Time to turn it off and stop comparing...

The irony of writing a negative post about social media on social media is not lost on me, but I have a Facebook hiatus coming up and I am ridiculously excited.

The highlight of our family vacation (apart from spending endless time with my three darlings obvs) has to be the turning off of my mobile phone.  The house is safe, thanks to the in-laws, and the people I generally worry about 24/7 are with me, so off it goes in my case until our holiday is over.
Without the tiny blue flashing device to distract me the change is instant:  I’m more aware of the conversations happening around me (as opposed to muffled background noise), I care less about what other people are doing and I realise that right here, right now, the life I’m living - while not perfect - is pretty freaking awesome.

The new buzzword being thrown around is mindfulness, feel the moment, be at one with the moment (blah, blah, blah) but it really does pay to take the time out to just be. To experience things fully and not snap them, not share them, not hold them up for everybody else’s approval, is actually quite refreshing.

Now don’t get me wrong I love social media – heaven knows how I’d still have friends without it and I have family on the other side of the world who wouldn't know what my boys look like if not for the connecting powers of the web – but there’s no getting away from the evidence. Too much time spent on sites like Facebook and Twitter has direct links to poorer mental health and depression. I know myself that a few hours on Facebook can leave me feeling like the worlds worst mother with a home that looks like Shrek’s swamp in comparison to the infinitely better groomed, more glamorous mothers on my timeline.

Equally, I’m aware that all is very rarely as it seems on a well filtered snapshot of someone’s life. People only put their best face online and comparisons don’t benefit anybody.

So I’m going to enjoy my switched off time and no doubt I’ll come back vowing to stay away from the nasty web forever.

All things in moderation is probably a more realistic goal and I can start practicing my mindfulness while we’re away.

See you soon!

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