SHARE ON

I have a confession to make. 

I used to be one of those grumpy-faced scrooges who muttered and grumbled bitterly about people who used their social media "only to post photos of their fucking kids."

Save for a few very dear (but also far away) friends, I wasn't particularly interested in seeing the faces of anyone's children multiple times a day as I scrolled through my facebook and instagram feeds. I was much more interested in seeing the faces of pugs, bulldogs of all varieties, & hairless cats.

But then I had my own child. And once I was a parent myself I understood something that I never quite was able to grasp before:

Nobody is sharing photos of their children for their casual aquaintences that they bump into once every 4 years.

They're not sharing video of their precious babies wobbly first steps so that their old hairdresser can ooh & ahh.

And they certainly aren't posting 47 shots from Baby's 1st birthday 'Cake Smash' session for their best-friends-ex-boyfriends-old-roommate to enjoy.

All those photos, all those videos are for the 1/25 people who are a near and dear friend, who live too far away to ever hold that baby in their arms, so instead they troll facebook and 'like' every photo. Those photos and videos are for the aging grandparent, whose face lights every time they see a photo (yes, even if it's 5x a day) because it makes them realize that their legacy will live on long past their final 10 years on this planet.

Those photos and videos are for the parents themselves. Moms & Dads who will, one day very soon, eagerly put their wild, tantruming toddler down for bed at the end of the day, and then sit on facebook well into the night, watching and re-watching all the old, precious 37-second videos they had taken and shared of their beautiful, bouncy baby. They will wonder how they ever made something so perfect and where the hell the time went, and they will want to go back in time and kiss their old self for posting "so much", and also say "I wish you had posted more".

If you are one of those people who dislike seeing photos of people's kids, I have one piece of advice: Keep scrolling. It's ok that you aren't into it; its not for you. 

If you are a new parent who is struggling with how much you should share for fear of sharing too much and being "one of those people", I say: SHARE ON.

​Share as many times a day as you feel comfortable. Share, share, share, share. Share without apology, justification, or explanation. Your baby is growing and changing every single moment of every single day-- share for the people who really love you, and share it for your future self. You will thank yourself later.