January 27th 2021
In a world of experts, find your own truth
As a working parent with a son in Year 7 and a daughter in Year 5, like many people I have found myself spinning a lot of plates since March 2020. I have suddenly found myself fulfilling the role of IT support, chef, caretaker, cleaner, teacher, actor (thanks Mr Weeks!), cameraman (thanks Mr Weeks!), counsellor, cuddler, UN peacekeeper, vet and gym instructor whilst also trying to maintain my day job in the Moulsford Marketing team and have time to binge watch Bridgerton before I go to sleep! However, despite the chaos that inevitably ensues, I am also very grateful that my children both attend schools with outstanding virtual teaching and that they both have access to technology. I am also very fortunate to have enough food in the cupboard (just!) to service their ever-increasing appetites (“But I always have drink and biscuit at this time”).
However, it isn’t easy trying to do all of that and keep calm and relaxed, so I often turn to the internet to try and ease me through. When I get a spare five minutes (ha!) somehow a gentle scroll through the inane parts of the online world can help. Social media is not just part of my day job, it is quite often my happy place where I go to see pictures of new babies, coo over cute puppies in the snow, work out who is having a Le Clos delivery for supper or compare notes with other frazzled parents. There is often a real community feel and you can swap memes about homeschooling and listen to silly songs performed by mums as highly strung and wine dependent as you are!
Unfortunately though, it isn’t always like that and what this pandemic has also done is increase the negative aspects of social media. The echo chamber of twitter where you suddenly feel like everyone is agreeing on the most absurd untruths or arguing and trolling just for the sake of it. Suddenly, everyone is an expert. Your next door neighbour appears to have become an amateur epidemiologist on your Whatsapp group and Great Auntie Sue is sharing her pearls of wisdom about mask-wearing on Facebook. The ‘Dementors’ have been out in full force to suck the joy out of any positive news and ensure that even the most fantastic things aren’t allowed to shine. Even the vaccine rollout is viewed negatively, if you believe everything you read on twitter. Fake news has reached epic proportions, with seemingly even the most rational of people being swayed into believing something untrue, just because a celebrity ‘expert’ has said it on social media. It can be a real drain and I understand why so many people are turning their backs on this online world.
However, if you can get past the noise and not get sucked into the vacuum, there is still joy to be found out there! I have found some amazing resources and games online to help keep us all entertained on rainy days and some lovely articles about mental health and how to make sure we are taking care of ourselves. I have also discovered book recommendations, a new favourite clothing brand, have reconnected with old school friends, learned more about some of the prolific activists and campaigners we have in the UK, discovered some fabulous new gins and have even found some great new places to walk or paddleboard, all thanks to social media. It can be hard work blocking out the negativity, but if you can find the fluffier corners then it can still be a happy place!
Oh, and if in doubt, I have heard that the Moulsford social media channels can be pretty joyful places to inhabit, so they’re definitely worth a follow!
