I know people seem to have either a love or hate relationship with social media. I read the blog posts telling moms to “put the phone down” and to “be in the moment with your kids” which I totally get and agree with. But you know what? I actually think Instagram makes me a better mom and wife. And here’s why:
It connects me to my mom friends.
I love waking up and looking on my Instagram Stories to see what my mom friends and their kids are up to. Who woke up at 5:30 a.m.? What’s everyone eating for breakfast? What toddler said something hilarious already this morning? Something about being able to check-in with your friends and support each other throughout the day is really, really nice.
Instagram inspires me!
Following my favorite fashion and food accounts, magazines, travel writers, and celebrities give me ideas for recipes, outfit inspiration, interesting ways to entertain my kids and parenting tips that I honestly think make me a better mom and wife. I am constantly getting dinner ideas from accounts like Skinnytaste, Pinch of Yum, and Gimme Some Oven, learning beautiful entertaining tips and style inspiration from Living with Landyn, and most importantly being totally motivated and inspired from parenting accounts like Simply on Purpose, Seasons of Renewal and Busy Toddler. The amount of things that I can learn in such a short snapshot is seriously amazing.
It helps me keep in contact with my family and friends that live across the country from us.
We do not live close to our family so a major way that our extended family keeps up with our day-to-day is on Instagram! I am closer to some of my aunts now (than I was growing up) thanks to Instagram. We talk almost every day through social media, and it gives my kids’ grandparents an easy way to see what we are up to!
It makes me appreciate the ordinary.
I am not Instagramming every facet of our day, but once in a while when I look around at the ordinary things we are doing (swinging on the tire swing, kids scarfing down a pancake breakfast, snuggling on the couch) I do think to myself, “This would make a cute photo.” I’m going to share it. Even when things seem kind of mundane and boring, I can look at it and see how these really are special times.
It makes me see the good.
One morning I gave my kids a cardboard box to sit in and some markers to color on it. 10 minutes later they are drawing on each other’s faces. Instead of getting mad about it, I thought that these hijinks might be something that would make my friends and family laugh on Instagram, so I took a picture and added it to my stories. A happy mom that can laugh at silly things that happen during the day and stays positive when I could have yelled is good for my kids (and my husband!)
It feels like a time capsule.
I love having a space to keep my most favorite pictures with a caption that reminds me of our lives right now. Some nights I love scrolling through my feed to see all of these special memories.
And yes, it gives me a break.
Once in a while, mom just needs to chill out and laugh. Following accounts that make me happy and make me laugh decreases the daily stress and (I assume) make me more enjoyable to be around.
I’m anticipating that I’m going to get a lot of push-back on this post from people who are adamantly against social media. I get it. I also know that there are a lot of people who feel worse about themselves after looking at social media. And if that’s you, definitely don’t use it! But I also think it can be a really great way to connect, appreciate your day-to-day, and learn! As a side note – my account is private so only people that I know can see my kids.
