Social media is beloved for making it easier for us to connect with friends and family and also hated for making it easier to argue. Facebook is the undisputed king of social media, and for those of us who were adults when it came to prominence, we not only get to connect with friends and family, be we’ve also managed to use it to reconnect with old friends from our youth.
It’s also a platform rife with toxicity, providing new ways for people to be hostile towards each other. Still, I think most people try to use it for good, providing people with updates into their lives. Sure, it’s a bit narcissistic, but hey, when I think about the people I’ve lost touch with over the years (during the dark ages that preceded social media or even widespread email usage), I can’t help but wonder if social media would have made it easier to stay connected.
Still, it seems that our ability to share almost anything has led many to believe they need to share everything. This becomes painfully obvious during the holiday season. Most of it is innocent enough: posts from friends revealing they’ve got their Christmas tree up, or wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree… things like that. Sure, why not?
But, for several years now, I’ve noticed that people are sharing their Christmas photos… on Christmas Day. The unwrapping of presents, the showing off of gifts, the gathering of family… Yes, they are memories being made, and it seems that the best way to cement them in our personal histories is to share them for others to see and comment on, but, maybe, just maybe, instead of sharing memories on the fly for everyone else on social media to enjoy, people need to focus on enjoying the moment with their families, and perhaps, keeping them private.
Related: Christmas Eve Traditions Are Especially Welcome This Year
I understand the inclination to share pictures on Facebook, but if you’re posting photos of your Christmas celebration on Christmas so others can see it, you’re probably missing something. Does it matter that your former best friend from high school can see what Santa brought your kids?
Perhaps more disturbing is how people actually comment on these photos on Christmas Day. It’s bad enough that people are sharing their pictures of Christmas on Christmas. Still, there are enough people out there who are taking the time to respond to these photos… perhaps while they’re amongst their own family who is more deserving of their attention.
Social media makes it easy to share and communicate, but it also makes it easy to forget what’s around you. For example, people should enjoy their time with their family instead of caring and commenting on other people’s time with their families. It’s an exciting time, for sure, but the sharing can wait if it has to happen at all. Your memories are precious to you, and you don’t need other people to validate them.
Obviously, sharing holiday moments is hardly the worst thing one can do. However, I’ve seen plenty of TMI posts on Facebook that have nothing to do with the holidays, and they ought to stop too.
As the dreadful 2021 comes to a close, let’s resolve to curb our social media sharing—even if just a little bit. Learn to enjoy life in the moment without worrying about publishing it for others. The public can wait—so can you.
