As someone who spills a fair amount of my life via the internet most days of the week, it’s fair to say that social media is a big part of my life. And it has been for the past five, almost six (?!?!) years.
Seriously, can we talk about that for a second?? April will mark my 6th anniversary of blogging and that just blows my mind away…but we’ll save that for another time.
If you’ve been reading the blog for any amount of time, you may or may not know that I’ve never really been a big resolutions person. In fact, in going back and trying to search through the blog in years past, apparently I’m not much for sharing goals either. The only post I could find was in 2011…go figure?
So this year, I’ve decided to try and take a look at a few main goals that I’ve decided to make a priority in 2016. And since I tend to get a little wordy, I’m breaking them up into separate posts, too. You’re welcome.
The first goal I’m starting off with today focuses on social media. More specifically, my love-hate relationship with it.
Of course, I do love social media. It’s something I interact with on a daily basis, it has afforded me the opportunity to connect with SO many amazing people, and at times, it can become a huge source of motivation and encouragement.
But at other times, it can wind up doing the exact opposite. I know I’ve talked to you guys about this on more than one occasion, but there are most definitely times when social media gets the best of me. I find myself browsing blogs, Instagram feeds, Facebook pages…whatever it may be…and I suddenly find myself in the well-known, ugly “comparison trap.”
Ugh, that thing just sucks, does it not?! Here’s the thing though…I have a great life. I mean, I really do. A great life certainly doesn’t mean a perfect life, but you guys know that. I have a husband whom I adore, the greatest son (yes, I’m biased, it’s okay), and another on the way, who has proven to be nice and healthy thus far.
I have a wonderful family, and some of the most amazing friends I could ever ask for.
We have a brand new home, we have our health, and we do pretty well for ourselves financially.
But then I start seeing what others have, and suddenly, the thoughts start creeping in…
“If we made more money, we could have x, y, and z, too…”
“I have to get up and go to work tomorrow morning when she gets to stay home and play with her babies all day…”
“Their house is bigger than ours…”
“She has so much time to devote to fitness, I wish I could do that…”
“They can take their kid out to dinner and she actually sits still…without any electronics?!”
“They have so much more time to devote to their blog…I wish I could do that”
But all of that said, ultimately…
I’ve noticed lately that these thoughts had been creeping up more and more and it was really getting to me. I think some of it was due, in part, to the fact that we had a lot going on with my father in law, and it was easy to compare with those who weren’t experiencing such heartache. Especially around the holidays.
But even besides that, I just didn’t like the fact that I had started painting this picture in my head that we were lacking so much. Because, in fact, that’s so far from the truth.
On top of all of this, I recently found myself spending wayyyy too much time on social media. Like, I kid you not, there have been evenings where Jay and I will put Lucas to bed and wind up sitting on the couch for almost an HOUR, just scrolling on our phones. Without saying more than a few words.
That is RIDICULOUS. There is no reason the two of us should be spending the short amount of time that we DO have together, browsing through social media and (in my case) comparing my life to others. No.
Just, no.
So for those reasons, I’ve decided to cut back a bit on social media. Social media will have a time and a place…and those times and places are not in the evenings once Lucas is in bed, and they’re not when I come home from work with Lucas either. When will they be? I guess I’m really not sure. But for me, social media will not replace family time. Instead, I’d like to focus our evenings on things like actually talking, or maybe even reading. Whatever it is, it just shouldn’t involve my phone being glued to my hands.
Of course, I do consider blogging a bit different, since my blog is ME, it’s not about those around me. So there will always be times I’ll need to get my work done once Lucas is in bed or maybe for a little while when Jay gets home from work. That I’m not concerned about (however, once baby #2 arrives, that’s going to be a totally different story and something I’m going to need to try and plan out).
Like I said…social media can do a lot of good. But when it’s doing more harm than good, it’s time for me to step back a bit from it. Because in the end, the goal is to be the best version of me that I can be.
Can anyone else relate?
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