Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Real Connections in the Age of Social Media

I often hear people say "I already know what you're up to because I read your blog!" Although you will get the general idea of what is going on in my life, it is only a fraction of the full story.  Just like anyone's Instagram feed or Facebook posts, we don't share everything–at least I hope we don't!  One of the dangers in this age of social media is that we are failing to truly connect with those we value because we feel like we already are.


I get it– time is limited and so is the energy required to maintain great relationships. However, if I consider all of the things in my life that I don't share about publicly, I am certain that most people must have a lot more going on, too.  I have made it a priority to connect with several women each week, from a church coffee group to a single friend one-on-one, to ensure that I have a place where I can be heard and where I can learn from and support others.  I believe it is important that we are truly known especially in this time where comparing our lives to others can be overwhelming as we have it in our face (via phones) all the time.

It can be hard to schedule a time to get together with extended family but it is valuable to connect not just for me but for our kids as well.  I want our kids to see the benefit of real relationships face-to-face.  I hope that they will desire to make family a priority when they grow up and move out of the house.  To my future daughter-in-law(s): I'm fun! Come visit!


Attending to my mental and physical health has become more important with every passing year–anyone else notice that there are just so many  more factors and feelings to deal with as you age?  Spending time with others that I have real relationships with allows me to feel cared for and supported and hopefully I can do the same for them.  Let me be clear though: People exhaust me.  Connecting several times a week, once in a group and once on-on-one, is ideal for me.

All this to say, social media has been great in allowing me to connect with a variety of people.  However, in order to take it to the next step, a real relationship, I need to then converse privately and then hopefully face-to-face.  I would encourage you to reflect on your social needs and re-evaluate where you are at.  If meeting with a group once a week would benefit you, make it a priority.

I'd love to hear you thoughts on this!

Love,
Louise

2 comments:

  1. Not a great day to cancel on you! Sorry :(

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    1. You're still stuck with me on Friday!

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