I am a “techy” person. I love technology. I love games. I love apps that do cool things. I use a lot of technology in my classroom.
I also love social media. I love the connectedness of it all. I love hearing opinions from those who I would have otherwise never had the chance to hear from. I also love being able to share my family and memories with relatives who are across the nation.
BUT…. I get overwhelmed. When we are out on an “adventure” as my twins like to call our outings, I like to share what we are doing. But should I post it to Facebook? Should I Snapchat it to just a few friends? Am I supposed to Instagram it if it is just a photo? If I tweet it will anyone see it? Or should I just put it in a Google Photo album and call it a day?
Sometimes there is just too much. I have all the above accounts and I understand the differences between them, but are they really all that different? Do I really need all those accounts? Would I miss out terribly if I just stuck to one? These are the first world problems that are plaguing me today. I feel the pressure to have all these apps, but I second guess myself as to why. I find myself comparing my life to the lives of the celebrities who are constantly sharing out family pics, or updates on what they are doing… but then I stop myself- they have STAFF who do this for them. I have to remind myself that, while I am a nice person to be around, I don’t quite have the status to have an entourage and social media staff to do my work for me.
One way that I sort it all out is by thinking about each tool and how it can best suit my needs. For example, I have reserved my Twitter account to mainly professional development. I still follow some friends and family, but I use it to mostly connect to other educators.
So I need to just remind myself to sit back and enjoy the moments. Enjoy the company of those who are around me. Disregard the pressure to capture everything in every way possible. Don’t get me wrong- I will still take an obscene amount of pictures. I will just pick my platform and be ok with my choice. The world will still go on as it was meant to… even if Gran Nana doesn’t see the latest pic.
