Happy Bit: Taking a Break from Social Media

In this season of life and of the year, I am aware of the need to live in the present and guilty of not.  Raising toddlers is a great reminder of living in the present.  I read somewhere that kids up to the age of 7, always live in the present.  They do not have the mental capacity to have regrets or forethought to fret about the future.  Not sure what happens at age 7, but I am certainly in awe of the human brain to allow children to stay in the present/innocent bliss for as long as possible. My thought is that if my boys are constantly in the present, then it should be a reminder to ME to live in the present with them.  I read a devotional every morning (admittedly, I am not super religious but as I have gotten older I crave connecting with God on the daily), one morning it explained that His desire for our lives is to live in the present, especially during the chaotic times.  Do I need any more signs?!Evaluating my life, I realized that so much pressure I put on myself comes from outward sources…namely, social media.  Social media is a wonderful tool to help you connect with others and stay in touch with people you wouldn’t otherwise, but it also an isolating tool that makes you feel more connected then you actually are and allows you to fall into the comparison trap.  I mean how can you not compare yourself to someone else’s perfectly curated highlight reel.  Its pretty much impossible, no matter what anyone says–its human nature people!So in order to be the best version of myself for my boys, my husband and MYSELF, I decided to take a break in a sense from social media.  Honestly, it wasn’t a conscious decision that I was going to completely stop, more it just naturally happened when I realized I was videoing and taking pictures for my Instagram stories and for what…so other people can see my kids and at the end of the day I have lost precious minutes to uploading things?Things I learned from taking a break from social media:

• Social media is a great tool for keeping in touch with people
• Toddlers do not care what so ever about social media (at least my kids don’t!)
• Social media is a tool to “escape” life and a brief therapy session so to speak
• Social media helps you feel connected to others: I missed knowing updates of people’s lives
• People will notice if you take a break (made me happy to know that my friends care enough to reach out to me, but also showed how much I was actually posting!)
• Social media can be an addiction, but when you feel this way pull away and you (hopefully) will realize you don’t miss it as much as you may think!
• The comparison trap is real, but remember that people are posting what they want you to see–not the whole story!
• I was on social media wayyy more than I actually thought I was, setting boundaries for myself is the way to go (it may sound silly but my scheduled social media time is: morning TV time, nap/quiet time and bath time is my new go to!)

At the end of the day, I think social media is a great tool for connection, getting ideas and of course, shopping! But when you start to feel inferior and down, take a break from it and try and be more present in YOUR life.  We only have this one life and I personally would rather spend my moments being present with my children than scrolling through OTHER peoples’ lives (but there are definitely times, I need a little escape and it is the perfect short term mental break!).