Why do YOU care?

It's one of those nights I can't sleep.

As I watch the dark turn to light outside my window, I'm trying to calm my stirring mind by reading other people's blogs. As I read them, I'm thinking about how much less I've been blogging my personal thoughts... and to be honest... how much I've enjoyed the break.

The break from blogging.

The break from twittering my every thought.

The break from checking Facebook a gazillion times a day.

The break from this new crazy thing called social media that sucks us in. Especially us photographers.

Instead, as I've backed away, I've been refocusing my time and energy back to real relationships.

Earlier today I had lunch with a good friend. One of those people in life who know the real me, not the persona of me that someone might perceive from reading my blog. Her name is Mary, and she was my boss back in my corporate days of cubicles and when I was required to wear {shudder} pantyhose... long before I was a photographer. After we both left the job, Mary & I remained friends and enjoy getting together for lunch every few months to simply catch up on... life. Not through an email, not through a text message, not through the phone. In person. Face to face.

At one point during the lunch, I asked her if she was on Facebook yet and she scrunched her face and said "No, I just don't care about it."

And I sat there thinking, "And WHY do I care so much about it?" As a whole, why does our society care? Why do we feel the need to connect with the people in our virtual world instead of the people in our real world? Why do we feel the need to update people on Twitter about our every thought? Do we fear that if we don't blog, Facebook or Twitter about something happening, that maybe it didn't really happen?

I've certainly been guilty of the social media obsession in the past, and yes I do think there are marketing benefits for photographers... but this past Easter weekend changed how I viewed everything. Mom and I planned an out of town retreat and I promised her I would leave my laptop AND iPhone at home to simply give her all my attention. As we sat at dinner overlooking the beach the first night, she grabbed my hand across the table, looked me in the eye and said:

"I can't tell you how much it means to have dinner with just you, and not you and your iPhone."

Ouch.

How did I become THAT daughter?

Who in your life should you call up today and ask how they are doing, simply because? Who in your real life are you neglecting because you are spending too much time in your virtual life?

I encourage you to take a break from the need to update the world about your life and instead choose to simply live your life savoring the small joys that can't be found on the other side of the computer screen. As I've stepped away from the virtual life, I've been reminded that the faces in real life are much more beautiful than any I've seen on Facebook.