Stepping Away from Social Media

The title of this post makes it sound like I'm about to delete my blog/Facebook/Instagram but that is not the case. The past couple of weeks I have just been trying to step away from doing these things all day, every day. I don't even want to take a guess at how much time I have wasted doing these things in the past but I have made a goal to dial it back.

In the past few weeks/months I started to realize how much time I was around my family but not really engaged with my family. I was getting frustrated with Holland and not paying attention to Race because I was too busy on my phone. It was ridiculous. So I deleted Facebook, Bloglovin' and almost all the games off my phone {pretty much everything except for Instagram since I can't access that from the computer--I'm just having to practice self control}.

This has been hard for me but it has also been such a good thing. I am learning to be more patient with Holland and to have more engaging, enjoyable conversations with Race. And even with those apps deleted from my phone I still find time to use social media! In fact, now that I sit down at a computer to read blogs I actually comment since it's much easier to use the keyboard than to type on my phone! It is also so much more relaxing for me to have a specified time to view my social medial. Instead of having it at my fingertips all day I sit down for a few minutes in the evening or during Holland's naps to take some time for myself.

I am far from perfect at this and have even redownloaded and then redeleted the apps from my phone. It's pretty embarrassing how addicted I had become/still am to having these various social media outlets with me all day.

I don't see myself deleting any of these things permanently because I am so grateful for the wonderful friendships I have made and I love being able to keep in contact with friends and family who live far away {which is pretty much everyone since we moved}. I also love to share the joy that Holland brings to our family with others. I love to share the goofy things that she does, the new things she is learning, and the silly faces that she makes.

Social media is such a big part of modern society and I'm sure it will always be a part of my life as well as the lives of my children. I hope that as I learn to use it in good ways that I will be able to teach my children how to use it appropriately as well. It can be such a good tool if we learn to use it properly!

And now, go here to see some kisses for all of you wonderful people who make me never want to completely disappear from the world of social media!