“Set privacy boundaries so you don’t go overboard”
Artist, illustrator and entrepreneur Alicia Souza’s Instagram (@aliciasouza), is designed to evoke warm fuzzy feelings. She sketches scenes from her own life in Bengaluru, often featuring her dog Charlie, her toddler Oliver and her architect husband George Seemon. “I love taking photos and drawing the things happening around me,” she says. “That’s where my family life spills into my content too.” Souza, 34, says she took to social media to display her work out of need, not a desire to be an influencer. “I work with my hands, not screens, and was really introverted and shy starting out back in 2010-11,” she recalls. “I was thrown into freelancing and had to have a way to showcase my work that was quick and more casual.” She started posting her illustrations on Facebook 2011 and then eventually on Instagram, where she has more than 403k followers.
She’s worked from home for a decade, so separating work from personal time was essential right from the start. “I tend to be diligent about sectioning off personal time. I notice a shift in imbalance quickly because of it,” she says. But just over a year ago, when Souza’s son was born, she knew things had to change. “All the extra time I used to have to do creative things and showcase them slid quickly into spending time with my little guy,” she says. “I’m very structured with my schedule, so online, my evenings are rather quiet. That’s the time I’m doing mom things, not all of which I share.”
Those lines are consciously drawn too, particularly since family life is an integral theme in her work, one that leads to paying assignments. “I definitely don’t share very certain personal elements but I don’t feel the need to hold back on usual daily moments that bring joy,” Souza says. “There are some people who are not comfortable showing even a photo [of their family members] and that’s fine too!”
But like most creators, she publishes more than she consumes. “So I never feel the need to remove myself from the platform or take a break,” she says. “I have a stronger need to create than to see.” It means also, that her greatest joys come less from online comments and more from the people around her. “My online community is a bunch of the most amazing people. But I also know that each of them have their own in-person world that will bring them joy,” Souza says. “I try to add to that with the little drawings I do when they pop in online.”