I’ve gotten away from writing. This happens a lot. I never plan to stop writing but it always happens and by the time that I realize I’ve stopped it’s already been a month or two since I’ve put a pen to paper or in this case my fingers to the keyboard. I don’t solely blame social media but I think it does plays a part in my lack of motivation and inspiration.
There are so many different platforms we have access to that help us connect with friends, family and strangers and help tell the stories of our lives but I haven’t found any that are quite as authentic or thoughtful as blogging.*
The reason I started this blog was to keep in touch with family and friends in Canada while I was living abroad. Then along came Facebook. I connected my blog to Facebook because let’s be honest who is actually going to go out of their way to read my blog when they can just get the Coles notes version of my life from my Facebook feed. And I wasn’t willing to give up writing stories about my life.
Instagram came on the scene next and again I connected that social media to Facebook because many of the friends (mom) I have on Facebook don’t have Instagram and I was no longer using Facebook to post pictures. I noticed that Instagram was becoming my go-to social media for connecting with others and it started making me sad because posting to Instagram doesn’t take any effort. Is this what friendships have become? Do my friends not deserve a solid heartfelt effort from me when I’m sharing stories from my life? We’re all too focused on making our lives look flawless and full of adventure to make any real connections.
Online dating has been reduced to superficial first impressions based solely on a picture rather than an introduction. And friendships have been reduced to 15 second videos and instant snapshots of our staged lives. Does anyone actually use the call function of their phones anymore? Are we heading towards a world where that function will become obsolete? I don’t want to live in that world. Maybe I am of a different generation but I love phone calls. They may not be convenient but they’re more efficient and I believe that they help build relationships and secure bonds. By not calling each other we are slowly putting more distance between ourselves and that worries me.
To any of my friends reading this, CALL ME!

#truelove
*Tumblr does not count as blogging.