When I had three young children, I was a stay-at-home mom who did freelance writing on the side for about 15 to 20 hours a week. In addition, I enjoyed reading blogs, which were popular at the time. Unconsciously, I found myself trying to emanate these women, especially another mother who also had three young children and ran a successful blog. She wrote about pushing herself hard, working long hours at night, and devoting herself to her children during the day, so I tried to do that, too. Only later did I learn an important lesson—do not believe what you see on social media.
Not Modeling a Healthy Lifestyle
I read that blogger even now, over ten years later. She had a shift in how she spends her time and admits that when she worked so hard and slept so little, she was not leading a healthy lifestyle. This blogger openly admits that her workaholic tendencies affected her family and children.
Now she has a much healthier work-life balance, but for years, she was very driven and encouraging other women to do so even though it was unhealthy for her family. Luckily, I gave up that lifestyle about a year after I tried to adopt it because living that way exhausted me.
Do Not Believe What You See on Social Media
Besides not emulating others who may live an unhealthy lifestyle, it’s also important to not believe what you see on social media.
Help Behind the Scenes
For instance, one influencer used to give the impression that she ran her business entirely by herself. I used to marvel at all she could do and wondered why I failed so miserably at trying to accomplish what she did.
Only recently has that influencer talked about her team, which consists of two full-time and four part-time employees. If you compare yourself to another and think that person gets way more done than you can, you likely don’t have the full story.
Additional Perks the Influencer Doesn’t Mention
Not only do I, unfortunately, compare myself to how productive some influencers are, but I also compare myself to their budgeting skills. For instance, I used to follow one vlogger who can feed her family of six for only $300 to $400 a month, or so she says.
True, she snags all the clearance deals when she shops. However, I’ve noticed recently, as she has become more popular, she gets more sponsored deals. As part of her sponsorship, she gets free food. For instance, she gets free boxes of Hello Fresh meals from all of her affiliate credits. In addition, she gets free boxes of gourmet food from Thrive Market. Yet, she never acknowledges these items when she shares how much she spends on groceries. Yes, she didn’t spend money on these items, but because she gets them for free, she can spend less on other groceries.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a mom following social media, learn from my mistakes. Do not believe what you see on social media—live your life doing what’s best for your family and your budget because you only see part of an influencer’s life. There may be much more happening behind the scenes that you will never know.
Read More
7 Ways to Save Money on Groceries
How Parents Can Use Their Social Media Influence
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.
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