Thoughts on Social Media

One of my biggest struggles in juggling two home based businesses and being a single mom to Landyn is finding balance in my days. The past few months, I’ve really been focusing on time management and being on purpose with every minute of my day. When I say on purpose, I mean giving my full and undivided attention to whats most important. It mean resisting the pull of a million different directions and focus on the very things that give my life meaning and purpose. It means turning off distractions.

And then last week happened and a question hit close to home…

 ”How might life be different without social media”?

My first reaction was to respond with “life would be a heck of a lot more purposeful“… because let’s face it, when we think social media we think distraction. But once I actually sat down and thought a little bit about it, I was split right down the middle.

To me social media is a yin and a yang. I see both the good and bad. 

Yin:  I spend a good amount of time each day keeping up with my social media accounts. For me there is no set “time” for social media. Every free minute in between my on purpose time is game. I cook dinner while checking my instagram feed, I take time out during a girls night out to ask the waitress to take a group photo because I feel compelled to update my status with a photo of our shenanigans…only to check back repeatedly to see who liked my photo, I can’t fall asleep at night until I get to the bottom of my pinterest feed, and the thought of missing someones facebook or instagram update gives me terrible anxiety.

Yang: Social media has opened my eyes to an unbelievable community that I would have never otherwise known. It has allowed me to cross paths with people that inspire me every time I turn on my computer. I have been introduced to gals like her and her, who are now real life friends. Social media has me laughing at a video posted on my Facebook wall, sharing with the world a glimpse of our day, or creating virtual pin boards of things that have meaning in my life. Being connected has allowed me to find my voice in the blog world, discover a passion, and make a business out of it.

And while I thought about challenging myself to turn off all social media for the day, I knew it was simply the awareness of this yin and yang and not allowing the bad to consume my life, that was enough for me. Instead of harping on the social media is the devil bandwagon, I’ve learned to use it for good. I’ve decided that with balance, social media can be a very positive factor in our lives. We have an incredible instrument in which we are touching lives without even realizing it. We live in a world where we are able to connect with others on a whole new level. Social media is uniting families from across the miles with Facebook chat and Skype to name a few, and allowing moms to stay home with their babies while running successful online businesses.

I think if we are purposeful with our days and do not allow social media to grow bad habits in our lives, we can have the best of both worlds. I have days where I will lock my phone in my bedroom and cook dinner WITH Landyn on the step stool next to me sans distraction. Or days where I will be fully engaged in a conversation with a girlfriend and not feel compelled to check my feeds at the same time. It is being reminded of what social media means to me and acnowledging the awareness that goes along with it, that allows me to step away some days to watch life a little bit more closely. Making sure I don’t let any moments fall between the cracks.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this…What does social media mean to you? Yin or yang?