I originally wrote parts of this post in 2017. Reading it over I’ve thought of some new ideas. Sometimes Facebook can me make feel like the biggest failure in the universe. I look at how happy everyone is and they are posting all the great things they are doing and achieving. I was talking to a family member and they actually have closed their Facebook account. They were tired of always feeling like their life was so much more stressful, less exciting, and humdrum compared to all their friends. It was causing them to feel bad about themselves. I can agree, on my muffy days it makes me feel inadequate and depressed. I thought about this for a while and when I originally wrote this article I scrolled through my own Facebook page and thought wow I wish I had her life. Which I did! What we put on social media most times is the good stuff. We don't usually carry on about how ordinary our lives can be: vacuuming, washing, doing errands...... Or how we struggle with the blues or sickness. We usually share the fun and exciting stuff.

I think we all should remember that social media are posts of moments in time. All of our moments are not going to be life changing, special, or exciting. For most people there are more routine moments rather than exciting moments. We should not judge ourselves or our lives based on how other people live on social media. It upsets me when I see how depressed some people get when they do not get enough likes on snapchat, Instagram, or twitter. I am not trying to pick on the younger generation I promise but I see how much value they put into social media. I know a young woman who if she doesn’t get a certain amount of likes within 5 minutes she takes down her posts and then feels bad about herself for the rest of the day. She lives her life stuck to posting in the best clothes with the best accessories, showing the best picture all on social media. She thinks that having the best clothes, the best computer, the best phone, and the best of everything all categorized on social media will bring happiness. It saddens me because life is not about all the material stuff, emoji’s of hearts, and like buttons on social media. Life is about full relationships, experiences, and love, not a screen.

I have been avoiding all social media for the past couple months. Usually I am the first one to wish everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I like to share pictures of my family all together and times that we have gone out and done something exciting. I was very ill at the beginning of December. The illness actually took away some of my comprehensive ability, writing ability, sight, and a great deal of my physical wellness. It made me realize how important my words and physical self really are too me. Sometimes you don’t realize what you are or have until you don’t have it anymore. While I love to see what is happening in everyone’s life on Facebook I felt I didn’t really have anything to say. I wasn’t in the frame of mind to pretend everything was great. So I just didn’t bother posting anything.

Social media platforms are venues for interaction. It is not always a true representation on how someone is doing at any given moment. You know how I know this? I know because I don't usually share on Facebook when I am having a rough day or when I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I usually share the "good" stuff. Sometimes I share the frustrating stuff but I don't usually share the really emotional and meaningful stuff that is going on in my head, like the days I feel no one gets me or the days I feel blah about my body image or when I am hurt by something that has happened or when I am so exhausted I can hardly get out of bed. So if I am not sharing that stuff I guarantee there are others out there that aren't sharing either. Don't be quick to judge yourself based on how you see others portray themselves on social media, it's usually only half of the story.