You know those people on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter who post their every thought and move? Do people really care what they had for breakfast, lunch, dinner? No, I generally don’t BUT I do appreciate their transparency. It had me thinking one day, maybe someone really does care. Maybe the poster just has a strong passion for food. Maybe that’s the only realm of their life they feel comfortable posting about. Who am I to judge?
For every foodie’s post about their perfect meal, I have at least 3 posts for each of my kids. I’d like to think I’m not “that” mom but I am guilty of perhaps “overposting” about my kiddos. I have absolutely no shame about it either. I love social media and am not afraid to admit it. I’m sure there are those that think, “Oh look, Khaki’s son scored another goal.” Yes, he probably did and those that could not care less and are sick of seeing it can keep scrolling.
Haters are gonna hate, right? Having so many children in so many things, I use social media as my personal historian. I also have family that I don’t talk to daily or even weekly but know that they like hearing and seeing my stories, pictures, and the hilarity that ensues in my ever-chaotic life. I have been asked, more than once, how I feel about all the “crazies” out there on social media and yes, I’m very aware and I still post away. I’m not scared of social media. I’m smart.
With proper education, anyone can master the guise of those creeps. “But what you put on the internet is out there forever…” I do hope that my children can someday search for a Facebook post and find some snippet of one of our delightful conversations that I chose to re-cap. The quantity of thumbs-up or hearts of any of my posts is irrelevant to the reason I post. I do it for me, whether it simply documents something for me or to share something I need opinions or feedback on or to share in hopes of reaching someone else that might care.
For example, I have a son that is an avid soccer player and I’ll post videos of his goals or Messi-like soccer skills and to me, I’ve just killed about 40 birds with one stone. His aunt, who can never receive my videos when I send them directly to her phone, can see the highlights. My second cousin, twice removed, who is now married to my 3rd grade best friend’s second wife can also see him and now they know that in a few years, their investment to club soccer has the potential to pay off. Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration but in laymen’s terms, I use it to reach my village.
I don’t always post about my kid(s) being the star-athlete or create some fantasy perfect life. Recently, I polled my Facebook “friends” asking opinions on a too-close-to-home real issue with my almost-teenage son. I was relieved by the responses I received and even enlightened by a few of them. That very post has even come up in real in-person conversation. It created awareness in a few parents that were stuck in oblivion that was happening in their child’s realm. So, I was happy that my post helped not only myself but a few in my village. I think social media is a great outlet to reach family, friends, and acquaintances that I wouldn’t have contact with if those forums didn’t exist.
Besides, I’d be lying if I said that my kids never ask if I would post something about them on my Facebook. It’s like the new refrigerator full of finger-paintings…at least in my world. Post away, friends. Overpost if you’d like. Just be smart about it.
