I have always had a love-hate relationship with social media. Instagram feeds my love for photography, while Facebook keeps me connected to everyone that is near, far, and dear to me. I love to see what my friends are doing but sometimes seeing all their perceived happiness makes me feel a little bit like a failure.
Let’s be honest for a second.
If I were to tell everyone that my life was not all sunshine and roses, would they care? Or in this age of instant gratification would they believe that I was just trying to garner sympathy? If I were to tell people that every day I feel like I’m failing, would they block me so they wouldn’t see my realness?
If I posted a photo of my messy kitchen complete with a sink full of dirty dishes or my mountain of laundry that hasn’t been put away from the weekend before would people like my photo? Or would they be shocked that I would post something like that for the world to judge me on? Should I share with the world my child’s temper tantrums over not getting a cookie?
When you look at my social media pages you see pictures of two boys who are happy and thriving, you might see some inspirational quotes, and you will see me happy and smiling with my kids and my friends. To any casual observer, my life looks great. And to be honest I do have a good life. I have happy kids, a home, a job I love, and friends who support me.
Yet, sometimes when I’m feeling down, getting on social media can be a kick to the gut. Sometimes looking at people who are on exotic trips and realizing I won’t be going on those trips anytime soon can make me feel down. Or, when my kids are acting crazy on a particular day seeing other kids so calm and put together on Facebook can make me feel like I’m doing something wrong.
What about the moms who work full-time jobs, have genius kids, are able to cook a five-star dinner for six and don’t have a hair out of place? If you saw my life on any given night you would probably say a prayer for me. Chaos reigns in my house and I am normally okay with that but sometimes when I see the moms that seem to have it all together, I feel like I’m letting myself and, most of all, my kids down.
I realize that social media is all about perception and that these perfect moments I see may not be so perfect after all, but when I am having a bad day I am not always thinking rationally. Social media is a wonderful tool to keep people in touch with each other but it can also take our insecurities and magnify them. I am lucky to have a group of people on my social media that like to uplift each other and I know that if I posted my mom failures or my mountain of laundry for all to see I would most likely have a group of friends who would tell me that it has happened to them also and that as moms we are in this together.
