I want to put a disclaimer out there from the very beginning that I am writing this blog post not only for you but also for me. I am the worst about this and many of my friends can attest that I am the chief sinner in this area. But I hope that somehow my New Year's Resolution can make you stop and think for a few minutes.
When I went home for the holidays, my parents greeted me at the airport with a super sweet sign welcoming me home. I posted the picture to Instagram and Facebook almost immediately. I wasn't even with them 5 minutes before I was immediately on my phone to let everyone know what amazing parents I have (but seriously, I do!). The joke over the next few days became how many new likes I could get on that picture on both social media websites. Their picture got way more likes and comments than any picture I have ever posted. It became a constant checking of my phone to see who else had liked it.
Multiple times throughout my time at home I would be on social media to see what everyone had received for Christmas or who had gotten engaged. I found myself during moments of stillness getting on social media and just browsing. I noticed a common theme among others and myself:
we post the best versions of ourselves and expect people to say they "know" us by our social media posts.
Or as in many cases:
we post way too much about ourselves to people who claim to "know" us.
Let me once again reiterate that this isn't a personal attack on anyone but just a mere observation of myself and my social media experience. If you asked anyone who follows me on social media, they will tell you that I am some who loves my family and friends, often times does silly things to get a laugh, loves taking "usies", and someone who loves Jesus. While these things are true, what you don't see is the struggle I have sometimes to get up and read my bible. You don't see the insecurities I have about myself and the way I am seen by others. You don't see the 16 other pictures we took before I posted the one pic because I was too insecure to post them. You don't see the times I am extremely homesick. You don't see my Netflix queue and the hours I spend by myself not hanging out with people.
This is not meant to make you feel sorry for me but to make you see that social media doesn't display all of me. Not to say that we should be posting everything in our lives but it should be taken in to consideration that we are not completely known or defined by our facebook profile.
Which leads to the second observation: sometimes we post WAY too much about ourselves. Believe me, I LOVE looking at that cupcake you got from Georgetown Cupcakes. I get super jealous and then I know who to call next time I get a craving to head downtown and grab one. But I don't want to see what you eat every single day for every meal. I don't want to see your daily gym outfit/sweat production. I don't want to see the 5,643 different selfies you've taken that day. I don't want to know every single frustration/opinion you have. Or at least I don't want to hear/see these things via social media.
Knowing someone via Facebook and knowing someone in real life are two totally different things. I have such a problem with saying I am keeping in contact with someone but never picking up the phone to call them or never grabbing coffee with them. I am the world's worst at justifying my absence from people's lives by saying "Well I did put that info on Twitter so people can't say they didn't know."
Community was not meant to happen through a screen.
I want to end this post by first saying I am in no way bashing all of social media. Everything in moderation. Facebook is a great way for us to stay connected. But Facebook can't be our only interaction. Facebook can't replace face time (pun intended). Facebook can also not be our source of worth. The number of likes and followers we have should never affect our identity or confidence. That comes solely in Christ. He is our number 1 fan. He wants to be at the center of everything: our posts on Instagram, our time alone at our house, in our jobs, everywhere!
Jesus wants us to leave a gathering with friends with a full battery on our iPhones
Ie: be present with people when you are with them. You don't have to post every hang out you have, every meal you eat, every thought you have. Enjoy and fellowship with others unplugged. Don't check social media every time things get uncomfortable. Don't put your self worth in your likes, comments, and retweets. You have been called beloved! So this year, I will have less of you all. I won't be checking social media as much. I won't be posting as much on websites. I will hopefully having more of you all though. In real life. In phone conversations. In coffee dates. In Skype chats. I hope to have less but more of you.
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