Real Life > Facebook

I've had an iPhone for many years now. I love my iPhone, and all the wonderful and convenient things it does for my daily life, but lately I can't help but think how much my phone takes me away from real life. If you stop and think about it, we're on our phones quite a bit during the day. I can't speak for everyone, but I'd be afraid to actually count the number of minutes or even hours I'm on my phone each day...it's so easy to pick up your phone and browse Facebook while watching TV or waiting in line at the grocery store or while feeding the baby, etc... Name pretty much any "downtime" activity, and the first thing many of us do is reach for our phones to scroll through the Facebook timeline or read through the Twitter feed. And for what, really?! Sure, we all want to keep in touch with our friends and see the latest happenings with their lives, but how much do we REALLY need to see every photo and every status update from our 350+ friends? We don't! If we stop and think about it, the people that matter most to us in life are very likely only a phone call (or text/email) away. 9/10 times I communicate with my friends and family via phone or email anyways...I don't need Facebook to keep up with their lives, other than the occasional photo or two that I do very much enjoy seeing. 

As a new mom, I'm constantly learning (and looking for) new ways to be more efficient with my time during the day. One thing I could stand to cut back on is the use of my iPhone...especially social media.

I recently read a blog post about a challenge to give up social media on the weekends. For what, you ask? To take the time to make what MATTERS happen. For family time. For picnics in the park. For dinner with good friends. For trying new recipes. For exploring new places. Whatever matters to you. Sorry for the buzz kill, but Facebook does NOT matter in the grand scheme of life.

Am I going to give up Facebook and social media completely? No. I am, however, going to make a conscious effort to use it less to make time for what really matters in life. More quality time with my son. More quality time with my husband. More time for play dates and lunches with friends. More time for REAL LIFE. I recently signed Noah and I up for a weekly infant play class in the hopes we'd get to learn new things together and meet some new friends along the way. Our first class was so.much.fun, and I'm already looking forward to going again! There's nothing new and exciting my son is going to learn from looking at the phone all day, so it's important to me to adopt new habits in my own daily life before he's old enough to ask "why is Mommy on her phone again?". 

On a final note, I do get that sometimes we all need a little "mindless" free time to unwind from the day, and for many of us, that means playing around with the various social media apps on our smartphones. We're only human and no one is perfect. What I am challenging myself to do is to use it less as a whole, not cut it out entirely. 

Here's to making what matters happen!