Summer FOMO
Post it or it didn't happen, babe.
I’m suffering from a bad case of FOMO. Everybody on Instagram is outside enjoying summer. They’re on boats. They’re sipping coffee by a lake. They’re having the best time ever at a festival. I’ve seen the Stories. The Boomerangs and the Reels and whatever new feature Instagram wants us to use to boost engagement. Even the children of millennials are #livinglife with their popsicle-stained faces and jungle-themed swimwear.
Me? I’m nowhere near a lake. I’m not posing for anything or captioning a picture with fun in the sun hashtags. I’m sipping bland coffee on my grey couch as I stare at the train tracks next to my condo. From afar you may think I’m wearing lace, but no. It’s just my old University of Ottawa t-shirt with a thousand holes and stains. I’ve been eating a lot of popsicles too, but that’s only because I have Covid and I feel like crap. I’ve always been careful not to compare my life with someone else’s social media choices. Every post is a performance of some sort.
Right now, at this very moment, I’m most definitely comparing my life with other people’s social media choices. This is happening. One hundred percent. And I’ve reached a point where Instagram is making me feel bad. My summer sucks! It’s not Instagram’s fault, though. Maybe I’m spending too much time on the app (I am). Maybe I’m too invested in other people’s lives instead of my own (ouch). Maybe I’m basing my sense of fun and accomplishment on content I don’t own (ding ding ding!). Post it or it didn’t happen, babe.
Okay. Time to take a step back. I know, I know.
It’s time for a gratitude list.No more comparing my summer to everyone else’s.
I choose to focus on the joys and totally Instaworthy moments I never posted about:
That one time I made it to Jarry pool with my son back in June, and saw his father’s plane fly over our heads, marking the end of a two-week solo parenting streak.
Those frequent trips to Jean-Talon market for deep red Québec strawberries and heirloom tomatoes.
All those tomato sandwiches I ate.
That time my family rented a hotel room in the Laurentian forest and barely left it because there were too many deer flies and mosquitoes outside.
That “me-time” walk to buy a thermometer at the pharmacy last Friday. Missy Elliot was blasting in my ears and life was great.
For those three days my son went to day camp until he caught Covid and gave it to me.
All those hours spent watching Hacks. Please check out that TV show if you haven’t already.
That my husband agreed to watch Speed with me even though he would have preferred to browse through the Netflix menu for an hour and a half, give up, and go to bed.
I’m grateful for the ducklings at Jarry Park. Ducks are magical little wormholes that allow me to connect with nature in my own special way.
For all the summer activities I didn’t do, like camping.
I’m glad I sorted that out.
I’m glad you sorted that out too!!
« Post it or it didnt happen » tellement!!!
J’ai croisé une connaissance l'autre jour qui m’a dit: coudonc il se passe pu rien dans ta vie? Et quand j’ai demandé pourquoi il disait ça, il m’a repondu: ben tu post plus rien!
Pourtant il se passe mille choses hahaha! Mais j’avais créé un persona en ligne et des attentes hahah
J’ai arrêté d’avoir du fomo y’a un ptit bout quand j’ai analyse mon rapport a la publication pourquoi je le fais, ma fréquence, mon intention dans le partage, ce que je vais réellement chercher a x ou x moment et ca ma permis de me dire que ce que je vois en ligne c’est complexe, et les personnes derrière comble peut etre quelque chose dans ce moment là avec ces publications ou on besoin de quelque chose avec ce partage.
On est difficilement linéaire les humains.
Je trouve ca genial ta liste de grattitude et je dois dire que tous tes items sont instsgrammables! Meme ton non camping hhahah
J’adore !! Merci Michelle !
Pour ma part, j’aime bien partager avec mon entourage des trucs intéressants, des idées, parfois quelques photos. Mais il ne faut pas que ça devienne une façade... J’en viens parfois même à me demander si je dois vraiment prendre une photo ou plutôt profiter du moment présent.
Ceci dit, je réalise qu’il faut quand même quelques souvenirs pour nous, sans qu’on ait besoin de les partager avec le monde entier. L’intention est importante dans ce cas... Veut-on juste partager du bonheur (ou des infos intéressantes ou autres), ou bien veut-on des likes...?
Dans tous les cas, l’important c’est d’être bien avec nos choix et d’essayer trouver notre propre bonheur dans toutes les facettes de notre vie...sans qu’on ait besoin de l’approbation des autres.
P.S.: Prompt rétablissement !