To Insta or Not to Insta?

Social media. Ahhh! Let’s talk about social media today. I’m having a moment of “maybe??” and welcome your input, specifically as it applies to Instagram. To insta or not to insta? PLEASE offer your thoughts, I’m open to feedback of all sorts on this.

I have been off social media for years. Instagram since 2014 and Facebook since who knows when, earlier than that I think. ? I built and ran a business through social media and I also had two very active YouTube channels, so I wasn’t the average casual user. It was a major part of my days and life in every regard. Dropping it was for my sanity in a broad sense but I also had privacy concerns. I’ve dabbled in Facebook a couple of times since then for very specific purposes (hip dysplasia and PAO groups for a brief moment, Peloton Power Zone Pack to participate in and lead challenge groups), but limited my activity to those pursuits. Aka, no news feeds or walls.

Personal Years

My most recent Instagram posts came from before my ankle and foot reconstructions, which then led into my last pregnancy, new baby, life, and finally three years of 11 surgeries for my hips and pelvis. WHOAH! It’s been a heavy time that led me inward, pulling back from the world of sharing. As a natural introvert, I needed space to heal and manage life quietly and privately on my own.

The relationships that were the most significant remained intact through other avenues, such as the actual telephone, text, or face to face. Otherwise, it was actually an interesting experiment to see who even noticed that I had stepped away, who reached out via email or a phone call. if you ever want to know who your true friends are, try it! This isn’t meant to knock my casual acquaintances, I appreciate them all, but it is a powerful, eye-opening experience.

Why now?

I’m finding more and more as I write this blog, connect with other writers and podcasters, and enter the sport of bodybuilding, I meet an immediate brick wall in the connection process when the conversation goes something like this:

New Friend/Contact – “It’s been so great to meet you! What is your Insta so we can stay in touch/I can follow you/I can share your story/etc.?”

Me – “Oh, I’m not on Social Media, but here’s my phone and email. I’m happy to connect that way.”

Them – “Oh.”

The End

It’s as if I opted out of the elementary school phone book in 1985, THE WAY to connect with your friends.

Done, over, next, bye.

Maybe it is time to reconsider? Maybe it is time to dip my toe in again, with appropriate personal boundaries and careful curation? I’m a fan of thinking again, maybe it is time?

So much has happened during the time I’ve been off social media, where would I even start?

Here’s one of my most recent posts. Mason was 6! Willa is almost 6 now!

If I do it, should I turn on my old account? The juxtaposition between my life as it was then to what it is now is profound. Maybe that’s interesting to see, especially as I document the hip/pelvis journey and into bodybuilding? “Watch this mud covered ultra runner transform into a curvy, strong glam girl!” <— If I can do that, anyone can, for reals!

Or, should I start a new account? New me, new purposes, begin anew?

Light at The End of The Tunnel

Maybe this feeling is part of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been feeling better and better lately, stronger physically, but also lighter in spirit, much less grumpy, more spontaneous and silly (hello ridiculous dancing yesterday), ready to be a better friend to many again.

Maybe it is time to Insta?

What do you think? PLEASE throw Brussels Sprouts at me!