Scroll through your social media feeds and you’ll see the same stuff everyday.
Facebook will inform you who is “so incredibly happy to announce!!!!” their engagement and show you pictures of five minute old babies who are “the newest edition to the ____ family”.
Instagram will provide countless pictures of sunsets and selfies with captions of just how #blessed someone feels that day.
Twitter will update you on the latest and greatest daily events occurring in the life of your best friend across the country or that kid you had math class with that one time.
We (myself included) broadcast the significant and insignificant moments in our lives to the World Wide Web, no longer making them personal or private, but instead making them another post a stranger can favorite or like. So why do we do this? To see how many people will like, envy, or approve of your experience? Don’t be mistaken; social media is a great thing. In today’s day and age, it’s a major vehicle for communication for billions of people. You’re able to keep up with loved ones thousands of miles away and hardly feel the distance. Sharing both your momentous and trivial events in your life is exciting. But what about that actual moment you’re documenting? Did you actually take the time to live in that moment and enjoy it for yourself, or were you just thinking about what filter to use, or maybe how many people will like it in 5 minutes when you post it?
Sometimes the ability to publicize every event in our lives causes us to forget to relish in the moments we are so eager to advertise to the world. Don’t let the number of likes, favorites, or comments justify the importance of the happenings of your life. Although it may come as a shock, back in the day (i.e. ten odd years ago), most of these social media sites did not even exist (gasp). Back in the good ole’ olden days, you announced the birth of your child by picking up your flip phone and calling your friends and family. You could not post a picture of that beautiful sunset on Instagram because (wait for it…) Instagram did not exist. Mentally, we were more present. We were not glued to our phones, jumping from app to app, constantly refreshing news feeds. So back in the pre-social media era, were we able to enjoy these moments more due to the lack of distractions around us? My challenge to you (and to myself) is to figure out the answer. Next time you experience something great, keep the moment personal and refrain from posting it on social media. Write it down, take a picture of it, do whatever you want, but keep it for only you to enjoy and look back on. Don’t forget to give it your own personal significance. Don’t forget to live in the moment.