Day 19: What I miss...What I don't

Things I miss:

• Feeling like I'm 'in the loop' and being able to quickly seeing what friends/relatives are doing.  On the flipside--when I see them in person, it’s been great to fully listen—truly hearing about their experiences for the first time.
• Being able to share fun updates and photos about me / my family in real time.  I’ve realized how much we pack into a month—from trips to newly-found great restaurants.  In addition, I’ve taken some amazing shots and it KILLS me to not have been able to post them.  No one wants to hear about something I did or a photo taken 25 days ago.
• Birthdays!  I actually forgot to wish my mother a happy birthday, as I’m usually reminded of birthdays when I check my feed every morning.  I’m sure I’ve missed important birthdays, and I feel badly about that (especially for those that remembered mine.)
• Photo filing and reference.  I’ve struggled to find old photos to refer back to, when I used to be able to scroll down a year or 2 in my Instagram feed for easy access to past history.
• Humor. So many of my friends post memes or reactions to current events make me laugh. I was so tempted to see the reactions to the whole Sarah-Palin-endorses-Donald-Trump Iowa speech, although watching the live thing was pretty hilarious by itself.
• Being able to do something while I’m bored.  Waiting in line, trying to find something to do while Wally & Craig play video games, or passing idle time is more bland.  The benefit: more people-watching time.
• Liking friends’ posts. I am sure that my friends have posted some awesome things, and I hope they don’t think I’ve seen it and ignored them. 
• Being a creator vs. a spectator. I am finding my focus has been less about watching what everyone else is doing or how they are responding to what I’ve posted, and more about creating and accomplishing goals for myself. 

What I don’t miss:

• The time-wasting black hole.  Open up my FB or IG app—and poof! 2 hours have passed, without anything to show for it. Then following--the guilt about wasting that time.  Not a good combo.
• Blurry vision.  When I’m on my phone or iPad for a few hours, my eyes can’t focus well.  I feel my vision has improved lately.
• Envy. Especially with Chicago winters, I frequently am envious looking at sunny beach photos, etc. and ungrateful for what I have or where I am. Especially with the real-time element of social media, it is even more of a challenge.
• Political or offensive posts. Yuck.