Are Instagram and Facebook Too Discouraging?

Friends, are Instagram and Facebook discouraging or encouraging for you? This is a reposting of a blog I wrote a few years ago. It struck a cord with a lot of people, especially moms. On average, people spend more than two hours a day scrolling through and posting on social media platforms. Considering the time spent pushing and swiping, taking a few moments to think about how we feel about social media and how social media makes us feel is perhaps time well spent. xoBecky

LOVE-HATE Relationships with Social Media

How do you feel after checking in on your social media pages: happy, sad, excited, intimidated? The emotions vary. But sometimes the newsfeed can actually be down-right depressing.

Don’t other parents have vacations turn into disasters?
My house will never look like a magazine spread.
How can so many of my friends travel to so many exotic places?
My kids’ birthday parties never look like Pinterest parties. 

Do you have a LOVE-HATE relationship with social media?

Social media is a sticky wicket. Pins and posts on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook can be both delightful and depressing. The ideas are terrific while the expectations we put on ourselves can be overwhelming.

Moms, we need to be realistic. Usually only the best makes it to Facebook, the wonderful trips, the darling children, and the thoughtful husband who remembered the wedding anniversary. Life hardships are typically not posted. Pinterest has the best of the best pinned up for the world to see. Be realistic of your own desires and expectations. Create boundaries for yourself. Keep these four thoughts in mind when you are scrolling through your social media feed.

• No one posts epic failures. Or even small failures. The kid party that was a disaster, the cookies that nobody would eat, the overcooked turkey.
• Nobody is perfect. Give yourself a break. Replicating Pinterest ideas is not a mandate for a good mommy award. Pictures can be photo shopped. Just like the models in magazines, the pictures can be altered and enhanced for perfection. Time is a consideration. What are you capable of at this point in time? Ideas shared on social media are often the result of hours spent on a project.
• The finished product may be the result of multiples times to get it right. That one thing a friend keeps pinning and posting may be her one thing. The beautiful garden shots? Her home may be a mess. The gorgeous birthday cards? Her cakes may be all store-bought. The beautifully decorated home? Her way of controlling her out of control life. We don’t know what’s behind each pin or post.
• Drop the comparisons. There are a few exceptional people out there that seem to do it all. Remind yourself, you are God’s child, precious in His sight, made perfectly just as you are with your very own gifts and talents. Expound on what you do well!

Pin, post, and follow to your heart’s content. Be happy for those with great family shots, vacation photos, and party ideas. Pick and choose what you will replicate or tweak from Pinterest to suit your needs and the needs of your family. Like and comment on your family and friend’s vacations.

But keep this fact in your heart…God has great plans for you. You don’t need to be perfect or compare your efforts with others on social media for Him. He loves you just the way you are!

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 
Psalm 139:14 ESV

© 2023 Becky Danielson. All rights reserved.

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Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash