I Look At Social Media, But I Don’t Share My Life

I came off of Facebook because I spent too much time distracted by reels. I also began to be disturbed at the ugliness of the rhetoric. Even when I taught college students, I advised them to be careful what they posted on social media, for fear of losing a future job because of an ill-advised disclosure by words or photos. I don’t write much on my Facebook site, limiting my posts to anniversary notes for my husband or sharing God-given blessings.

I decided to practice what I taught. I do miss seeing pictures of family doings, but I always felt that parents should obtain children’s permission before posting pictures and stories about them. neither friends nor family heeded my advice, and it pains me to see a generation growing up trying to get likes around go viral, to feel they have value and worth.

Overall, I think that social media was originally meant as a means of connections or building bonds, But it metamorphosed into something that leads to more hurt feelings. Strangers who can be anonymous say the most horrendous things to people they don’t know. So, I started looking at reels, and it became nearly an obsession. I found that when you watch a type of reel more than once, then you received so many like it. So, to gain my time back, and especially as I was not writing anything about myself, I came off of it.

Interestingly, I decided recently to go back to Facebook, to see pictures of family and friends and share our travel. I had to go to Instagram to send my oldest grandson a birthday wish, as we forgot to add international roaming to our phones before locking to Portugal. Also, my husband shows me the photos from my oldest daughter’s birthday party that I had no access to see. But, my account was permanently disabled. I have no reason why, but I realize that it may be the universe telling me that I don’t need to be on social media, after all.