Social Media only Portrays PARTS of our Family Lives
‘Awwww, their family is so perfect!’
‘I wish my kids are like their kids. They’re so adorable and helpful around the house!’
‘I wish I had her kind of life. She has a loving husband, cute kids, and she’s such a great cook, active in sports, a successful business woman AND she home-schools her kids!’
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I don’t know if you’ve heard any of the above from those who see other people’s social media platforms.
Something along those lines, may be?
Everyone is entitled to share whatever they wish to share onlineAnyway, on this topic, here’s what I wish to share:
When we see updates and photos that sort of say, ‘I love my children they are so cute I feel so blessed and I love them more and more each day’ on other people’s Facebook walls (including mine), … the reality of parenting is (at least in my case), the little ones are not always angelic, obedient and cute little kiddos ‘all the time’.
Like all other children, they do have attitudes, selfishness, tantrums, impatience, rudeness, bickering with siblings, and plain disobedience.
And all this needs continual guidance, correction, discipline and most of all, God-given wisdom, mercy and patience. One of my prayers each morning.
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[Many photos I take everyday, but not all I post on social media. Like, this photo of an unhappy little preschooler]
There’s no perfect familyBeing a family blogger, I just feel I need to share a more balanced view of parenting and family lives.
ie. There’s no perfect family.
What is shared online is only a small portion of someone’s life.
The images and updates shared on social media do not fully represent someone’s life, because everyone’s life is full of ups and downs.
Our 3 children, like me, are sinful beings who need daily corrections, rebuking, repeated reminders, guidance and discipline.
Every day has its tough challenges, though they might not be shared on Facebook walls.
(To me, the older the kids, the less I should share something negative about them online)
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[Not all photos show happy faces]
We choose what we share on social mediaFor my case, what I share on social media is all real stuff that I go through, real feelings or thoughts that cross my mind. BUT, these are only a small portion of my 24-hours-7-days-a-week real life.
(eg. Ten minutes after that nice smiley shot of a child, he/she might be throwing a tantrum or having ugly arguments with siblings =)
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I know some people choose to totally share ‘everything’ online.
What they eat, what they wear, where they live, problems with spouse, friends and children, etc.
To me, everyone is entitled to share whatever they wish to share online.
It’s just that for our case, we select what we share on social media.
This way, we still have our privacy and personal lives, too (offline).
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Anyway.
That’s social media.
It portrays only a part of our real life.
A great tool nevertheless, … to share inspirational / positive messages and to connect with others.
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What say you?
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[Top photo: Beautiful view at Albert Park, Melbourne]
