I have a love/hate relationship with social media.
On most days, I love how it makes me feel connected to the people I know, the people I knew, and the people I would love to get to know. On other days, it takes everything in me not to delete my social media accounts because the things I see and read are sad, enraging, provoke negative feelings, and can be so hard on my mental health.
Some of the more positive aspects of social media that I love are that there are so many amazing women that I follow who are tackling important issues that affect us today. The ones that put a positive spin on terrible things or put their foot down and say enough is enough. I am all about women empowering other women, especially the mom boss babes. They are so fun to follow!
Another thing I love is my social connection to other moms. I adore the mom groups I am a part of, especially Fairfield County Mom. It’s so great to have a bunch of other people sharing a common experience with you (parenting) and being able to share and bounce ideas off one another.
Of course, social media has its downside as well. I wouldn’t say I’m a particularly jealous person, but there are times when I am scrolling through my feed, and I see peoples perfection, or as I refer to it, their “highlight reel,” and this is when my mental health starts to give way to the negative thinking.
I start to think things like, Why don’t you exercise more? Why can’t you have all the things they have? Why haven’t you worked harder? Why don’t you have that bag? Why aren’t you currently tanning on an island with five of your best girlfriends? Why aren’t all your moments so picture-perfect? And, why don’t your jeans fit you that well?
I feel like I should be tanned, toned, beautiful, and always on vacation, but instead, I’m just an average mom from CT who can only do so much with what she has. Deep down, I know it’s fine, but sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m ok, and the life I live is a blessed one.
