“I can’t believe she put my business on Facebook,” said an angry student as she stomped into my office. “How would she feel if I put her life story on blast for everyone to see?” "Now the world knows everything about me" she said as she burst into tears. Now, I must be honest it took a lot of talking, and counseling to calm this student down. Her friend in anger had shared some pretty personal information about her on social media. She was hurt, angry, and had a rollercoaster of emotions invading every cell of her being. Now, I know what you are saying, that is just one incident of Facebook gone wrong; that truly doesn’t happen every day. I definitely hear you, loud and clear. Yes, this was just once incident, and believe it or not the two students were able to save their friendship, and come to a resolution.
Social media can be a wonderful tool to network, connect with family/friends, and to inspire others. Yet it does concern me when people look to social media for a source of validation, or base whether they are valued by how many likes or loves they receive on their posts. Social Media can not validate you. You were created for a purpose, and do not need validation from a computerized website. You were created valuable, worthy, and an awesome original. A woman confided in me recently stating she came off of all social media because she felt compared to others. This was her honest, authentic feeling of how she felt----- remember it is not my place to judge her, or why she is taking a break from social media. Many times women may seek words of affirmation, desire to know they are being heard, and seek appreciation from others. There is nothing wrong with desiring to be affirmed, appreciated, and to be heard. Yet, we have to be careful in the sources we reach out to in being affirmed and heard. Those that love us may not provide all the support we need yet for the most part they are providing for us to the best of their ability.
I have seen people post to vent frustration, to seek assistance, to have others unify in prayer, and to have a place to share with others what they have experienced in life. People utilize social media for various reasons some good & some not soo good. I think we all should think before we post. We should all ask.......Why am I posting this message? Will I regret posting this message in a day from now? Will this message help someone else? Is there a possibility this message may hurt someone intentionally? Does this message have meaning? Do I feel led to share it? The questions hopefully can be your rationale for why you desire to share a particular post.
In reviewing the many platforms of social media, I can see the positives as well as the negatives. No one can determine what you post and why you post but YOU! Choose to post life-changing messages. Choose to post messages to challenge others to think critically. Choose to post messages that celebrate others, your community, and the world. Choose to post messages that take others thought process to a higher lever; just by reading your post. There’s nothing wrong with posting about yourself but always realize social media is a huge platform where you can celebrate, empower, challenge, and cause others to reach to their highest level.
Remember you are already validated: YOU are a women with purpose, living on purpose, embarking on her purpose-driven life!!
YOU ARE WORTHY!
YOU ARE AN ORIGINAL!
YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE IN WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE!
Just in case no one has told you today; YOU ARE LOVED & ARE APPRECIATED FOR ALL THE MANY THINGS YOU DO THAT NO ONE NOTICES
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