Becoming a Mom Made Me Love Social Media Again

I was just over it. My Facebook feed was full of political rants and sharing #fakenews from all sides. My Instagram feed was full of instafamous yogis and coffee shops in other cities. (How and why had I followed so many random, hipster coffee shops over the years?) And I abandoned the ladder-climbing mentality of LinkedIn years ago. Social media was no longer social or engaging. It was a miserable timesuck, a bad habit, a place to go to ogle others’ carefully curated lives.

But then, I had a baby. Slowly throughout my pregnancy, and then at an increasingly rapid pace once the baby arrived, social media became the best version of itself again.

I have shared photos of our best moments and our worst moments, our big news and our tiny memories. And people responded by engaging with my posts in meaningful ways. Friends with whom I have not connected in years share words of encouragement or tips and tricks that have worked for them. My husband’s parishioners and old friends from former jobs send kind notes of praise that bring little smiles to my face. Resale groups help us find great prices on EUC (that’s “excellent used condition” for you noobs) clothes and gear without the hassle of the consignment scene. My parents even joined Instagram — my father, the forever-Facebook-shunner, has his own bona fide Insta handle! I never thought I’d see the day!

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Facebook and Instagram have become places to learn and share and find community again. What a pleasant surprise! Thank you to all the friends and moms out there who are helping renew this user’s faith in social media again. It’s not just a place for political vitriol. It’s a place for friendship and support — praise be to Mr. Zuckerberg again, after long last!