Do you need to spend a little more time enjoying life rather than photographing and sharing it?
I consider social media to be a fabulous gift that enables me to run a business from home, share photos and chat with friends whether they live down the street or across the world, and connect with long lost friends from my childhood.
But it can also be exhausting.
Not only is there pressure to continually share photos, but these days those shots need to look stunning. The bar keeps getting higher and higher.
To survive a life where social media is my job, I take lots of time away from it. Surprisingly, I share very few photos of what I happen to be eating at the moment and I don’t let myself give in to the urge to Instagram every cute thing my kids do.
Although, I confess that part of the reason for my restraint is the growing pressure to share only shots of perfection. Since my everyday meals aren’t usually Pinterest worthy and my house is always a mess, I tend to keep my phone in my pocket more these days.
I also admit that I sometimes fall victim to comparing my real life to other people’s filtered lives. Even though I know how much lighting is adjusted and photos are edited, it can feel like everyone else’s life is prettier and happier than yours.
So we constantly must remind ourselves to step back from social media and relax in the moment. Not everything we do (or eat) needs to be photographed and shared online.
This clever ad campaign from IKEA pokes fun at our culture of social sharing and reminds us to just relax and live life.
What about you?
Do you feel that social media is stressing you out? Are you constantly comparing your life to an impossible standard?
Do you let your dinner go cold while you Instagram it?
Are your kids telling you to put down the camera?
Is the pressure of everyone’s perfect appearance stressing you out?
Leave us a comment and let us know how you feel and how you fight the urge to let social media exhaust you.
Pin It For Later
Remind yourself and your friends to take the moment and relax… but first, pin this. 😉
Disclosure: This post is sponsored, so extra thanks for reading and supporting our blog.
Written by Susan Carraretto, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom
Talk with me: @5minutesformom and Facebook.com/5minutesformom
Pin with me at pinterest.com/5minutesformom
Great article Susan! I came across your site because we’re working on a product that helps families capture stories (and not just photos) of their experiences. Funny that it would take an Ikea commercial to remind people to “relax” from the social media exhaust.
If you have a moment, check out Dotted story and let us know what you think 🙂