “I love to snap photos of my kids whenever it’s physically possible. My camera roll is constantly full because of it, but when I hear myself start to say something like ‘move slightly to the left’ just so I can get the perfect angle, that’s when I know it’s time to check myself.”

“Perhaps I’ll post that photo in a few days when I have some distance from it and a fresh frame of mind. Or maybe I won’t,” she adds. “What I can’t get back to later is the beautifully imperfect view that’s unfolding right in front of me — no edits required.”